To have an abundant life you must first become a good receiver. This is an obvious fact many of us overlook.

By default a lot of us are lousy receivers. We downplay compliments, refuse to let others buy us lunch, and get hung up on exactly how we are “supposed to” get most of our money. This must change or we’ll stay (relatively) poor and frustrated.

Open yourself up to the gifts of the Universe and other people:

When someone pays you a compliment thank them.

If another person offers to buy your movie ticket, your meal, etc. take it and thank them!

Be open to getting money from anywhere and not just from your job or business. This is a big one… many times we obsess with our “primary” income stream and thus shut ourselves off from the flow of money from elsewhere.

Rejoice any time you receive even the smallest gift. If you find a dime in the parking lot celebrate out loud! If you get $1 off a grocery store item with a coupon be trhilled about it! Abundance comes in many forms and we should count them all as blessings to be grateful for.

By getting into this reception mode we create the vibration of joyful receiving. Hence we open the door to even bigger and better gifts from life.

Change the way you look at receiving for just one week and you’ll be shocked and amazed with your new results. Get into the frame of mind of deserving as much good stuff as life wants to throw at you and your cup will surely “runneth over“!

It’s easy to take life and the things we want too seriously. But it’s important to remember…

Our life is not as real as we sometimes think it is. We are manifestations of the Universe, and this phenomenon we call life is only a small part of that.

William Walker Atkinson, author of Thought Vibrations wrote:

“The things we see around us are the playthings of the Kindergarten of God, playthings which we use for our game tasks. Help yourself to them - ask for them without bashfulness and demand as many as you can make use of…”

There’s something quite empowering about this notion. When we begin to think of life and all the things we want to do and have in the right context it becomes clear that we really can have all we desire.

We are part of the greater whole, as are all things around us. By wanting this or that, we are only asking for what is already a part of us.

It’s all worth a good laugh really. Money, love, health - all of these things are ours by right and we need not worry about offending God by asking for and expecting what is rightfully ours.

Sometimes it’s good to step back from our “serious” desires and just play the game. Letting go of deep needs and just having fun with it all is the sure way to attract and manifest all that we want and love.