Generosity
We turn now to the final piece of the Ascension Matrix: Generosity, which lends buoyancy to the Matrix. Generosity works by fostering a giving spirit and enabling us to lighten up. As we become less dense, we find it easier to move to a new level of consciousness. Generosity promotes our ability to move upward and outward simultaneously. This is vital to our Ascension experience, which by its nature involves moving both above and beyond our current level of consciousness. As we give, we let go—we release and become more buoyant. No longer retaining or holding on, we gracefully ascend and transcend, and our relationship with the world is transformed.
Generosity is the spirit of giving. Expansive in nature, Generosity moves through the heart. It involves being ready and willing to give, to extend, to reach out. There is no stinginess, no hoarding, no withholding—no anorexia of the spirit. Generosity is about opening up and letting the life force move from the deepest regions of the Innermost Self, through your heart, and out into life. It can feel like a breaking open or a breaking free. As the pulse of life moves through the heart, the heart is transfigured. Hard-heartedness dissolves, frost thaws, and tight pathways open. Wherever we are on the continuum of Generosity, whether our hearts are shut down or wide open and free—the act of giving transforms us—we can progress to our next step.
Giving is natural; it is the basis of our constitution. We see this even in our breathing patterns. As we exhale, we are giving. Every exhale is followed by an inhale, corresponding to receiving. What initiates this rhythm is giving; it always precedes receiving. As we give, we make more room within to receive. We cannot receive if we are full to the brim.
As we initiate the rhythmic pattern of giving and receiving, we enter into a transformational relationship with the flow of life. Notice how giving affects your sense of gravity, your boundedness to the Earth. It lightens you. You feel freer, less burdened. It’s as if you’ve been hovering, barely airborne, in a hot air balloon. With each act of giving, you release one of the many sandbags that keep you from soaring. Actual giving provides the uplift.
Originally, the idea of Generosity was tied to nobility—high social rank or status in society—and in its application here, this makes a great deal of sense. To be generous, we must experience ourselves to be of noble lineage: in this case spiritual lineage, our sacred roots. We must know ourselves to be people with something to offer, people who have more than enough of something of value. The offered item can be any number of things: money, kindness, or a good sense of humor. As we recognize that we have something to share and are willing to give, we enter into a dimension of consciousness very similar to those who consider themselves nobility, with a sense of true and positive entitlement.
Equality is one of the values of our age: we like to think that we are all equal and have access to the same resources. In so many ways, though, this is not true. We do not all have the same athletic talent, financial resources, mathematical ability, or social acumen. What is exactly the same for each and every one of us, however, is that we have the same oneness with Life; we all have the same spiritual connection, the same essential relationship with the Divine. We do not all have the same awareness of it, but we are all direct descendants of the Divine, part of a flow of life that is infinite and eternal. This is our shared noble ancestry, our spiritual lineage. The greater our awareness of this, the easier it is to give, and give freely.
As we comprehend ourselves as people who have something to offer, we need to review judgment, to be clear about what enables us to contribute. There are two aspects of judgment—that of self and that of others. If we have negative perceptions and doubt the motives of those who are very generous with their resources, we are setting ourselves up for paralysis. We will not be able to be generous if we have negative judgments about other givers—why would we let ourselves be included in a group that has not merited our approval? Perhaps we think people who give are foolish, or that they’re pushovers. The possibilities for condemnation are many. Our opportunity is to exercise the absolute “Judge Not.”
It is helpful to consider instead that it is good to give, that sharing is a positive act, that others benefit from giving—that we may even be transformed by their giving. As we cultivate an understanding of these beneficial effects, we will find Generosity appealing, enticing us to take action.
Inner and Outer Aspects of Generosity
As we observe continually in the Akashic Records, just as with everything else present on this Earth, Generosity has both inner and outer aspects. Physical, material life is an expression of internal, invisible consciousness. As we explore our inner terrain, our Earthly life adjusts to reflect our evolving awareness. This is occurring both at the level of the individual and the whole of humanity. All progress—exploring outer space, increasing knowledge in science and medicine, developing instantaneous communication, and other advancements—is representative of our expanding conscious awareness. Even our understanding that the Earth is round was a natural result of our expanding inner awareness. During our time, as we are realizing our oneness with everyone on the planet and all life, we see old national identities begin to dissolve and technologies that support global communication emerge. This transition enables us to live our everyday lives from the truth of our oneness with “All That Is.”
When it comes to Generosity, the ideal is that our external, active giving is a direct expression of our internal values. Our entire healing process supports the closing of the gap between our Innermost Self and expression into Life. In the Ascension phase of our progression, we are positioned to transform our expression in the world around us, and one dimension of this is to let Generosity flow from our inner world to the outer.
As I mentioned earlier, giving always requires action in the world. And truly, very few of us are called to a life of silent reflection and prayer, particularly at this time in history. This is a time to act, to work in the world. When this action is a direct expression of our truth and values, the giving itself is satisfying, no matter how the recipient responds. We can call this authentic giving. When we give from our Innermost Self, we are always satisfied.
When there is a disconnect between our Innermost Self and the action we take, giving is rarely satisfying, and we can call this disconnected giving. The experience is frustrating as we are often misunderstood by the recipient. Our original intention and primary focus can be diluted or even lost in the process. The recipient is then presented with an action corrupted by confusing emotional energy, or a material object with an absence of energy, a hollowness. This is what happens when we receive a gift that does not feel right to us, that maybe even seems inappropriate. It’s an indication that the giver and the recipient are disconnected, as we would not be engaged with someone who is not in harmony with our inner state. The situation presents us with an opportunity to wake up and examine where we have a similar challenge. Once we have resolved this, our giving to and receiving from others adjusts to reflect our new level of inner awareness.
All too often, giving is used as a bargaining chip—we give to get something in return. This is always a recipe for disaster; it is not a good idea, and it doesn’t work. Giving conditionally in this way is an insulting form of control. We give because it makes us feel superior to others and because we think we know their destinies better than they do. This type of giving becomes a way to accumulate power over people, which is no use in developing relationships with dignity. We also want to be careful that our actions on others’ behalf are not based on feeling sorry for them. Pity is not supportive; it suggests that we do not believe others have the same life force available to them, that we have more and are superior as a result.
Visible, Invisible, and Blended Gifts
The Records teach us that there are three kinds of authentic gifts: the visible, invisible, and a blend of the two. Energies or characteristics such as love and kindness and qualities like patience, respect, and sensitivity are in the invisible group. Visible gifts are physical or have material outcomes; they can be presents wrapped in a bow, financial support, or an action such as helping with any kind of task: cooking, babysitting, or building a house. Then there’s a third category of gifts that combines both, the gift of time spent with someone simply for its own sake: companionship, support, engagement. There may not be a particular task involved, but there is a blend of the energy of presence and the action of being physically available.
There is a continuum of giving. On one end, we give energy, positive feelings, and qualities such as kindness and respect. At the other end of the spectrum are tangibles, actions, and necessary things. When we are consciously connected to our Innermost Self and allow our most precious inner resources to move out from that place into life, we will find ourselves giving a blend of both; this is optimal giving where we are able to extend the best of who we are to others. We are compassionate, supportive, understanding; we easily find ways to act in accordance with those traits; and we are able to locate needed material things that represent the condition of our consciousness. It becomes second nature to notice the needs of others as opportunities to be supportive and take generous action.
Withholding ceases to be an option. It doesn’t feel good to hold back love, support, kindness, or the material things we have or can do that would be beneficial to another. Through our work in the Records, we learn that it is impossible to give too much. If you feel you are giving too much, this is a signal that you are not giving what the other really needs, that you are not giving from the deepest part of yourself, or that the thing (time, money, stuff, active assistance) you are giving is not the best expression of your true desire to share. Dig deeper, go within, ask what others need, and then give courageously and completely.
On Giving and Receiving
It may seem that we are a bit out of balance, focused on unbridled giving with little attention to receiving, but the wisdom of the Records tells us otherwise. This is where the whole of the Ascension Matrix becomes important. Considering the three components—Gratitude, Grace, and Generosity—we see that there is an active, cyclic relationship. As interaction among them takes place, there is a harmony of giving and receiving, receiving and giving, that will enable transformation in our relationships and with everyday living in the world. Any one of these parts on its own is valuable, but if we concentrate on one and exclude the others, we create imbalance in our lives. Together, Gratitude, Grace, and Generosity produce a condition of transcendence in which we can live as responsible, happy contributors, experiencing the blessings of our human experience.
Giving and receiving are actually two sides of the same coin. As we give, we have more room to receive. As we receive, we have more to give. Awareness of what we have to give is cultivated through the practices of both Gratitude and Generosity, which then amplify what we have to give and receive. The cycle is beautiful to behold.
Continuous giving enables us to maintain this ongoing transformation. If you have been a taker and you shift toward being a giver, you have found the best possible insurance policy for greater well-being. Move from giving a little to giving the best of who you are catapults you into the dimension of radical love and freedom. This will happen moment by moment. As with Grace, generous giving occurs in the now. The question that will fuel your journey from being stuck to experiencing liberation and joy is “What can I give now?”
We want to enter into this dance of giving and receiving whenever we can. Ideally, we do not judge where we are on the continuum; we just jump in wherever we can. If you find that being generous is not helpful at the moment, try being grateful for what you have. Or, ask to become aware of the presence of Grace. Access any opening; they all work together.
Let’s be realistic about this flow of giving and receiving, especially about reciprocity. It is unusual to receive from those to whom we give. Our relationship with children illustrates this point well. It is unreasonable for an adult to expect an even return on what he or she gives to a child; the flow in this situation is naturally from adult to child. At some point, the child will certainly be capable of giving talents, time, and gifts to others. This is all part of the cycle, which is constantly moving. We simply need to be in the flow, giving and receiving, knowing that each role is vital. Everyone has something to give, and everyone has the capacity to receive; from the standpoint of the Akashic Records, the specifics of who receives what from whom are unimportant. It is by engaging in the actions of giving and receiving that we discover the value of our participation in life, who we are, what we have to offer, and how to appreciate the blessings of our existence.
Ultimately, we give because we are compelled to do so. An obvious quality of spiritually mature people is that they are generous. They share what they have and are helpful most of the time. They trust that they will get what they need, and they look out for the well-being of those they love. Their giving dignifies others. Look for these qualities of Light in yourself and others: goodness, kindness, compassion, patience, understanding, joy, and generosity. When you have a sense of the Light within you, you simply cannot resist your urge to give. Focus your attention and your intention on the Matrix, and you will inevitably become the amazing person you have always hoped to be.
I will conclude our discussion of Generosity with a final point. The “nowness” of Grace supports our ability to identify appropriate giving. Grace enables us to discern our patterns of giving, illuminating the nurturing consequences of true giving and the exhaustion that results from giving what we do not really have to someone who does not really want it. Grace guides us in knowing what is honorable and true in the moment.
Akashic Reflections
Open Your Records
• Ask of your Masters, Teachers, and Loved Ones, “What are the possibilities for my personal transformation through giving?”
Close Your Records
Open Your Records
• Ask your Masters, Teachers, and Loved Ones to show you how you can open yourself to receive more easily.
• Watch what happens as you receive more. How does this impact your relationships with others? How does this affect your participation in the world?
• What happens to your sense of personal well-being as you receive more? Ask your Masters, Teachers, and Loved Ones to illustrate for you how receiving activates your willingness and ability to give.
• Ask them to support you in recognizing what becomes possible when you receive what others have to offer: what is both possible for you and possible for your relationships.
Close Your Records
Open Your Records
• Join your Masters, Teachers, and Loved Ones and inquire about how generous acts truly make you lighter. Some provide a powerful surge in buoyancy, while others offer less. Ask your Masters, Teachers, and Loved Ones to help identify what will give you the most powerful lift. Find out what has a lesser impact. Notice what you are ready, willing, and able to give in your life today, and then give it.
Close Your Records
Open Your Records
• Ask your Masters, Teachers, and Loved Ones to help you become more comfortable with that sense of freedom—that uplifting, soaring feeling—that results from your generosity.
• Ask them to support you in recognizing others who share your level of Generosity.
Close Your Records
Homework
Look within now, in this moment, and see what you can give, both in qualities and actions. Then, go ahead—give! After you have given, you will find yourself in a new moment. Look and see what you can give now. Give. Come back to this homework again and again. Find what you have to offer and give it. Feel your life becoming lighter, less burdensome. Enjoy!