Doesn’t looking at this picture make you want to go way far away into the woods amongst the beautiful Fall trees and be all alone for a while?  This is a labyrinth that was near the center where I did my Reiki II training this past weekend.  It was delicious, actually I hate when yoga teachers use words like that when they are not speaking about food, so instead I will say it was amazing.  It was at this center that is tucked away on this gorgeous piece of land in the suburbs where I was the only person who was attending the training.  It was an opportunity to receive a gift that was quite special.  The connection I made with the teacher and the training itself brought up a lot of stuff.  In our last chatEmbracing Good Enoughl I shared my challenges with perfectionism and the healing process I have been going through lately.  This training brought up another facet of that which is receiving.  How well do I receive gifts when they are presented to me?  Hmmmm historically not well but more recently that has been shifting.   Generally I don’t ask for help.  I refuse and then I stew.  I don’t want you to know I have needs but because you aren’t able to read my mind, you wouldn’t know that actually I would love some help and just find it very hard to let you know that.   We discussed this crazy mind reading pattern of mine in our chat
Receive the Gift of Receiving.  Just as life would have it, the layers of this pattern have continued to unfold to come up for clearing.

What is it about receiving that can be so damn challenging for some of us?  Well if I were to be really honest with myself and you I would say that having difficulty with people vulnerable is not just about  me feeling exposed but also it is about me not being the one in control.  Just as we discussed before, being in the giving seat is also being in the drivers’ seat in life.  While control is something I struggle with, as many of us do, I have to say that most recently I am realizing how that only serves.   some of my needs; the ones that are mainly based in fear.  The deeper needs of my soul yearn for a little TLC from others.  I yearn for some of the care taking at times that I am often giving to those around me.  And as life would have it, opportunities for me to notice these needs and let them be known are popping up around me..  My Reiki training was one of those as well as receiving a recent gift from a family member.  The work has been not just in receiving gifts but doing so without feeling the need to immediately reciprocate.  Just purely receiving.  Being on the receiving end brings me into a place of softening in a way that nothing else has.  My heart has been really open and I have been feeling a level of gratitude and love that I don’t always feel.  I don’t have to call up these thoughts or feelings, they are sweeping over me at the oddest of times.  I am feeling my heart grow and grow much like the Grinch’s heart grows in the end of “The Grinch Stole Christmas.”  When you struggle with receiving, it is because your heart is shut down not only to others but mostly towards yourself.  Start opening up to receiving gifts from the Universe and you too will feel your heart grow.

Is receiving something that you are able to do naturally?  If not, what helps you to begin to receive gifts from others?  For me, the process began with noticing the gifts as they appear.  Next, instead of immediately saying no thank you, I say YES thank you!  I have been receiving more with open arms and heart and little by little beginning to see that more is coming my way.  When you begin to say yes
to the Universe you begin to notice that the Universe responds with more gifts.  The gifts are not always big or over the top, they may be small in stature but for me they all feel big.  It has come at a time when I have needed to begin to open up to sharing the load and recognizing that I have needs that my control issues do not take care of.  In fact, my issues with control cause me more problems than they ever do good.  Share below, what ways are you or do you open up to receiving the gifts the Universe has to offer?

Cheers!