The Principle of Receiving
Spring is coming to England and the air is losing its chill. So today I took a walk along the River Great Ouse, which is a beautiful and very ancient river that runs through this part of England. Every time I go down to that river, I find myself connecting with nature, with time and space, with the universe, and with my hometown. Basically, it is a very grounding thing for me to do, because I can get a real sense of the timelessness of the river, and how all the life along its waters and riverbanks co-exist together. Perhaps you have had a similar experience in your own hometown, or some other place that is special to you.
In my book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self, I talk about ”Four Principles” of “Give, Receive, Become and Be”. For me, the River is a great teacher and I find myself able to connect with these four principles easily whenever I go there. But today, the most prominent principle I felt there was the “Principle of Receiving”, which is the principle that includes all that comes from the world and flows into you. ‘Receiving’ as a principle includes acute awareness via the senses and the ability to relish the smallest of the small and the greatest of the great. ‘Receiving’ is the fertile ground upon which creativity can take root; through ‘receiving’, the entire universe can sit upon our consciousness like a canvas.
I walked along the river and simply allowed my senses to open up. I opened my eyes and ears and simply watched and listened. I saw the most wonderful patterns atop the water’s surface, as the currents flowed and hit the sides of the riverbank. I saw dozens of swans, geese, ducks and seagulls along the river (as always) and noticed intricate waves of interference weave together as they swam atop the shimmering water. I noticed how the waves that were created by the flow of their bodies seemed to “clash” at first, but then they formed new waves, each with its own unique pattern, which glimmered brightly in the late afternoon sun. I heard the sounds of the water, the water fowl, the air, and the people along the embankment. I allowed all of it to enter my senses equally, without imposing a preference for one over the other.
And from allowing my senses to open up and simply watch and listen, the wisdom of the moment entered my awareness. I noticed the complexity of the sparkling patterns upon the water, and I could see how things that appear to be “conflicts” in our lives are really simply these waves of interference that weave in and out of each other, continuously coming and going. Each is equally beautiful. It is only our perception that interprets them as “good” or “bad”. Really all waves have a place on the river, and it is when we allow all these waves to flow in and out without judgement, that we become able to live in harmony with the world.
To master the “Principle of Receiving” we need only to open our senses fully, and allow whatever is there to be, and to let it enter us and wash over us. Only then can we see the beautifully intricate patterns within the waves upon the surface of our own lives. When we are receptive to all that life is giving us, rather than inclined to filter it according to our judgements, we are finally able to master the art of receiving. Only then are we able to feel truly grateful and awestruck by how much the world is giving us at any given moment, and to “feel so full that you have no choice but to give yourself away” (from The Garden of the Soul).You can also read all about the Four Principles of “Give, Receive, Become and Be” in my book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. It’s coming to Amazon Tues 7 April. You can receive 25 beautiful mind-body-spirit gifts when you buy the book during its launch. Find out all about the book and these gifts at http://tinyurl.com/lynn-bonus.
