Receiving is the new Doing

I’ve seen one too many miracles to doubt the love that is present in the universe. I’ve felt that love tangibly—both in moments of feeling deeply connected, and in moments when I simply chose to love myself after feeling gloriously off-kilter. And as surely as I know water will come out of a faucet, I know that when I open to heaven’s love, it will be there.

We all learned how to “get” human love early in our childhood training. Kids who got more attention when crying or acting out grew up expecting to be rewarded with attention for complaints or negative behavior. Kids who learned to please others for love and attention often grew up believing they had to earn love by being good. Kids who were praised for their hard work and successes sometimes put their nose to the proverbial grindstone in anticipation of reward as adults.

A few grew up with the beautiful message that they were worthy of love no matter what.

So it’s understandable that we fall into habit patterns of doing what we think we must do to get the love and attention we want—even from the universe. I’ve met people who work hard to prove they are loving, generous, and kind, often doing things they don’t want to do, spending more than they want to spend, and giving more than they want to give… even though they already are loving, generous, and kind. I’ve met people who complain in an attempt to gain the sympathy ofthe universe. I have no judgment of either. I can find times in my own life when I’ve done both. I’m sure you can too.

Nonetheless, the universe doesn’t respond to us trying to prove our merit or elicit its sympathy. It operates only on vibration. Be kind to yourself, accept yourself as you are, and do your best with the rest—and you open to receiving the steady stream of love available to us all. Focus on the negative and refuse to love yourself, and you block it. It really is that simple in concept. It takes practice, however, to convince yourself that the universe truly does love you and wants to help.

I have a friend who has practiced giving her challenges to the angels to the point where she expects the help to come. She’s a very positive person who has had many challenges. When life is hard, she doesn’t pretend to feel good. Instead, she loves herself through it, reaches out for help, and looks for something to feel better about until she really does feel better. She is a shining example of today’s message.

Several years ago, she received a very strong feeling to retire early from a long career in nursing. She did her books and decided to take a leap of faith. It turns out she retired just before COVID hit, and thus avoided being in the medical profession during one of the hardest times on Earth. She’d been in a car accident and had a compromised immune system, but because she listened to that strong impulse to retire—without understanding the “why” or the “when”—she was able to heal and enjoy her life instead of facing what might have been a life-threatening situation.

Recently, having regained her strength, she felt a strong desire to go back to work. Not knowing where or when, she gave the challenge of finding the perfect job to the angels. She never searched any websites. She told very few people. She simply did what she felt like doing each day.

One day, out of love and kindness, she drove a friend to a job interview an hour outside of Phoenix. This second friend hadn’t been very interested in the job but had received a strong message to go. It ended up being the dream job she’d been praying for, and she was hired within a week! A few weeks later, she heard about a new position being created at the same place. Friend #1 felt wildly enthusiastic about it and prepared for the interview with eagerness and anticipation.

It all fell into place as if by magic—with ease, grace, and every joy you can imagine. We had fun putting her résumé together and even celebrated before the interview. She prepared by talking to others in similar positions. She was guided to bake cookies and bring them to the interview, which turned out to be a wonderful conversation starter and made the whole thing feel like a chat with old friends. She felt as if the job had been created just for her. The qualifications matched her ideal job, and the people were exactly her idea of ideal coworkers.

She received the job offer within hours and is ironing out the details as I write. There was no pain, no struggle, no tedious effort—just anticipation, trust, and a joyful unfolding.

This type of help is available to us all. This type of grace can flow into anyone’s life. This love isn’t partial to one person or another. It flows freely to those who believe in it and are willing to surrender to it.

I have another client who doesn’t make much money, but every time she has a desire or a need, whether for help around the house or a new pair of shoes, it shows up in an affordable way, and often nearly free! She loves the universe, God, and the angels, and they tell her often, “You believe. You receive.” They say, “We’d love to help everyone this much, but most people don’t believe we will help them so easily.”

I now do what I know to do in life, but when I don’t know what to do, I delegate up! I give my problems and challenges to heaven and the angels. I attune my energy to something that feels like love and act when I feel impulsed. I live that way now, for the most part, like kids and animals do—and weirdly, wonderfully, in spite of human logic, it all works out beautifully.

Here are a few pointers to help you struggle less and receive more of heaven’s help:

1.  Practice Receiving Heaven’s Help

Try it out. Give up a small problem or concern to heaven. Pick something you’re not too worried about or attached to. For example: “It would be nice to find a new pair of shorts that fit well,” or “I’d love some ideas for a new hobby that would excite me.”

Start with something light so you’re less likely to obsess over it. Give it to the universe and let go. Enjoy your life. See what happens.

One year, I made a book and divided it into three sections: “Want it ASAP,” “Want it this year,” and “Want it someday.” I wrote everything I wanted into one of those sections. Writing it in the book was symbolic of handing it to the universe. Once it was in there, I stopped worrying about it. It was on the universe’s to-do list. At the end of the year, I looked back and was amazed at how much had come to pass.

Delegate up, and let it go. Enjoy your life. Tell yourself the truth: “I’ll know what I need to know when I need to know it. Until then, I can relax and enjoy my life.” See what shows up.

The more you practice asking for help with the small stuff, the easier it is to trust the help on the things that matter.

2. Obsess on the Best

Instead of focusing on fears, worries, or concerns, try obsessing on the best. What is the best that could happen? Get playful. Think of the most delightful miracle that could come your way. Imagine it. Make it better. Journal it if you want.

The more you playfully focus on what you want, the more you attune to receiving it. I’ve had all sorts of wonderful things happen this way.

Years ago, I decided I wanted to be in a relationship—after a decade of teaching myself about self-love by being in a few unloving ones! At the same time, I was working on my posture, so I made up a jingle I sang to myself with humor: “My spine is straight! I’m feeling great! I have a date!” Within a week, I was walking taller, and a man I’d admired (but didn’t know well) asked me out. We dated for three years, and it was a beautiful relationship.

The more playful, the better!

When you let go of worry and obsess on the best,
You put your fears and doubts to rest.

3.Be Kind to Yourself

One of the quickest ways to block the universe’s love is to fall into the vibe of “I’m not worthy.” We do this by being hard on ourselves, criticizing ourselves, and beating ourselves up.

With all the love in my heart, hear my words in your head: “Stop it :)”

You are a magnificent being. It’s OK to be human. I am as flawed and imperfect as anyone. I mess up—often in public! I get uppity at apps that don’t work. But in accepting all of that, I can love myself and therefore love others in ways I never imagined possible. I can forgive myself for so-called faults and extend that grace to others. I can have compassion for my own humanity, and as a result, huge compassion for everyone else’s.

The more you can be kind to yourself even when you’re in a negative space, the more you open to the love of heaven.

The more you peace you make peace with being human, and the more you can stop thinking about it as if it’s a flawed condition that makes you unworthy, the more love will flow to you.

We don’t have to be perfect to receive love from the angels and the Divine. We don’t have to be in a high and holy space all the time. We don’t have to prove we’re worthy or try to make the universe feel sorry for us.We just need to decide we’re worthy and be willing to trust that the love is there.

It takes practice to convince yourself this is true. It takes a willingness to give up control—especially over how things will look or unfold. But as you do, you can relax into an amazing reality, knowing that the love we all crave and the help we all desire has been there, waiting for us all along.