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To be able to give these gifts we must first open to receive so they become available to give. Many of us have various conscious and unconscious blocks to receiving. The true nature of a gift is that of something given with no strings attached, yet we live in a society that often presents things as gifts that are actually unspoken trades.
Example: I will invite you over for dinners and loan you my lawn mower, but the unspoken trade is that I expect you to come help me move at the end of the month whether you want to or not. Or: I'll give you a Christmas present as an unspoken trade for a present back. Or more subtle: I'll give you x but you must give me appreciation in return.
If trades aren't agreed upon at a conscious level by both parties, they open the door to misunderstandings, manipulations, guilts, sacrifices etc. It's no wonder that when we are offered a gift we might feel hesitant or suspicious, or in some cases turn it down for fear that to receive it would be to also receive an unwritten contract of trade. It's not surprising that many of us start to believe that nothing is given freely and that everything we get we have to work hard to earn.
Once we have that belief system ingrained, it's not much of a jump for us to believe that if we receive anything from Spirit, that we'll have to work hard at doing some unknown thing in order to earn what we received. We might think we have to uphold our end of the assumed trade. Gone is the sense that Spirit is an unconditional loving presence that would freely give to us with no strings attached. In it's place is a belief that we have to be "good" in order to win Spirits love. Then we may feel we have to figure out what we think Spirit would classify as "good". Of course many religions, philosophies, parents and friends with helpful intentions would be glad to tell us what is classified as good. And in some cases would be willing to punish us if we don't follow what they interpret as good. Of course in their perception it would all be done "for our own good".
Another block to receiving can get set up when we don't know how to care for our own appropriate boundaries. The more we receive gifts from Spirit and/or from the world of form, and then turn around and radiate those gifts out to others, the more attractive we become. One of the many elements we may attract in, is people who feel needy, see our radiance, think we can "fix" them, and so then attempt to demand that we meet their needs with no regard to whether it feels appropriate to us or not. If we don't know how to create a healthy boundary by saying no to them if it feels true to, we'll soon be sacrificing our integrity and ourselves to these people and be left feeling depleted.
Ironically many of us will deplete ourselves by blocking the receiving of gifts. This is done as an attempt to protect ourselves from attracting in those people who would come with their demands of us if they perceived we had something to give. So in order to protect ourselves from getting drained by them, we end up staying in a self imposed state of low energy. Of course this pattern is played out at an unconscious level, if we became consciously aware of it we could clearly see it makes no sense to continue.
If a true gift is something given with no strings attached that means that there's no strings attached to the receiver (such as hidden trade agendas) and there's no strings attached to the giver (meaning they are free to give or not give the gift, as opposed to feeling they have to give it to satisfy someone's demand, or to ease some guilt, or to balance out some unconscious trade agreement.)
Another stifling pattern that can play out is people actually stopping their uninhibited giving of gifts because they want to protect the receiver from thinking there's an unspoken trade for them to uphold. You may have done this yourself. Example: You may have a relative that is going through a rough time monetarily, yet you are feeling prosperous in the area of money. Your first urge may be to buy them an expensive gift for Christmas because you know they could use it and appreciate it. But a fear comes in that they might think they have to come up with a gift for you of an equal monetary value in order to establish a balanced trade, and if they can't, instead of receiving your gift freely, they will feel guilty. So you decide to substitute a gift of lesser value or no gift at all.
Some people want to give generously and their preference would be to give to those they know. Yet if they don't know how to give freely and have it received freely by those they know then their giving may get channeled elsewhere such as into a charity or some form of anonymous giving. Then they miss out on the fulfillment that can come from giving a gift with no strings attached to someone they really love and care about.
If we could learn to receive a gift, that receiving can be a gift to whoever is doing the giving. This is illustrated in the example following:
If we remember a time when we gave that perfect gift, (It may have been some material thing, it may have been some words of support, it may have been a loving smile) and it was totally received, we'll remember how good it felt and what a gift it was for us to know that we gave the perfect thing at the perfect time.
Another block to receiving can get set up by the following. We may decide exactly what we want to receive and get attached to it coming in the particular form we are set on. It may or may not be what's best for us, but it's what we want. If life or people don't meet our demands about being given to in the particular way that suits us, we may get resentful and revengeful. One way to attempt getting revenge is to refuse to receive what someone actually can give us, and would like to give us. By us blocking their giving they don't get to feel good about being able to be of service to us. It's that old "if you don't give me exactly what I demand I won't have anything to do with you" stance. Of course like all revenge tactics it hurts us, as much or more than the one we are attacking.
If we really get, that the Lifeforce is willing to freely give us that which we need (it may be different than what we think we need) and if we are open to receiving it, we will be less concerned with ideas of scarcity and more open to receive and give unconditionally.
These ideas can be learned by the mind but can only be truly experienced through practice.
Most of us have many old beliefs and patterns that block unconditional receiving and giving so the changes aren't likely to happen overnight. We may want to ask Spirit for the gift of patience and then give it to ourselves as we practice.
May we all open further to being channels for the multitude of gifts Lifeforce is willing to give to us and give through us. Why wait? Please join me in opening our gifts before Christmas.
