Gift Receiving

The holiday season is a time in which many people are focused on giving – giving gifts to friends and family, giving support to various charities, or perhaps simply giving a kind word to someone in need.

This is a beautiful thing – and one of the reasons that December is one of my favorite times of the year. In this season, some of the self-focused elements of our culture temporarily yield to a more generous spirit.

However, in this article I’d like to present another perspective on this season of gifts. Giving to others is a wonderful practice. However, an even more fundamental practice is to clear a space so that we ourselves can receive.

A Course in Miracles presents the idea that there is a flow of divine gifts – what it calls "miracles" – that are always, incessantly trying to flow into our experience. These miracles are available to provide comfort in every distress, to restore hope in times of darkness, and replace every experience of scarcity.

The problem is that we are rarely open to receiving these divine gifts. Miracles, says the Course, require an open mind and receptive heart in order to reach our awareness. When our minds and hearts are out of alignment with them, they seem to disappear. They aren’t lost; however, they are temporarily inaccessible, like funds waiting in a bank account that we have forgotten about.

This is why one of the most central practices in A Course in Miracles is the practice of aligning of our thoughts, desires, and emotions with that divine flow. Through daily practice, we reorient our minds away from egocentric thinking. As we do this, the mind becomes quieter, open, more receptive. And the miracles that have been waiting can begin to flow in.

Centering and Opening

Along these lines, let me present a very simple practice based on the workbook of the Course. This is similar to many of the meditation practices that I have written about in the past; however, in this version, I’ll show how it ties in to receiving the divine gifts that are offered.

You can begin this practice by simply "observing" whatever thoughts and feelings are currently flowing through your mind. These might include concerns and worries about the future, regrets about the past – or even more "neutral" things such as plans for activities in the coming week. All of these can potentially serve to draw the mind out of alignment with the flow of miracles.

When you have observed your mind’s current content for a minute or so, you can then begin to center it on a more inspiring, opening line of thought. You might, for example, repeat the idea to yourself that "I want to receive a miracle" – or "There is a miracle that will comfort me if I’m open to it" – or simply, "I deserve to experience a sense of true peace."

For a time, try to bring your mind into alignment with this type of thought. When the mind strays back to distracting thoughts, bring it back. When it strays again, bring it back again. The idea here is that we’re using the repetition of a thought to focus our thinking along a new path.

Often, the mind will become somewhat quieter and more receptive as it settles into this more focused direction. As this begins to happen, you can then try to move into a state of true receptivity.

Even for just a moment, allow your mind to embrace the idea that there is a flow of divine thoughts and feelings trying to reach you – a river of inspiration and wisdom that will guide, comfort, and bless you. Just for a second or two, try to open to this flow.

As you’re doing this, you might begin to feel a hint of warmth and comfort; if so, approach that sense of warmth and allow it to expand. Or you might find an insight floating across your awareness; if so, receive it and see what other wise thoughts are connected to it.

As you practice opening to this divine flow of peaceful, loving thoughts and feelings, you can trust that they will flow through you into the world. Miracles are never for us alone; as we receive them, they naturally move through us to others. This, as A Course in Miracles puts it, is the role of a "miracle worker" – a role that every one of us is called to.

Limitless gifts can flow through us, out into the world, affecting the lives of countless people. But the whole process begins with the receiving. We align our minds, open our hearts, and become receptive to the miracles that are offered us. And as we receive, we become channels for an endless flow of gifts.

This article originally appeared in Dan’s free Quiet Mind newsletter. To read articles or subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.