On "Giving"

[jeff3]

Unless you are a solopist, it should be understood that you will be called on occasionally to help someone else out and that if you back down or shy away from these invitations you may be "short circuiting" the system and cutting yourself out of the loop. I think the idea of a "tithe" comes from this concept but has been hijacked by religion for their own advancement, and giving is part of the exchange process the universe uses to fulfill everyones desires. While some may say "if that's what I believe, then that's what I'll experience" , I think it may have some merit beyond just belief. The act of giving also helps "ease the conscious", for those that feel guilty (needlessly, I add) about 'having', while others 'have not'.

If your manifestation projects are not working out it may be worth your effort to find an 'outlet' that is in harmony with who you are and just commit to passing on part of the unlimited supply to others. Besides the regular contributions, one fun thing I do sometimes is leave little anonymous gifts like change at the car wash so when someone walks up to the coin slot there is a stack of quarters sitting there waiting for them. I got the idea one day when it happened to me and although it was not much as far as money goes it was just a really cool feeling to walk up and find it already paid for. Steve has a post about "providing a service" or something (not sure of the wording) and many others have extolled the virtues of "passing it on" , Personally I think 'providing a service' can be shortened to 'providing' and it's your choice how you do that. I remember an old friend once telling me to give what you desire, If you want love, give love, if you want recognition, give recognition, if you want 'easy money' give 'easy money' ,etc.....

I'm sure there have been threads on giving here before but I've not seen 'em in this forum (I'm pretty new here) since I've been around and thought maybe we could make a little game of this and "test" it out, then report back with results. I'm sure some here already donate somewhere , but I bet there are some who don't and would really benefit from the experience,on an emotional level as well as a metaphysical level, maybe their IM projects seem stuck or are backfiring on them and they just need to 'prime the pump' to get things moving.

A few tips I've learned are:

If there is anyone you 'hate' or are resentful toward, send them an anonymous gift that they would like or send enough money to be significant, a $50.00 bill gets most peoples attention, $100.00 is even better, be discreet, this one has to be anonymous. This is a hard one for the ego, but has great rewards, do it, cut the strings, move on.

If you give to charities, give somewhere that you will have no regrets, something that you believe in. It's up to you to decide where. I asked for guidance on this one and the same organization was mentioned to me 3 times over 3 days and a little research proved to me that very little of the donations are used for administration and it's a cause I believe in.

Leave sporadic little 'gifts' for others to find

Hold the intention that your offering is to bring happiness and joy to whoever receives it.

anonymous is always best, when possible. It causes no sense of obligation to the receiver and no expectations on your part for reciprocation.

Look at your giving as a symbol of your trust in the universe

If you feel you have to start small, then start small but keep in mind the idea that you are giving 'what you would like to receive'.

test the water and be alert, sometimes the reward is fast, sometimes it takes a while, if you aren't seeing anything quickly, just consider it Karmic escrow and keep it up, don't wait on payback . Keep in mind that the rewards can come in unexpected ways, it is always 'made to order' just for you, maybe improved relationships, maybe better living conditions, maybe a plasma screen, maybe a bowl of oatmeal if that's your greatest need.

Try it !

[Honeywith4bees]

Originally Posted by jeff3

If there is anyone you 'hate' or are resentful toward, send them an anonymous gift that they would like or send enough money to be significant, a $50.00 bill gets most peoples attention, $100.00 is even better, be discreet, this one has to be anonymous. This is a hard one for the ego, but has great rewards, do it, cut the strings, move on.

Hmmm . . . I might try this one. My ex husband is thousands and thousands of dollars behind in child support. He has decided that working for "free" for people in the community that "need" the work (he is a carpenter), is more fulfilling to him than working at a job that pays him money. He spends all day getting praised for his "dedication to others", while I am at work earning money to pay for the necessities that comes with raising four kids (food, mortgage, heat, etc.) You can see the resentment just dripping out of this post, can't you?
He has more money earning skills than I do, he has loads of free time to pursue his passions and he has all kinds of people giving him praise for his "selflessness". (I'm not discounting what I have, I have my children well loved and cared for and my pride, for doing it all without his help.)

I've known for a few years now, that I really, really need to let go of this resentment.

But, do I have to send him money?

[jeff3]

Originally Posted by Honeywith4bees

Hmmm . . . I might try this one. My ex husband is thousands and thousands of dollars behind in child support. He has decided that working for "free" for people in the community that "need" the work (he is a carpenter), is more fulfilling to him than working at a job that pays him money. He spends all day getting praised for his "dedication to others", while I am at work earning money to pay for the necessities that comes with raising four kids (food, mortgage, heat, etc.) You can see the resentment just dripping out of this post, can't you?
He has more money earning skills than I do, he has loads of free time to pursue his passions and he has all kinds of people giving him praise for his "selflessness". (I'm not discounting what I have, I have my children well loved and cared for and my pride, for doing it all without his help.)

I've known for a few years now, that I really, really need to let go of this resentment.

But, do I have to send him money?

I sent an ex-wife a 100.00 bill in the mail from a different zip-code to be sure she could not connect it to me, less than 1 week later I sold a big lot of goods for about $20,000 more than was expected, it was an auction and people just went crazy bidding, it was surreal. If you do this, I feel it is important that you do your best to truly hope it makes him happy, and don't tell anyone, except maybe us . If you will be doing it grudgingly, put if off till you 'get your mind right'. Try to really envision/imagine how amazed and excited he will be when he gets it, when you can do that and smile about it, your ready. I'll repeat, because it's important, that you should resist any urge to tell anyone who may let him know it came from you, keep your ego out of this.

[RT Wolf]

Excellent thread.

A guideline I've seen offered in relation to money is to save 10% of your money for the future and invest it, pay debts (if you have them) with 10% and donate 10%.

I've been giving a lot more in gifts to my friends lately, and I'd like to try anonymous gifting like you suggest.

Mind telling us (or just me in PM) what charity you found?

Personally, I've found the Acumen Fund to be very aligned with my thinking, however I haven't been able to get any data on how well it allocates capital, however it does seem to be doing a good job. My other choice would be the Bill Gates Foundation, although I don't think they accept donations.

I personally believe education is most important, especially in third world countries (especially Pakistan and the rest of South Asia), and I want to donate to that cause there, however I've been having trouble finding a good charity that is reputable, lean, does what its supposed to and is accountable (or at least transparent). If anyone knows of one I'd appreciate it.

[sunj]

I will definitely try this. I know someone close who I hate. I will send him $50.00. I seriously hate this guy, he isn't nice to his son, wife, or anyone else. Don't know what's wrong with him. But I'll put $50 cash in an envelope and mail it to him and forget I ever sent him anything.

[RT Wolf]

I'm not sure how to approach this, but I remember hearing/reading somin by Tony Robbins about his dad. His dad received a gift of charity, interpreted it as saying that he's useless and he left. I might suggest putting in a note that says somin like "your address was picked randomly", or somin.

Sorry to be a downer.

[jeff3]

Originally Posted by RT Wolf

I'm not sure how to approach this, but I remember hearing/reading somin by Tony Robbins about his dad. His dad received a gift of charity, interpreted it as saying that he's useless and he left. I might suggest putting in a note that says somin like "your address was picked randomly", or somin.

Sorry to be a downer.

I have done this 5-6 times with $100.00 or more and the biggest concern I have is that you be sure and send it in a manner that you know they will open it and not throw it away. My ex is a teacher so I put "education dept" in the return address , she also is an active church goer so I put some snippet of scripture in with it but I can't remember what it was. One of the people that I was concerned about whether they got the letter or not called me several weeks later and mentioned getting a weird letter with "a hundred dollar bill" in it. He was totally knocked off center by it, just couldn't figure out why somebody would do that. I just said, damn, I wish people would send me hundreds. You could just write "random act of kindness" on a note in it.