Giving Back: Consciousness Through Community Service - Week #40 of The Awakening Journey
Giving back to the world is always a selfless act, isn’t it? No. In fact, oftentimes though our hearts are in the right place, we have some underlying ego driving us to give back to the world. In other words, we get something from the act so we are in service of the ego.
For example, one might donate clothing items to a local shelter and when we do, our false belief is “we are better people because we are more giving than someone who throws their things in the trash.” Or, sometimes folks will volunteer and do it for rewards, accolades, to feel better about themselves, or simply to escape from their own life.
This kind of giving is in service of the ego.
And by the way, I’m not saying this kind of giving is bad or wrong. This giving still has the impact of helping others. We are just isolating that this doesn’t necessarily raise your consciousness and can sometimes strengthen your ego.
What happens when you give from conscious awareness?
As we have discussed, there is an invisible field of consciousness, of which we are all a part. When you choose to give back to the world from a place of consciousness, this dials you into the collective field of awareness, elevating your awakening, and creating abundance for others - and the byproduct is abundance for you.
Benefits of the Field
Something happens - something shifts when you do this. Something shifts Within and something shifts without. Out there - in the universe. You dial into the quantum, into the collective consciousness.
What stops us from dialing into the field?
Our ego - fears, ignorance, anxiety, and past conditioning.
Doing community service to feel good about myself, to escape my own life, and to look good because it’s the right thing to do.
How can we transcend these blocks & give consciously?
First, you get very clear about “who” is giving. Meaning, who are you being? For example, are you being the righteous one, the martyr, or the saint when giving?
Second, you can tell on yourself. Writing in your journal is a good way to do this. Or talking to a partner or a coach about
Third, get connected to the part of yourself, your higher self by closing your eyes and taking a deep breath, and asking “who am I & what is it I am here to do on this planet, what is my work?” Get quiet and listen for the answer.
Now, ask yourself, how am I compelled to give back to the world, and how might I come closest to this work? What is one thing I can do & who am I being while doing it?
“Giving to others is the natural extension of what happens when you move out of your small sense of yourself and your own individuality and into the space between” Lynn McTaggart
My story
I have had many charitable endeavors and there were times in the past when I was younger that I felt “better than” others while giving.
In my thirties, I talked to a friend and told myself how I was giving to feel good about myself. She listened, asked some questions, and challenged me around my greatest childhood passion: animal welfare.
When I shared with her my childhood dream, (to impact euthanasia of healthy pets) something in me clicked and I awakened to what was possible: living out what I dreamed in the best way that I could. The homeless pet project to reduce euthanasia in the metroplex was born.
When I connected to and gave from this conscious place, the impact was profound in a number of ways: on the animal welfare system, on my daughters, and the byproduct was there as a profound impact on me. What I found was that I no longer felt triggered in an egoic way when working on a project that seemed sad (pet euthanasia).
I awakened further and the system and the collective consciousness rose as well.
You can choose to raise the collective consciousness through community service, through giving back. Here’s an experiment to try:
This Week’s Challenge
Choose 1 of these 3
A. Write out 5 “love notes” on stickies & put out $5 bills with them and leave them in random places for someone, without them knowing and without you sticking around to see who finds them
B. Spend 10 minutes every day this week sending good energy to one person in your life who needs it.
C. Volunteer somewhere - but set the intention that it isn’t for you. It’s to raise the collective vibrational frequency. To raise consciousness on the planet. You can do this by being in joy. Being in bliss
2. Spend 5 minutes reflecting on what was different this week when you did this exercise. Where did you see more abundance in your life? Peace?
Next, we will talk about Universal Truths & False Beliefs. Until then remember, the present moment is where your best life happens.
With love, presence, and gratitude,
Darla