FEATURE - May 2017

Passivity vs. Active Receptivity in Manifesting 

by Stephanie Red Feather

 

Action is a masculine principle, and it is the driver of our modern world. Man or woman, it has been bred into us that this is the way we must approach life if we want to be successful, prosperous, and happy. If you can't measure it, accumulate it, prove it, conquer it, or demonstrate it, then it has no value.

 

In this paradigm, force is the currency. Think about how many times have you’ve heard someone say, “Make it happen.” “You aren't trying hard enough.” “You can rest when you die.” “You don't want it badly enough.”

 

In a world dominated by the masculine principle, the feminine qualities of intuition, receiving, allowing, and nurturing are devalued—judged as weak or unnecessary. Why "wait" in a space of allowing when you can just "make" it happen? Why honor the innate rhythms and cycles of your body and of the natural world when you can just apply yourself with more voracity and force the outcome? Being passive never accomplished anything.

 

Except, there is a great difference between passivity and active receptivity.

 

I realize there is massive implication in this statement and way beyond the scope of this article. So, let me focus on one aspect in particular—manifesting.

 

Preparing to receive

Being passive in this context means not using your consciousness in any particular way, not being present, having no specific intention, and not being deliberate in how you are focusing your energy. This is how the uneducated masculine interprets the feminine. Masculine energy is outward-facing, preferring to operate in the world of the known and literal, so from the outside, it looks like nothing is happening. What exactly is the feminine doing if she is just "sitting there?"

 

Being actively receptive, however, is the feminine form of doing. It means consciously setting your intention and organizing your energetic field to be a receiver. It means dropping into your center and becoming very present with yourself. Active receptivity is about preparing the space. Anything we want to draw to us, create, or manifest does not begin with doing. It begins with being. Doingness, action, and masculine principles have their place, but they come afterwards, not before.

 

Picture a satellite dish. When we are in a state of active receiving, we are tuning our receiver dish to the channel (frequency) of abundance that is in alignment with our intention and state of being. To attain what you desire, you must first prepare yourself to receive it—in your energy field and in your consciousness. This includes visualizing it as if it were happening and feeling it in your body. This is active receptivity.

 

Think of how difficult it is for someone to hand you something when your fist is closed. You physically cannot take what they are offering you. Similarly, you cannot plant a seed in hard soil without first preparing the ground through tilling, removing rocks, and leveling the surface.

 

Manifesting with active receptivity

Forcing is not an energy of alignment with soul. In our satellite dish metaphor, you are transmitting the sponsoring frequency that is underneath the forcing, which is fear. We are magnetic beings, so whatever frequency we transmit is what the Universe will reflect back to us. We all have experiences where we've made a rash decision, forced something, or acted prematurely. Where did it get us? Almost certainly we either had to start over, make embarrassing apologies, ask for a second chance, come up with plan B, or endure unwanted consequences.

 

Active receptivity aligns you with gratitude, abundance, limitlessness, and trust. The configuration of your energy field is very different when you are in a state of receiving/being versus a state of action/doing. The ancient symbols for male and female—the blade and chalice—demonstrate these differences perfectly. In a state of receptivity, your energy is soft, centered, present, open, and receptive. Ready to be filled up, like the chalice. Action energy is more direct, intense, and concentrated. It is like "hard" eyes, where you are intently focused on one thing to the exclusion of everything around it. Action energy is penetrating, like a blade, and contains an outward-moving energy similar to positive air pressure.

 

Imagine you are writing a book and you just sit down and start typing. You might experience difficulty getting started and the process is strained. You might feel like it's awkward and taking huge effort. Words and ideas are not flowing. But you just keep writing, knowing your work is uninspired and lacking.

 

But if you first sit in a space of active receptivity, removing the need to produce, and instead focus on becoming a vessel of receiving, inspiration will come. Sit still, close your eyes, and take a couple deep breaths. Intend for the right and perfect words to come to you and envision yourself writing with clarity, ease, and insight. Opening these channels signals to the Universe you are willing and ready to receive. Forcing writing—while carrying outward-focused blade energy—means you are rejecting inspiration because it literally cannot penetrate the field you create in gotta-get-it-done mode.

 

Listening to love

From personal experience, I can tell you that my old tapes still go crazy when I drop into active receptivity. They scream that I'm being irresponsible, foolish, and lazy. They insist that I just need to make it happen. For as many years as I have worked with and practiced these concepts, let me give you the spoiler alert...the voices don't go away.

 

But here's the good news. When you begin to practice active receptivity, remember that Voice has one purpose and one purpose alone—to keep you safe. It will say whatever it must in order to keep you from doing something "stupid" that would put acceptance and love in jeopardy. The Voice has myopic vision and doesn't care about any other point of view. It will continue to repeat its messages until the day you die. It loves you that much.

 

Once you understand the motivation and viewpoint of the Voice, then you recognize that the real power lies in choice. As soon as you hear the Voice, acknowledge it. "I hear you. Thank you for caring about me so much. I acknowledge that you want to keep me safe." Then you simply remind it that you are the CEO and you make the final choice about what voice to listen to and what opinions to act on as you express your Creative Self in the world.

Kansas City

Click to Read the Current Issue!