THE TAO OF GIVING AND RECEIVING ENERGY

We are one. Separation is a myth. The mind struggles to be through separation. ‘Being’ is without struggle and has no separation anywhere. The “Isness” is always full (and empty).

When we give energy in the form of a gift to a so-called ‘other’, we are giving, really, to ourselves. The illusion is there for divine play. We may have both forgotten who we really are but “The Energy” knows continually. Giving to ourselves is an issue sometimes because we often mistreat ourselves.

The giving is not the problem. It is what happens before and after the giving, both from the perspective of the giver and receiver, that is of concern. ”Pure” giving would not inhibit or prejudice either party. The introduction of some ‘change’ agent fractures unadulterated giving with unnecessary wedges.

From the point of the giver, there can be a purity of just the transaction of love and connection, with the gift as a medium for all that. This would take place in the Now and not transcend past the Moment. It would be sufficient to itself, as far as the giver is concerned.

From the point of view of the receiver, there would be a purity of full allowance to accept the gift without being burdened by any debt from the past or any claim to future repayment in any way. There is also a sufficiency of just ‘that’ to properly accept this gifted energy.

Neither party, that is the giver nor the receiver, have a better ground when dealing with the ‘purity’ of the transaction. There is no superiority. There is no indebtedness before or after the transaction by either party. It just “Is” in that Moment, period. To play it before or past this Moment, is to ‘play it’ and compromise the Moment.

The transaction of gifting is an opportunity to connect and “Be” with the “other” person. Either individual can initiate the giving. Life has given and will continue to give us all opportunities to gift and to receive. Neither is necessarily better. Gifting and receiving are the Yin and Yang of the Beingness of One. To have a preference is to separate heaven from earth in an artificial way. We give and receive as appropriate.

To give with an expectation of reciprocity is to prejudice and pollute the transaction with self-interest. This is where the separation occurs. To receive the gift by adding the factor of indebtedness, is also where the separation occurs. There is an uncodable duty, to preserve the dharma of the unity in the diversity and connectedness, by attending to responsible actions.
Both parties are incumbent to act dharmicly regardless of the so-called ‘other’s’ possible intransigence. It is one hand serving the other hand, even if it is misinterpreted.

When a resound of stunned silence happens as a result of the gifting, there is no need for anyone to say anything. The ‘silence’ says it all. To inject something artificially is to be artificial. Let the silence speak. It is the most compelling conversation. So much is transacted that words cannot match. Silence is natural.

Pearlene taught the importance of allowing others to give what they have to offer. It may appear that some individuals maybe shouldn’t be giving us anything, due to their own legitimate needs. However, the greater good is in allowing that transaction to happen so that the ‘other’ can connect with ‘us’. This of course does not mean exploitation of the poor and less able. It means an equal opportunity to Be, and for both roles to be available to feel the ‘completeness’.

Pearlene was a mostly blind, near deaf, single mother of two children, living in single story projects, in the middle of an ongoing neighborhood crimewave. When she answered the rapping on the door, she did so loudly and with a fighting nastiness. It was like she was a scary temple dog at the entrance to a temple. The demeanor was meant to scare away intruders and exploiters. The biggest part of Pearlene was her heart.

Pearlene’s place, subsidized housing, was crawling with roaches, to include the dog-eared sofa we were sitting on. Her older son was on parole and unemployed. Her younger son was developmentally disabled and without substantive programming. But at Christmas, Pearlene was so grateful and loving of all the attention given to her and her family. She accepted Christmas gifts with a heart of gold. She truly was more appreciative than our own families.

When she gave us the humble things she had scrounged money for, it was given with pride and a selfless spirit that taught the reciprocity of love. She ended up giving us more than we could ever know. Both sides of the coin called giving/receiving were revealed in this relationship.

The diversity of how the Universe teaches us how to give is infinite and customized to our particular experience.

An example being the Burning Man culture/principles which includes guidance on giving.

“Gifting: Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift-giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.”

This experiment called “The Burning Man”, depends greatly on the participation of all participants. Random, unplanned gifting occurs constantly, from squirts from a water bottle as you are walking on the hot playa to schwag being distributed by complete strangers who may be enamored with your camp and attitude. The abnormal stiff boundaries we are accustomed to, are diminished by the constant waves of personal responses received and gifted.

A more local and recent example is in my ‘hood’, where there is a car wash that I frequent for the cleansing of two vehicles. The 1% does not work there, drying the cars. Tips generated, are shared by all the workers. No one is getting rich fast.

The workers there are like everyone else, looking for that exquisite energy we know exists but cannot really find in a hard way. This is the connection. The knowledge that we are all in it together because we are all looking for ‘that’ that connects us to Us. It is here where we start and finish, the car wash (If I may pun.).

The gentleman that invokes the high pressure sprayer on the vehicles gets a load back on himself. This occurs in a more problematic way at the boot level. The low tech solution that had some efficacy, was to wrap the lower legs with garbage bags tying off the upper part of the boot from water penetration. Over time, the tearing and shredding of the plastic occurs reducing the viability of the solution.

My intervention, unsolicited, was to purchase “waders” and give them to this individual, which I did. The only thing I was looking for was acceptance of the gift, ideally. The intention was helping with no other give-back. The reaction was absolute delight and appreciation. I absolutely declined “having a beer” or any other such thing, because that type of subtle allowance of indebtedness would only cheapen the transaction. It was all ‘there’ and it was enough.

Subsequent to this story part, was added, the continuation of ‘kindness’ by the recipient to include the other person who works this particular task. This was a direction that was a very pleasant surprise and further accelerated goodwill and connectivity.

“To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.”
Mohandas Gandhi

Personality, casual identity, and beliefs are second to “The Energy”. “The greater We” is first. This is not a try to be first, but first in terms of issuance of consciousness. Consciousness is the backdrop of nothingness that allows everything further to become the parade we call life. The mind, identity, and thoughts are always a subsequent and distant temporary second.

If the Source of who we are is ‘This’, then why would we source a lesser vehicle?

When we give, we give in the context of the ‘parade’ we are currently in. It is one actor giving to another actor to engender a standing ovation kind of performance that puts everything on the line. The ‘performance’ is only for the Moment we are on stage with our accouterments. The props given are just props that are truly meaningless as far as the Director is concerned. The performance is what matters. The connection to the Director’s cues, is what matters.

Give and receive the Moment without unnecessary thinking. We are giving to ourselves and connecting to Ourselves. I am That. I am You.

This Iz Daddy’O.