{"id":4202,"date":"2021-11-30T17:14:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T22:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/?post_type=project&p=4202"},"modified":"2026-08-07T18:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:00:13","slug":"what-if-receiving-is-a-state-of-being-not-an-action","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/project\/what-if-receiving-is-a-state-of-being-not-an-action\/","title":{"rendered":"What If Receiving Is A State Of Being, Not An Action?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Balance is key in all things. We know this. But in my humanity, I sometimes find myself putting off receiving in favor of more giving. I would not say that I give too much. I would say, however, that I fail to balance it sometimes with an equal amount of receiving. Or with any receiving at all. You can give less, but if you never receive, you will still be out of balance. You can give a lot, and still be in balance as long as you also receive a lot. But what does it mean to receive? And what, for that matter, does it mean to give? You can give and receive time, energy, things, and services. This is how we usually think of giving and receiving. I had thought until recently that receiving meant receiving self care or other care, maybe in the form of massage, or attending a yoga class as a student instead of teaching one. Those activities certainly do seem to bring balance to the giving side of human nature. So they are a form of receiving. But what if receiving was a state of being? What if getting a massage feels like receiving because you naturally default into a receiving state when you are there? What if attending a yoga class, instead of leading it, feels like receiving because you default to a receiving state of being? When I walk into a massage therapy room, I have the intention to receive care. When I attend a yoga session led by someone else, I have the intention to receive vitality, relaxation, flowing energy or some other benefit that I am seeking in that moment, that I believe the session will provide. In contrast, when I sit to write, or create, I am in a state of giving. I have the intention to create something helpful, or enjoyable for others. On occasion, however, I will write just for myself. Maybe I am trying to work out some ideas or think about something in particular, or express emotions. In those moments, I am writing, but I have the intention to receive clarity, or healing, or whatever I am seeking. It\u2019s the same activity – writing – but the intention creates either a giving or receiving state of being, and therefore a correspondingly giving or receiving result. As is always the truth, intention is everything. Apparently, if I intend to give, I give. If I intend to receive, I receive. So these activities that we categorize as giving or as receiving, are just Pavlovian triggers for the corresponding state of being. I wonder, if I spend an hour in a state of receiving (with the intention to receive), yet doing nothing, would it feel the same as an hour spent in a state of receiving while doing some activity? You might think that meditation is an all-receiving activity, but it can be very giving, depending on how you choose to focus your attention. So even non-doing or meditation can go either way, depending on your intention. We need balance of all kinds. We need balance between sleep and physical activity. We need balance between creating and observing other creations. We need balance between taking in information and sending it out. We need balance between giving and receiving. And there are probably a dozen more ways that we need balance. This is not to overwhelm you with a to do list of balance keeping. But just to ask, when it comes to giving and receiving, is it less about specific activities and more about the state of our intentions? I think it might be. I have been experimenting with creating and maintaining a state of receiving. I imagine that I am in a spa room receiving a massage. I think about what my body and energy feels like in that moment. Then I try to hang on to that state of biochemistry, breath, and mind for a little while. Whether you imagine a massage, a day at the beach, attending a yoga class, kayaking down a favorite river, sitting in a favorite place, or anything else, the common traits are these – you wanted to receive something so you took action (you went to the beach, to the class, to the spa, etc) to receive it, and then you spent time actively open, with full intention, to receive what you were looking for. And so you did receive. It seems far too simple. But we can get so stuck in one mode of being, it can be hard to practice the other side of the coin. So here\u2019s the question. What do you want? What action, however small, can you take towards that end? Take that action. Then, spend some time in a receiving state and see what happens.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A reflective essay questioning whether receiving is an activity or a state of being \u2014 arguing that intention, not the specific act, determines whether we give or receive, and that balance between the two is essential to wellbeing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4034,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"project_category":[1888,31],"project_tag":[36,2069,1429,654,180,900,280,649,981,2052,947,1452,1857,977,489,309,1012,1248,655,112,302,186,979,978,284,980,605,332,1361,283],"series":[],"class_list":["post-4202","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","project_category-consciousness","project_category-observations","project_tag-art","project_tag-books","project_tag-business","project_tag-complete-connection","project_tag-connection","project_tag-consciousness","project_tag-cycle","project_tag-cycle-of-human-development","project_tag-finding-peace","project_tag-guided-meditations","project_tag-human-development","project_tag-lasting-peace","project_tag-lastingpeace-org","project_tag-life-optimization","project_tag-meditation","project_tag-money","project_tag-podcasts","project_tag-poetry","project_tag-purna-asatti","project_tag-relationships","project_tag-religion","project_tag-science","project_tag-seeing-yourself","project_tag-self-mastery","project_tag-self-development","project_tag-self-improvement-2","project_tag-self-understanding","project_tag-society","project_tag-spirituality","project_tag-stages"],"acf":{"recommend_blurb":"For givers who struggle to receive and feel chronically out of balance. A gentle reframe suggesting that receiving is a chosen state of intention you can practice anywhere, anytime.","citation_snippet":"Dr. Kathryn Messegee (Kathryn Colleen), \"What If Receiving Is A State Of Being, Not An Action?,\" https:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/project\/what-if-receiving-is-a-state-of-being-not-an-action\/","topics":["growth","spirit"],"related_book":"","buy_url":""},"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/7140AD8E-DD0F-4062-A162-5DB1FD83E95D-scaled.jpeg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/CCA57320-6DC3-4284-BC27-49E433028503.jpeg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/on-life-being-human\/id1360368906","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2nq6d35q9nFAFlanaJc2Do","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/kathryncolleen.com\/studio\/feed\/podcast\/on-life-being-human","embedCode":"

What If Receiving Is A State Of Being, Not An Action?<\/a><\/blockquote>