In a world of doers, be a receiver. “Do less, receive more” – the mantra for abundance. This doesn’t mean we are ducking out of responsibility. We are actually being more responsible, truthful, and authentic. This is how we receive abundance.
Most of us are better at doing. We have been entrained and trained to do. To achieve. To solve. To prove. To push. Go, go, go, grabbing at the external gold. Even if it’s just being busy with, well, being busy. Where is the space to connect the dots, breathe, to exhale, and to receive? To mine the internal gold?
So many people aren’t good at receiving, whether it’s a compliment, a hug, or being loved, without the expectation of having to do something in return.
Part of being a receiver is to allow the experience to be, and not place it in context of past experiences of “failures” and trauma.
How to Receive Abundance
① Set Clear Intentions
It is much easier being a receiver when we have set clear intentions…and then let them go. Get clear on how you want to feel. Use this – how you want to feel vs what you want to achieve – as your compass or GPS. By setting our intentions based on how we want to feel frees us from building attachments to how we want it to happen. Not having these expectations allows us to be open to the experience, rather than focus on why it is not happening the way we want it to happen.
② Breathe
Exhale. Long breath out. Clear your body of old stagnant air and energy. Let go. When we fully and deeply exhale, we literally and symbolically create a space to receive. Many people are shallow breathers, with a small volume of air filling only the chest cavity. The physiology of short breaths is very different from that of deeper and more conscious breathing. Try it. Which feels more relaxing? More spacious? It is a lot easier to receive when our body is not so wound up and when we feel more at ease.
③ Give It Time
To practice being receivers, allocate free time for yourself. Create experiences and circumstances to receive. They say practice makes perfect. Give yourself lots of opportunities to receive more fully and more graciously. Next time, someone pays you a compliment, smile and say thank you. Bask in the glow of this attention and receive from the interaction. Do not question the motivation or even accuracy of the compliment. Do not deflect.
④ Do Not Compare
It is important not to compare when we receive. Comparison pulls us out of the experience, robbing us of the subtleties and the fullness of the experience. Plus, it takes us right out of the state of gratitude, the magnet of abundance.
⑤ Smile
This one is often difficult, especially when it is not an experience we had anticipated or hoped for. It may be hard to believe – there is something to receive even in unpleasant experiences. These are reminders, signs, lessons, and challenges to motivate us to dig deeper, to impart greater self-knowledge and wisdom. Even if you cannot smile outwardly, smile inwardly. Because something good is happening. Smiling and being at ease helps to anchor the positive of the experience.
⑥ Know You Deserve It
People often find it difficult to receive because they feel they do not deserve it. We all deserve it. We are all worthy. Know this, and feel the anxiety melt away, at least a little bit more each time. Receiving is so much easier when the body is relaxed and open.
If you have difficulty believing and feeling that you do deserve, it’s time to find the underlying guilt and beliefs you have that are an obstacle to you having the life of your dreams, and even beyond all expectations.
There are many tips and ways to being a receiver of abundance. These are only a few. Explore. Experiment. Play. See what works best for you. The idea is to be open to all that comes our way. Change is the only constant in life. Change is not always easy but when we become good at receiving, with curiosity, assurance, detachment, and an open heart, we can tap into our responsiveness and make appropriate actions and re-direct.
The yin-yang symbol is a beautiful analogy and example for life. Within the white is a black dot and within the black lies a white dot. Within each lies the seed of the other. It is not about good and bad, positive or negative. The lesson here is the fluidity of life, of the constant motion of the black becoming the white and the white becoming the black in the yin-yang symbol. A seemingly “bad” situation still holds “good”. Seeing only what we don’t want with our ego rather than seeing beyond with our heart is suffering. Receiving can happen in every moment and the choice is entirely up to us.
“Do Less, Receive More” requires us to push less, and act when it is time. Life is balance and one of the biggest lessons we must learn is discernment – doing what it is called for in the moment. This is a lesson about living beyond the ego and standing by the truth that lives within us. Receive abundance because bounty surrounds us.
