“The gifts of caring, attention, affection, appreciation, and love are some of the most precious gifts you can give, and they don’t cost you anything. “
Every relationship is one of give and take. Giving engenders receiving, and receiving engenders giving. What goes up must come down; what goes out must come back. In reality, receiving is the same thing as giving, because giving and receiving are different aspects of the flow of energy. And if you stop the flow of either, you interfere with nature’s intelligence.
In every seed is the promise of thousands of forests. But the seed must give its intelligence to the fertile ground. Through its giving, its unseen energy flows into material manifestation.
The more you give, the more you will receive, because you will keep the abundance of the universe circulating in your life. In fact, anything that is of value in life only multiplies when it is given. That which doesn’t multiply through giving is neither worth giving nor worth receiving. If, through giving, you feel you have lost something, the gift is not truly given and will not cause increase. If you give grudgingly, there is not energy behind that giving.
The intention behind your giving and receiving is the most important thing. The intention should always be to create happiness for the giver and receiver, because happiness is life-supporting and life-sustaining and therefore generates increase. The return is directly proportional to the giving when it is unconditional and from the heart. That is why the act of giving has to be joyful—the frame of mind has to be one in which you feel joy in the very act of giving. Then the energy behind the giving increases many times over.
Practicing the Law of Giving is very simple: if you want joy, give joy to others; if you want love, learn to give love; or you want attention and appreciation, learn to give attention and appreciation; if you want affluence, help others to become affluent. In fact, the easiest way to get what you want is to help others get what they want. If you want to be blessed with all the good things in life, learn to silently bless everyone with all the good things in life.
Even the thought of giving or blessing or praying has the power to affect others. This is because our body is a localized bundle of energy and information in a universe of energy and information. We are localized bundles of consciousness in a conscious universe. Consciousness implies more than just energy and information—it implies energy and information which is alive as thought. Therefore, we are bundles of thought in a thinking universe. And thought has the power to transform.
Life is the eternal dance of consciousness that expresses itself as the dynamic exchange of impulses of intelligence between microcosm and macrocosm, between the human body and the universal body, and between the human mind and the cosmic mind. When you learn to give that which you seek, you activate and choreograph the dance with an exquisite, energetic, and vital movement that constitutes the general throb of life.
The best way to put the Law of Giving into operation—to start the whole process of circulation—is to make a decision that any time you come into contact with anyone, you will give them something. It doesn’t have to be in the form of material things; it could be a flower, a compliment, or a prayer. In fact, the most powerful forms of giving are nonmaterial. The gifts of caring, attention, affection, appreciation, and love are some of the most precious gifts you can give, and they don’t cost you anything. When you meet someone, you can silently send them a blessing, wishing them happiness, joy, and laughter. This kind of silent giving is very powerful.
One of the things I was taught as a child, and which I taught my children also, is never to go to anyone’s house without bringing something—never visit anyone without bringing them a gift. You may say, “How can I give to others when at the moment I don’t have enough myself?” You can bring a flower. One flower. You can bring a note or a card which says something about your feelings for the person you’re visiting. You can bring a compliment. You can bring a prayer.
Make a decision to give wherever you go, to whomever you see. As long as you’re giving, you will be receiving. The more you give, the more confidence you will gain in the miraculous effects of this law. And as you receive more, your ability to give more will increase.
Our true nature is one of affluence and abundance; we are naturally affluent because nature supports every need and desire. We lack nothing, because our essential nature is one of pure potentiality and infinite possibilities. Therefore, you must know that you are already inherently affluent, no matter how much or how little money you have, because the source of all wealth is the field of pure potentiality—it is the consciousness that knows how to fulfill every need, including joy, love, laughter, peace, harmony, and knowledge. If you seek these things first—not only for yourself, but for others—all else will come to you spontaneously.
Applying the Law of Giving
Put the law of giving into effect by following three steps:
1. Wherever you go, and whomever you encounter, bring them a gift. The gift can be a compliment, a flower, or a prayer. Today, give something to everyone you come into contact with, and thus begin the process of circulating joy, wealth, and affluence in your life.
2. Gratefully receive all the gifts that life has to offer you. Receive the gifts of nature: sunlight and the sound of birds singing, or spring showers or the first snow of winter. Be open to receiving from others, weather it be in the form of a material gift, money, a compliment, or a prayer.
3. Make a commitment to keep wealth circulating in your life by giving and receiving life’s most precious gifts: the gifts of caring, affection, appreciation, and love. Each time you meet someone, silently wish them happiness, joy, and laughter.
~ Deepak Chopra (SuccessMagazine, February 1, 2008)
