The Spiritual Power of Acceptance

Image by majaFOTO

The spiritual power of acceptance, like most spiritual laws, is directly opposite from human nature.  Humans, especially we American humans, believe that we must immediately fight against whatever undesirable circumstance we find ourselves in. But this is not the way out of misfortune. Rather, spiritual law says that you must first accept—totally accept—your circumstances before they will change.

I know what you’re thinking and…NO…this does not mean that you are helpless victims of circumstances. It does NOT mean that you passively accept your fate and never strive toward your loftier goals. It simply means that you accept, without judgment or sadness, what God has given you at this moment.  Then, and only then, will you truly be able to change your circumstances.

Huh?

How Does the Spiritual Power of Acceptance Work?

But why must you first accept your present circumstances? The answer is amazingly simple. You see, whatever you fight against grows stronger because you are focusing your attention on what you perceive as a negative. As a result, the negative situation grows bigger. It does not shrink.

For proof of this, you need only look at human history:

-          Did Nancy Reagan’s “war on drugs” end illegal drug usage?

-          Has the “war on terrorism” made the slightest dent in terrorist activities?

-          Has the war on poverty ended, or even relieved, poverty?

In fact, wouldn’t you say that the above situations have gotten progressively worse?

Now look at your own experiences:

-          If you struggle with obesity, has your life-long war on fat (and consequent non-acceptance of your body) caused you to permanently shed those excess pounds? In fact, haven’t you lost a little, and then gained a lot countless times throughout your life? In fact, hasn’t the numbers on the scale gone up and up and up as the years go by? In FACT, has your war on fat really helped you to permanently lose weight?

-          If you struggle with finances, has your war on your personal poverty level really increased your finances? Or has your scrimping and saving, your coupon clipping, and your penny pinching only seem to have increased your financial hardship?

What is the Answer, then?

The answer, as I said earlier, is to accept your present circumstances. This does not mean that you are destined to remain in those circumstances. On the contrary; the spiritual law of acceptance guarantees that once you fully accept your present circumstances—with love and without judgment—you can then change those circumstances.

Why?

Because when you accept your circumstance, you are no longer struggling against it. Your present circumstance is no longer your enemy. Consequently, you are no longer giving it any power over you.

You are then free to change your present circumstance by focusing on what you do want to achieve, not on what you don’t want to experience. i.e I see myself weighing 120 pounds and wearing a size 4 dress NOT I want to lose 100 pounds.

Or…

Money flows to me in a constant stream of abundance NOT I will be debt-free by the end of this year.

Do you see the difference? Always focus on what you want not on what you don’t want! But first…accept what you have.

Give and you WILL Receive—Guaranteed

Giving is a powerful spiritual law that guarantees that you will receive an abundant return. It guarantees that your gift will be multiplied and returned to you. It guarantees that your cup runneth over, continuously, as long as you continue to give.

Image by sanja gjenero

Giving and receiving, you see, are inextricably linked. One always follows the other. And the amount you receive will always be more than that which you gave. It has to. It is spiritual law.

My all time favorite Bible verse about giving and receiving comes from Malachi 3:10:

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.—King James Version

It’s true. Giving generates receiving every time. I’ve seen it work in my life and I’ve seen in work in other people’s lives. Truly, you cannot out-give God. But to maximize the results from giving and receiving, there are a few general principles that you should follow.

Guidelines for Giving and Receiving

1. Money is not the only instrument of return. Indeed, giving of your time, giving of your talent, giving of your love are all powerful forms of giving. And your gift doesn’t have to be anything that anyone can see. For instance, if you extend so much as the thought of kindness and compassion toward another, you have given that person a powerful gift that will be multiplied and returned to you.

2. Give in the form of your need. Although any form of giving will generate a return, it is most powerful if you give in the form of your need. So…if you need money, give money. If you need friendship, give friendship. If you need the perfect job, help a friend get their perfect job.

3. Don’t expect anything in return. Why? Because giving while expecting a payback is not true giving. It is a humanistic selfishness. Give generously, your only motive being your desire to help another fellow earth traveler, and watch how the Universe generously meets every one of your needs.

4. Don’t expect to receive back from the person you gave to. It will seldom happen this way. Your return will likely come from a totally unexpected source.

5. Give anonymously. As much as possible, keep your generosity and your good deeds secret. The reason for this rule is that when you bask in others’ praise of your good deeds, your ego steps in. Your motive for giving then becomes the good opinion of others. Jesus said (and I’m reciting this from memory, so this may not be the exact quote) to “give in secret so that your father, who sees in secret, shall reward you openly.”

6. Give joyously. Much more important than the size of your gift is your attitude while giving it. Although any type of giving will generate a return, those that are bestowed joyously, with great excitement and happiness, will bring the biggest return—and it will happen much more quickly, too. Giving joyousely probably should have been listed first, because it is the most important part of the spiritual law of giving and receiving.

Random Acts of Kindness

So how do you put this new giving and receiving practice into action? It’s easier than you think. All you have to do is perform random acts of kindness as your spirit moves you. Here are some simple ways to give gifts that keep on giving—from the Universe.

1. When you pull up to a toll booth, pay the toll of the car behind you (a stranger) along with your own.

2. When you eat at a restaurant, pay another patron’s bill. Remember, do this anonymously. Get the waitress to give you their bill so that you can pay it. Don’t stay around for thanks from the strangers whose dinner you just bought.

3. On a snowy day, wait for your neighbor to leave for work, and then plow or shovel their driveway. Do not tell them what you did for them.

4. After you eat dinner at a restaurant, give the waitress an extra large tip.

5. For one whole day, find something to appreciate about every person you meet, and then give each person one—or more—honest, heartfelt compliments.

Boy, this is fun. I could go on and on thinking up various random acts of kindness. But now it’s your turn. What random acts of kindness can you add to this list?

The Secret of Attracting Money

Do you want to know what the secret of attracting money really is? Okay, here goes--

GIVE IT AWAY.

That’s right. Give it away. According to Jesus, Buddha, Joe Vitale, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra and many others, giving your money away is the only way to attract money back to yourself.

Although this secret of attracting money is foreign to most of us who have been raised to believe that the only way to make money is to work hard, conserve your cash outflow, deposit a certain percentage of your income to a savings account, diversify your investment portfolio, etc., etc., etc., giving your money away is the real secret of attracting wealth.

AND it’s far easier than working hard, using coupons for every purchase you make, and watching the stock market. But there are a few rules for giving your money away in order to make money.

How to Give Money to Receive Money

The secret to giving money so that you will attract money is quite simple. Follow these tips and watch the money start rolling in!

1. Give ten percent. Give at least 10 percent of your income to those people, places, and organizations that give you spiritual or inspirational nourishment. This concept, of course, is the familiar Biblical injunction of tithing. But you don’t have to put all--or even any--of this money into the offering plate at church each week.

In his eBook, Attract Money Now, Joe Vitale explains that your source of inspiration “can come from anywhere. Perhaps it’s a waitress working two jobs to go back to school or maybe it’s a performer with awe- inspiriting talent. It could be the cab driver offering an uplifting story, or the woman at church who always thinks of others. It can be anybody.”

2. Give generously. Any amount of money that you give away will come back to you multiplied many times over--guaranteed. But if you give just a little amount when you could have given much more, your return will be much less as well. So give generously.

3. Do not expect anything back. When you give your money to those people, places, and organizations that inspire you, do not expect anything in return--especially from the recipient(s) of your gift. Your only motive in giving should be the pure joy of helping others.

4. Give Joyously. Just giving money--by rote--is not enough to attract money back to you. Rather, your attitude is all important here. Put emotion into your giving. Allow yourself to feel the pinpricks of excitement as you imagine your gift helping that person or organization. Get excited by your ability to help a fellow spirit that is, like you, having a human experience.

The Bible Says it Best

The Holy Bible says it best (as usual). Here are two of my favorite bible verses that refer to the spiritual law whereby you may attract money by giving money.

Luke 6:38 (King James Version) - Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Malachi 3:10 (King James Version) - Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Good luck and let me know about your experiences with this secret of attracting money.

Image by sanja gjenero