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Yi-Fu Tuan, Cosmos and Hearth
The awareness of "What's in it for me?" is reduced if instead of a narrow reciprocity, people engage in what Lewis Hyde calls "circular" giving. A gives to B who gives to C who gives to D who gives to A. Generosity is eventually recompensed but only after a long delay, and it will not come from the individual to whom one has given. The larger and more complex the society the more likely its people are to practice circular giving that draws in not only friends and acquaintances but total strangers. In a modern society, the circle of giving may be so large that it cannot be encompassed by direct experience.
The awareness of "What's in it for me?"
Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life
Stay in harmony with the impartial essence of the Tao in all of your thoughts and all of your behaviors.
"When you have a thought that excludes others, you've elected to see yourself as 'special' and therefore deserving of exceptional favor from your Source of being. The moment you've promoted yourself to this category, you've elevated your self-importance above those whom you've decided are less deserving. Thinking this way will cause you to lose the all-encompassing power of the Tao. Organizations — including religious groups — that designate some members as 'favored' aren't centered in the Tao. No matter how much they attempt to convince themselves and others of their spiritual connection, the act of exclusion and partiality eliminates their functioning from their true self. In other words, if a thought or behavior divides us, it is not of God; if it unites us, it is of God. Stay centered on this Tao that resides within you, Lao-tzu advises, and you'll never have a thought that isn't in harmony with spirit.
Offer your treasures to everyone.
"This is what the Tao is doing at every moment — offering to all, the entire spectrum of creation. Think of this as a simple three-step process:
"1. Eliminate as many judgments of others in your thoughts as possible. The simplest, most natural way to accomplish this is to see yourself in everyone. Remember that you and those you judge share one thing in common — the Tao! So rather than viewing appearances, which are really nothing more than straw dogs, see the unfolding of the Tao in those you encounter, and your criticisms and labels will dissolve.
"2. Remove the word special from your vocabulary when you refer to yourself or others. If anyone is special, then we all are. And if we're all exceptional, then we don't need a word like that to define us, since it clearly implies that some are more favored than others!
"3. Finally, implement the third step of this process by extending generosity through living the Tao impartially and connecting with the inner space of being the Tao. In this space you'll be able to be unbiased about your possessions, recognizing that they're not exclusively yours but are rather a part of the entirety. By unconditionally sharing and giving, you'll thrill at the experience of living the Tao and being unprejudiced. The Tao is your truth; it resides within you. Quietly be in the peace and joy of connecting with the inexhaustible Tao.
Do the Tao Now
"As many times as possible today, decide to approach interactions or situations involving other people with a completely fair mind-set which you allow and trust to guide your responses. Do this as often as you can for an entire day with individuals, groups, friends, family members, or strangers. Create a short sentence that you silently repeat to continually remind yourself that you're approaching this situation with an unbiased attitude, such as Guide me right now, Tao; Holy Spirit, guide me now; or Holy Spirit, help us now. Keeping this brief sentence on a loop in your mind will prevent judgment from habitually surfacing — but even more appealing is the feeling of relaxation and openness to whatever wants to happen in those moments of impartiality."
Wayne Dyer on staying in harmony with the impartial essence of the Tao in your thoughts and behaviors.
Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart
The journey of generosity is one of connecting with this wealth [fundamental richness in everything], cherishing it so profoundly that we are willing to begin to give away whatever blocks it. We give away our dark glasses, our long coats, our hoods, and our disguises. In short, we open ourselves and let ourselves be touched. This is called building confidence in all-pervasive richness. At the everyday, ordinary level, we experience it as flexibility and warmth.
Connecting with the fundamental richness in everything
His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Ethics for the New Millennium
Now while generally translated simply as "compassion," the term nying je has a wealth of meaning that is difficult to convey succinctly, though the ideas it contains are universally understood. It connotes love, affection, kindness, gentleness, generosity of spirit, and warm-heartedness. It is also used as a term of both sympathy and of endearment.
Nying je connotes love, affection, kindness
David Steindl-Rast, Music of Silence
I have always enjoyed the thought that a tip can light up someone else's day and maybe even turn it around.
Generosity can be contagious in a healthy way. . . . Being generous creates an atmosphere that is more sacred, a sense that the world blesses us in unexpected ways, often in ways we obviously don't deserve.
Generosity can be contagious in a healthy way
James Fadiman, Robert Frager, Essential Sufism
The Sufis speak of . . . — "secret charity." This occurs when you give so that someone benefits from your actions, but . . . that person does not feel given to, nor is there any burden of gratitude. How do you feel, for example, if you find a dollar bill on the sidewalk? You look around and pick it up with a smile on your face. You may feel blessed, or at least lucky. You don't feel that someone "gave it to you" but that you found it. If, however, someone made a practice of laying bills on the ground now and then — then walking away and telling no one — he or she would be practicing a simple form of secret charity.
Secret charity
Kabir Helminski, The Knowing Heart
Generosity is a sign of our reliable
connection to the Abundance.
Generosity is a sign of our reliable connection
Diarmuid O'Murchu, Evolutionary Faith
Once again, our creative God invites us to embrace a larger reality. Does this mean that everybody is a theologian, yes, it does. God reveals indiscriminately and with prodigious generosity.
God invites us to embrace a larger reality
The Deeper Dimension of Yoga
"Yoga has had a glorious history and offers a sophisticated understanding of the human mind, profound moral and philosophical teachings, and a great many practices apart from the postures," writes George Feuerstein, the founder-director of the Yoga Research and Education Center in California and the author of more than thirty books including Yoga Gems and Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy. Of course, many of the 30 to 40 million people around the world who practice yoga regard it mainly as physical fitness training. Feuerstein focuses on its riches as a spiritual discipline. This superb volume draws together 78 of his essays divided into chapters on orientation, approaching practice, moral foundations, the spectrum of yoga practice, and higher stages of practice. "If we genuinely desire to know ourselves more profoundly and make sense of the world in which we live, Yoga is a reliable, well-tested vehicle." It has been practiced on the Indian subcontinent for 5,000 years and has developed within Hinduism, Jainism, and branches of Buddhism.
Feuerstein spins out the many splendors of what B.K.S. Iyengar has called "an art, a science, and a philosophy." The author writes persuasively and succinctly about the devotional bounties of Bhakti-Yoga, styles of Hatha-Yoga, spiritual friendship, understanding the guru, the art of purification, the practice of mauna, nonharming according to Jaina Yoga, ethical guidelines for Yoga teachers, asanas for the body and the mind, the breath of life, mudras as gestures of wholeness, the sacred syllable Om, prayer in yoga, emptiness, liberation, and much much more.
In an essay entitled "Yoga Begins and Ends With Virtuous Action," Feuerstein writes: "Virtue is for most Westerners an old-fashioned word and an equally antiquated and impractical concept. In the spiritual traditions, however, virtue is considered a foremost principle of action. While, in Yoga, the ultimate Reality is thought to lie beyond good and evil, there is a recognized need for the cultivation of virtuous deeds, words, and thoughts. Virtue is traditionally connected with the idea of merit. ...which is really the fruit of good karma, that is, the positive momentum generated in the mind as a result of positive physical, verbal, or mental behavior. Positive behavior is associated with kindness, compassion, love, nonharming, generosity, patience, contentment, correct understanding, etc. It leaves imprints of a positive nature in the depth of the mind." This path of liberation, according to the author, goes through rather than around morality. Putting the welfare and happiness of others first is a virtue well worth retrieving in these tense times. George Feuerstein ably demonstrates the depth and profundity of Yoga as a spiritual discipline.
Demonstrates in 78 essays the richness of this spiritual tradition.
The Secret
Michael Berg is the author of The Way: Using the Wisdom of Kabbalah for Spiritual Transformation and Fulfillment and is the editor of an English translation of and commentary on the Zohar, the comprehensive text of this 5,000 year-old tradition. In this brief but inspiring volume, he tells of his fascination with Rav Yehuda Ashlag, a scholar who emigrated from Western Europe to Jerusalem more than 80 years ago and learned a priceless teaching from a mysterious spiritual master. Now, after years of studying the letters and writings of Ashlag, who became a renown Kabbalist, Berg presents the secret that is the source of joy and fulfillment in life.
"The Creator's essence is one of sharing. Therefore, to become like Him, we need to transform our essence and nature from that of receiving to that of sharing." A life based on getting is a dead-end of selfishness and unhappiness. Berg tells several wonderful stories that illustrate the fact that our true destiny is not pain and suffering but abundance, that oneness with the Creator is the source of all meaning in life, and that giving freely is what proves to be most satisfying. Berg also offers some good advice about the obstacles that stand in the way of achieving a selfless life of generosity.
Jesus said: "Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down . . . and running over." Paul of Tarsus said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Lao-tzu said: "The wise man does not lay up his treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own." And the preacher Henry Drummond said: "There is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving." It is so gratifying to see the same mystic stream of meaning flowing through the different religious traditions. The secret that Berg proclaims truly transformative and healing.
Proclaims sharing as the key to oneness with the Creator and a life of meaning.