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Saying Yes To Receiving Love & Appreciation
Published on 29 Apr 2009 at 10:23 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Attraction,Feature Articles,Personal Development Strategies,Spirituality & Inspiration.
Many of the folks in my community and email list know that I have been celebrating my birthday all month. The actual date is April 25 and the outpouring of love – phone calls, birthday gifts, flowers, cards, personal emails, birthday videos, online messages from well over 100 clients, friends, colleagues, and folks in my social networks has been amazing.
My dear friend and business partner Anita Pathik Law flew in from Florida to spend several days celebrating with me and a special client coordinated a trip to visit with me and gave me so many gifts I was speechless. By far, this has been the best birthday I have ever had. The ways that people have shown up and expressed their appreciation and love for me has been incredible.
I also received other goodies including free ice cream, cookies, special discount coupons on purchases I made recently, gift cards for iTunes…….Last week was extraordinary.
As I write this I am on the verge of tears. In addition to feeling such joy, appreciation, and gratitude for the outpouring of love, I am filled with a deep sadness. I have realized that I have been managing how I receive love from others (what I ask for, how much I let others do for me…), how much love I let into my heart without deflecting compliments, thank yous, acknowledgements of appreciation…
This birthday has brought so much evidence to the forefront of how much people care about me and wish me well that I can no longer deflect, minimize, or deny. I am consciously aware of so many emotions and thoughts that are continuing to integrate within me.
Why do we block receiving love?
1. We feel unworthy and undeserving. Replacing, transforming or modifying the limiting beliefs and subconscious programs that run our feelings and behaviors is essential to raising self-esteem and self-love. Recently a client gave me a very generous gift and I was squirming in protest by saying it was too much, too expensive…Finally, I surrendered, letting go of the resistance to receive her gifts and let her love into my heart. WOW. I continue to marvel in awe at the transformational healing that occurs when you let the love in!
2. We fear getting hurt and feeling pain. Keeping people at a distance is how we create the illusion of safety by protecting our heart from being too open and vulnerable to others. The paradox is that our fear of being too close to others also blocks our openness and ability to receive many of the ways people want to express their love to us. Closing some doors out of fear can also close many of the doors we wish to have open including having more money, greater business success, a loving relationship, health….. To be fully alive means being open to create and experience life in it’s many forms of expression – the joys, the love, the laughter, the tears, and the pain.
3. We distrust people’s motives and agendas. When people gift you with presents, offer to do things for you, or extend kindnesses, do you question their reasons? Do you wonder, “Why are they doing this for me? What do they expect in return? What will I owe them?” When someone does something nice for you, do you feel a strong need to do something for them out of gratitude or to even the score? In the past I have had to hold myself back from immediately doing something for the other person out of immense gratitude so that I did not deflect fully receiving their gift to me. Because of negative past experiences, we can become jaded, skeptical, and tentative with people, expecting that they are all trying to get something from us rather than wanting to give to us! We have come to expect there are strings attached to why people do nice things for us. Today we have the opportunity to create and experiences sharing unconditional love by doing things for others for the sheer joy of it! That’s an agenda I can get on board with!
My dear friend Anita reminded me that I am experiencing this outpouring of love and appreciation because I have attracted these folks into my life. I have drawn them to me because of the person I have become through my commitment to my personal growth and spiritual evolution. I am taking her words into my heart because I know that is true. Feeling unworthy and undeserving of receiving love is no longer a match what I am creating and attracting. This experience has also made me aware of ways I have been blocking self-love. I will be working on that!
Your external world is a reflection of who you believe you are from the viewpoint of your mind and ego - what you think, feel, believe, say, and do. Doing the inner self-reflection work is critical to free the “real you” to more fully emerge.
If you have been on a spiritual journey (and I hope you are) you know that your spirit/heart sees the “human you” with love and compassion in every experience you create. Always. LOVE is the essence of Source/God/Higher Power/The Divine energy and we are all, as spiritual beings, part of the ONENESS of Source.
Saying YES to love is life-changing because it invites you to love yourself, to love others, and to be the receiver of love in all the forms it can take. Saying YES to love is also about saying YES to creating and receiving abundance in all the wonderfull and creative forms and shapes imaginable – beyond what you have come to know and have already experienced.
We came into this life with our hearts open to share and receive love with innocence, curiosity, and wonder. No matter what we have experienced, we can tap into qualities within us and create opportunities for higher truth, self-expression, and love to flourish. To achieve our deepest dreams, desires, and destiny takes courage, commitments, consistency, practice, and vulnerability (to name a few). Is it worth the risk? I say YES!
How about you?
1. Where have you been blocking love?
2. What limiting beliefs and behaviors do use to manage how much love you give and receive?
3. What shifts are you ready to make to let more love into your life?
4. What are you ready to say YES to share and receive more love?
5. Commit to 1-3 actions you will take immediately to let more love (and abundance) into your life.
Last year I wrote a post called: Being a Great Receiver you might enjoy reading! And I invite you to see my video movie I Say YES
PS: Join me for a Compelling Conversation on: Pivotal Moments – Surrendering To YES! Hear another powerfull call on what it means to YES to manifest your dreams and desires in alignment with soul intentions. Meet my panel of seven amazing woman (including yours truly) who will share their personal triumphs and challenges. You will not want to miss this inspiring call! May 7, Thursday, noon – 1:30 PM EST. This call will be recorded. Register here
Have a terrific week 
Love,
Lorraine
www.powerfull-living.biz
Alex Blackwell on 29 Apr 2009 at 5:46 pm: 1
For me, the key to receiving more love is to begin caring more about “me.” I will be a lot more open to feel love from others, when I feel more love inside.
lorraine on 29 Apr 2009 at 6:34 pm: 2
Great point Alex
It becomes a circular experience of giving and receiving love. I have always believed that sharing love is an inside job. If I don’t have self- love, how can I share love with others. How could I give what I did not have?
Thanks for adding your thoughts Alex
I TAKE OFF THE MASK on 2 May 2009 at 1:18 am: 3
I say yes to love and to receiving love. I welcome all the love and support I could possibly receive. I am grateful and I thank God for all these blessings!
lorraine on 2 May 2009 at 8:17 am: 4
Amen. I’m with you and recognizing any unconscious ways I might block fully receiving!