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Friday, September 23, 2011

The Gift of Receiving



Receiving may be an act interpreted simply as getting something, when in fact receiving is an art form.    In a conversation when I am in a state of "emitting" I am no longer listening.  The act of being receptive may be translated as being "in the moment" or it may also be considered body surfing.  Catch a wave, share a conversation, mingle in a relationship, learn from a teacher; these are all an enterprise best attempted while being in receiver mode. 


It took a soul retrieval, (a long story involving a trip to Costa Rica, a soul sister and a shaman), to bring my voice forth.  In the time between then and now my vocal cords have had a field day, finding lots of stuff both necessary and not to say.  A voice is a very useful thing to have until it is only being used to fill space.  Today I encountered a teacher for the second time.  Last year her words clanged against the cement blocking the route between ear and brain.  She spoke of possibility and her frustration was palatable when the room echoed. The wise guru's lessons were lost in the internal rant I enjoyed about what is right and what is wrong.  One year later her words found a fissure in the stone.  "Be in receiver mode."  


Blessed be those moments when I shut up and listen.  There are two more days in which to practice this art with a great teacher and then the real experiences begin.  To receive a conversation with my teenage children, untarnished by a need to fix or regulate.  To walk during a lovely fall day with my senses open to what is presented, without it being necessary to emit into the void of not doing.  To BE STILL in the bits of time spent with people who are looking for their own healing answers.  These will be some of the gifts that make living aware worth each grown up step.  Receiving life means being open to all that it entails without judgment or restraint, allowing possibility to breathe.