Meditation: Open To Receive Love and Abundance

Meditation is still new to me, despite that I do regular yoga. In a yoga class, the movement helps me focus my mind, either on the poses, or on the breath, and I can cut out all the thoughts about what I need to do at work tomorrow and what I'm eating for dinner. I've tried meditation apps but haven't found one I connect with. Instead, I keep coming back to the same YouTube video, which I listen to in bed as I'm going to sleep.

You may be familiar with the idea of a zero-sum game. If one side wins, the other side loses. If people disagree, in order to reach a resolution, one or both must give in. If you fall in love with one person, you reduce the amount of love you have to give to other partners later on.

This attitude is native for humans and creeps its way into religion. For some of us to be chosen, or to be forgiven, or given a route to heaven, others must go to hell.

My favorite part of this meditation, created by life coach Debra Berndt-Maldonado, is that it goes counter to this attitude. I've come through life thinking I have to give in order to receive, and then getting upset when I've given and my efforts and generosity are not matched by others.

It's also a tenet of American culture that we should give, give, give, and things will get bigger, better, and bigger. It can be easy to get caught in this cycle, and forget what you really want, and consider yourself never-quite-worthy-enough to receive it.

Is there really enough in the world, for all of us? It seems too optimistic to believe, but...I listen to this meditation at least once per month (usually after a long bath and with a candle going). It doesn't get old and I always hear something new.