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The End of Death, Volume 2; blog reference
The End of Death, Volume 2; copyright 2020
Link to audio version of blog article

Those of us on the spiritual path are often well aware of the virtues of giving. In fact the art of giving has become largely spiritualized and is commonly seen as a sign of “selflessness.”  Yet the need to be seen as a person who gives is one of the heaviest and most loaded idols in the ego’s bag of tricks. This need seems difficult to identify and flush out because it is mistakenly deemed as a highly sought after spiritual attribute.

Did you know that we cannot truly “give” unless we have first received? And it is this massive oversight which the false-self fiercely protects and defends. Let me explain.

One thing the ego can never do is to receive. And because it cannot receive it can never give. In order to give truly we must first have received that which we desire to give. We cannot give something we do not already have.

The ego endlessly attempts to take and to give what it does not have.  This false-self is a master of “getting” and “taking.” It’s also adept at wanting and needing. But it has no ability to either receive or to give genuinely.

When we relate from the mistaken self we believe and act from a sense of deprivation. It’s this belief that we are fundamentally deprived that tells the body’s senses what to expect and see in our self, in others, in the body and in the world.

Because this illusory identity is of itself a state of lack, it sends its senses outward to report back to us that we are in a constant state of need which is only relieved sporadically and temporarily. And these needs must be met by our own independent efforts, apart from Spirit, to solve the countless problems that only it projects.

From that believed state of scarcity, we will perceive, relate and respond to our body, our relationships, our finances and our world. And from this state there seems to be a rampant urge to gratify this ceaseless sense of inadequacy.

The ego cannot be the Holy Child of God therefore it cannot be confused with “What” you are.  The false-self is the habitual need to get, to take, to trade and to possess.  Thankfully, this is not “What” you are.

There is a universe of difference between receiving and getting. These two are mutually exclusive. Again, the presence of the need to “get” negates immediately our willingness to receive. Whatever we attempt to get (take, trade or possess) independently from Spirit, we cannot receive. And it’s this destructive dynamic that runs in all our special relationships. This dynamic is a large contributor to the toxicity of unhealed relationships.

We long deeply for changeless Love, innocence, abundance and security.  Yet these qualities are not things we can get, take, trade, or possess. These qualities cannot be gained externally from others, the body or the world. And the reason is because the one seeking them is the state of lack itself. The false-self is always on the hunt to complete itself yet this state of deprivation cannot ever be satiated because it’s an imposter. It is a self-concept apart from Love, from God. And it’s fervent but secret mantra is “seek but never find.”

Changeless Love, innocence, abundance and security are the natural and constant state of our True Identity. There is no lack in our Holy Self. Our shared Holy Self is in 100% communication with God as Love itself. There is no lack possible in this Self. Lack occurs only when we identify with the ego thought system.

When we perceive fear, guilt, lack, conflict, pain or illness two things happen: 1) we forget our union with God, and 2) in that forgetting we choose to see with the ego, from fear and lack itself. Once we see through the eyes of lack and we believe it, then we will attempt to problem solve from the very sense of deprivation that originally caused the sense of lack. This is why the ego endlessly seeks and yet never finds.

The Holy Instant of Abundance

This is probably a burning question: “Why can’t we give unless we have first received?”  We must first mindfully receive or remember the Truth of our Identity in God before we can give anything sincerely. All real giving and receiving can only come from this Identity. Everything else is a sham.

All genuine giving must come from having first recognized and received the nature of Love that we are. Yet the ego cannot receive. And if it can’t receive then it is impossible for it to give. And this is why the ego has never once given or received in Truth. Only what we share with God can be given and received. All else arises from fear and is a dream. Now we can more clearly see that persistent sense of lack that rears its ugly head all too often originates from the ego and not from our most beloved and complete Holy Self.

How do we receive? We receive by showing-up for our Self in any Holy Instant of deep willingness to yield entirely to Love, to the Holy Spirit within. We set the intention to receive, to accept what God has already given. Remember there is no lack in God and therefore, none in us. God’s perfect Will and His endless Supply are here now. All that is missing is our recognition and acceptance of it. Are we willing to look past the “appearance” of lack and open our heart to receive His Loving Will for us?

The Atonement is the most powerful catalyst for instant healing. We don’t need to prepare for it or to plan for it. It’s available in every instant that we decide to receive it. And the only prerequisite is that we truly desire to accept it. Jesus tells us that He stands with us in this precious Instant:

“You can claim the holy instant any time and anywhere you want it.” … “I stand within the holy instant, as clear as you would have me. And the extent to which you learn to accept me is the measure of the time in which the holy instant will be yours.” T-15.IV.4:4, 5:1-2             

“The holy instant is a time in which you receive and give perfect communication. This means, however, that it is a time in which your mind is open, both to receive and give. It is the recognition that all minds are in communication. It therefore seeks to change nothing, but merely to accept everything.” T-15.IV.6:5-8

The Holy Instant is restorative because in receiving it we are returned to our Holy Self. And it is from here that all True giving and receiving takes place.

Note: Click here for The Seven Essential Principles of Quantum Forgiveness

Giving from the Ego

We have erroneously learned to give from the false-self. Yet this is giving from a state of fundamental lack. The ego knows only how to give in order to “get” which is really taking or stealing in disguise.

For example many of us have been tempted to buy and give gifts at Christmas and birthdays even though to do so may cause extreme financial stress. The goal then is out of alignment with the means. When this occurs we must ask “who” is the one desiring to give gifts and why? What is the underlying intent beneath the gift-giving?

If it’s from the Holy Self then the means (or finances) will always be available. But all too often the intent beneath gift-giving comes from the false-self. Is it to gain approval, attention? Do we give from a sense of obligation? Do we cringe when we have to receive a gift because we mistakenly feel obligated to return the favor? Does our identity depend on being seen as generous?

To bring the underlying intent more into focus let’s ask a revealing question: “In celebrating a special occasion with Loved ones (like Christmas) what fears arise if you were not able to give any gifts at all?”

These concerns will continue to propel the ego while they remain un-relinquished and un-forgiven. Holy Spirit cannot heal that which we hide from Him and refuse to give to Him.

“The necessary condition for the holy instant does not require that you have no thoughts that are not pure. But it does require that you have none that you would keep. Innocence is not of your making. It is given you the instant you would have it. Atonement would not be if there were no need for it. You will not be able to accept perfect communication as long as you would hide it from yourself. For what you would hide [is] hidden from you.”  T-15.IV.9:1-7

Recently, I was able to join with a close friend who was experiencing an acute wave of sadness and frustration over financial lack. She was having a hard time just meeting her everyday needs let alone being able to play her accustomed role of abundant “gift-giver” at Christmas. Hence she resorted to over-using her credit card to provide for the seeming intensifying shortfall.

In a Holy Instant of joining with her, I received a direct message to extend to her (and myself) from Spirit:

“Do not borrow from the imagined future in order to quell the emptiness of an imagined past. God’s endless abundance resides here and now in You. This boundless gift is not truly given unless it is first received.”

So she was asked to be still and enter the Holy Instant to remember and receive the glory of her divine inheritance, her Identity as the most Holy Child of God. We both then saw that the ego is forever stealing from the imagined future in its desperate attempts to alleviate its sense of lack and loss from the past. Thus it continues to project its groundless fears into the future while avoiding the present moment where all healing rests.

It does this with money and in its special relationships too. That bottomless pit of deprivation seeks to keep us trapped in the past and the future. And these are the only two ghosts of time where we cannot access the Love and innocence that we are.

In reflection, when we give to someone from the false-self we end up giving to and colluding with the false-self. And nothing at all happens except an illusory trade of specialness that only serves to increase guilt along with broadening the gap between us.

The ego is terrified to receive or give. It sees these as its annihilation and appropriately so! In genuine receiving or giving – “it” ceases to exist.

Ultimately, as we learn to receive the Truth of our Identity instead of the ego’s persistent sense of threat and lack, our ability to give and to receive increase considerably. There is a palpable sense of joy and gratitude in giving because we know then that giving and receiving are really one and the same. The ego’s division between them disappears. We no longer give from a sense of lack or need, but from the certainty of wholeness which increases as we give it away.

In genuine receiving we receive first and then we give from our Holy Self as Love. When we give we always give to the Holy Self in others because this is the only aspect of anyone that can receive. And it’s the only aspect of Self that can give. In the shimmering light of our Holy Self the ego ceases to exist in every Holy Instant where we show-up to receive.

The End of Death; A Manual for Holy Relationship

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