Living Life with More Receptivity

Wednesday Wisdom: Being Receptivity.

Our theme for February will be: receptivity. Being receptive is an art, a practice, and a grace. How can we become more receptive to the Sacred in our lives; to the movement of love in our lives?

Often, we spend most of our attention, and energy, responding and reacting to the ups and downs of our daily lives; and yet, deep inside us there is also the movement of love happening.

How can we stay receptive to the part of ourselves that is always needing love, and is always invited to grow in love? To the eight-year old in us, needing to lean into a warm hug; the 20-year old, who is filled with passion; the 40-year old, yearning and seeking her own way; or the 60-year old, who has learned to love with a longer lens on life. In every period of our lives, we are called to become more receptive to the deep journey of love we are truly living.

I like what Iain Matthew writes in the Impact of God: “God is an approaching God, and our main job will be not to construct but to receive.”

And let us take in the wisdom of Saint Clare of Assisi, who in a letter to Agnes of Prague wrote:

Place your mind before the mirror of eternity!
Place your soul in the brilliance of glory!
Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance!
And transform your entire being into the image
of the Godhead Itself through contemplation.
–From Enduring Grace, by Carol Lee Flinders

We are being invited to become gracious receivers, so we can be gracious givers. We must stay connected at the root to the Source of love, and receive what the Holy is offering us? We must be willing to place ourselves more fully inside of Love. Here’s a simple practice  to help keep the door of your heart open:

• Invite yourself to sink deeper into your life today–throughout the day pause, place your palms on your upper thighs and press them down lightly to feel more rooted in the Source of Love;
• As you feel more grounded, take some deeper breaths;
• Focus on your heart;
• Don’t give so much power to the noise in your mind;
• Instead choose to follow the way of your heart–tell your heart: I will listen to You today. I trust You.
• Listening to the deeper part of yourself is a way of practicing receptivity.