The Gift of Receiving and Believing

Reflecting on 2009, I can’t help but to  focus my thoughts on a few natural disasters that have either reaffirmed my belief in God or questioned its existence.  Some of these events were nothing short of a miracle, like the landing on the Hudson River, while others such as the Tsunamis in Indonesia, earthquakes in Asia, and flooding in the Philippines called into question God’s judgment on how it chooses to interact with humanity.  And the recent tragedy in Haiti has supported these two sides of my feelings. 

The rescue and recovery of so many people have demonstrated an intervention from a higher source; however, the numerous death and massive destruction have challenged my belief.  According to Rene Descartes, the French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher, I can either choose to believe in order to understand, or choose to first understand then believe.  My orientation is to believe in order to understand and that has shaped my fundamental principle that regardless of what tragedies humanity face, there is a being greater than us, a source with infinite wisdom and power.  And I have defined this source based on my limited understanding and knowledge, which came from my teachings, traditions and religious orientation.  My resolution is that there is a God, in spite of chaos and catastrophes, and we cannot define it based on what we think we know, or understand about it. 

You too may have been touched by these events, the tragedy in Haiti, or been affected by your own personal tragedy.  The downfall of our economy for the past few years, have caused many people to lose their jobs, fail in their businesses, foreclose on their houses, or file bankruptcy.  For many people, these losses have been devastating, not only to their finances, but to their emotional and physical health as well.   

The victims of these tragedies are now forced to do more with less, or nothing at all. Perhaps, you are one of these people who have been affected, and if so, you may be questioning God’s existence and involvement in your life.  As you ponder your next move, I encourage you to focus on possibilities not problems.

While this is your current reality, other folks are experiencing a different one.  A reality where many of them are getting richer, wealthier and living happier lives. So why them and not you?  Well, this is the million dollar question that you need to answer for yourself?  And please don’t let your answer be “it’s bad luck”.  My question is, are you going to be a victim or victorious?  It means that you may need to be more creative, or more resourceful. But you also need to be ready to receive.  I want you to think about God as a source of endless possibilities.  I see the tragedy in Haiti as an opportunity for concern citizens from around the world to come together to address the social, political and economic problems it has experienced for many years.  I see the crash of our economy as an opportunity to restructure and rethink our lives.

So what do I mean by Ready to Receive? Living outside of the scarcity model, which says there isn’t enough to go around. Whether this is your truth or not, you don’t have to continue living this way.  Ready to receive is about proactivity.  You aren’t waiting for something to happen, you make it happen.  You aren’t wishing for a change in your circumstances, you change it.  You aren’t hoping to be saved by a heavenly force; you save yourself.  Basically, the premise is that you position yourself to receive the things you want to see manifest in your life.  That means, you must not dwell on your current situation, you must not operate from the model of scarcity, rather you must operate from the model of abundance, which says that everything you need is available, all you have to do is access it.  No, this isn’t positive thinking; it’s beyond that, it’s about taking action.  It’s about making the choice to change your situation by changing your thinking and your behavior.  Jim Rohn said “asking is the beginning of receiving. Make sure you don’t go to the ocean with a teaspoon. At least take a bucket so the kids won’t laugh at you“.

As you do your own reflection, I encourage you to focus on your positive experiences; however small they may be, and only reflect on your negative experiences from a stand point of lessons learned.  Also, you must:

• Change one thing about your life or business.  For example learn a new skill, change your daily routine, get more organized, or stop a bad behavior.
• Don’t let you or emotions control you. You may be a highly sensitive people and sometimes that works against you.  Control your emotions by simply choosing not to respond to a situation immediately.  Rather, take some time to process your feelings and rationalize your thinking.  The best way to control your emotions is to allow time to pass.  Don’t be reactive, be responsive.
• Create a plan for what you want.  If you want to be married in 2010, figure out what you would like in a spouse and become that very person.  We attract who we are, so if your desire is to have a kind-hearted, loving, sexy, financially stable spouse, guess what, it starts with you shedding those extra pounds, tightening up your budget and being more giving in your current relationships.
• Take responsibility for your actions and yourself.  Don’t play the victim role, and don’t place the blame on others.  Know that whatever you are experiencing you may be a contributor, whether by choice or default.  Once you have taken responsibility you can begin to change your situation.
• Challenge yourself.  Most of us become too comfortable doing the same thing every day.  Challenge yourself to do more, learn something different; find a different way to do some thing, or create something new.
• Laugh and play more.  Remember when you were a child and the only thing you thought of was playing? Why not think about how you can incorporate play into your daily life today.  Remember when your laughter was from your gut, so much so that it used to hurt or cried when you laughed?  Laughter is a powerful force; it has been used in hospitals to help sick people heal.  Think about how happier a person you will be if you laughed more.
• Get your life back on track.  You may have made some poor decisions in 2009 that have caused you to be in a bad situation today.  Forgive yourself, and figure out a plan of action.  Don’t focus on your past mistakes, focus on solutions.
• Ask God what it wants from you.  Before you ask this question, remove any teachings that have formed your ideology about God and your life. You must be in an unbiased state to receive your answer.  Sometimes our teachings cloud the messages that come through form Spirit and create conflict in our thinking.
• Be honest, be authentic.  Most of us are telling false stories, whether to ourselves, or to others, and we find a way to justify our lies.  Be honest about your situation, feelings, beliefs and values.  Yes, you can be honest without hurting others; you can say how you feel about something without being hurtful.  Live your life as authentic as you can. You don’t want any regrets on your death bed.

Be Ready to Receive is offered as 3 tele-classes consisting of the Financial Fitness class, Emotional Wellness, and the Building a Better Business class.  For more information contact Deborah at info@indigocoachingsystems.com