The Law of Generosity

I was sent this article today - many of you will know that the author, Dr Thurman Fleet, was the creator of the stick figure that presenters such Bob Proctor and I use to explain the spirit/mind/body connection. Dr Fleet created the stick figure in the 1930's. We have an exciting article in the next Succeed Magazine (www.succeedmagazine.com.au) about this amazing man:

The Law of Generosity
Excerpt from
Rays of the Dawn Natural Laws of the Body, Mind and Soul
by Dr Thurman Fleet © 1948

Great fallacies prevail regarding the nature and significance of true charity or generosity. Much so-called charity is done through a sense of obligation and not as an expression of love. The majority of people feel they have contributed to the betterment of humanity when they have given financial aid, which often finds no higher expression than dropping a coin in a panhandler’s cup.

There is also the selfish individual who gives only where the compensation is equal or greater in proportion to the contribution. This type of charity sinks to the level of a business deal designed to promote selfish social gains and self-glorification. The person so indulging rarely sacrifices personal time or energy to do a charitable act for another. That person prefers to feel exclusive and aloof from other people. Too busily absorbed in selfish interests, he or she resents being inconvenienced to assist the needy or the handicapped.

Inevitably the time arrives in each of our lives when we face a difficult situation and must call upon someone else for help. Those who have done no charity will then feel humiliated to ask another to render assistance in time of need. Ignorant of the Law of Generosity, such a person attempts to repay favors in terms of material things he or she has gathered and hoarded. Little does that person realize that the deeds of the Spirit are performed without any thought or hope of gain or reward and cannot be compensated for in material terms. True generosity, as with love, is a quality of the Soul that expresses kindness, beneficence, mercy and tolerance.

When we give from the heart we must also receive from the heart. Thus we establish a balance between giving and receiving and maintain the two sides of our consciousness. Only through an awareness of the value of giving does the consciousness receive its greatest power. People who feel they have fulfilled their obligations by making an appreciable contribution to charity should realize that the mere giving of money is not enough. We should give of ourselves and our love, thus causing our consciousness to grow and expand, enabling it to receive the best our fellow humans have to offer.

We are always dealt with generously when our natures become generous, enabling the Divine to have greater expression through our thoughts and actions. Until we reach the plane where there is free giving and receiving, we cannot be assured lasting security. “He profits most who serves best” becomes a living principle and truth when we give not from our hands but from our hearts. It is a law of spiritual compensation that when we give the world our best, the best comes back to us – often in greater abundance.

Therefore, we follow the Golden Rule and do unto others as we would have them do unto us. However, we must use discretion in exercising generosity. Being too generous often debilitates the will of those we desire to help and interferes with the experience necessary for their growth and progress. At the same time an excess of generosity may deplete our own resources that may be destined to promote other worthy causes. Charity is then misdirected and defeats its own purpose, for people become irresponsible, shiftless and dependent when we absorb all their problems and take on all their burdens.

It requires fine control and discretion never to do for others what they are unwilling to do for themselves. We cannot always compensate for others’ ignorance. Furthermore, it is a violation of Law to be kind to one person at the expense of another.

True giving is wisely directed and helps others to help themselves. The person who merely flings a coin to a panhandler is not expressing true charity. On the contrary, the donor often encourages some vice in the individual to whom he or she gives and this endangers society in general.

To those who do not understand the Law of Generosity, this method of giving merely offers balm to their sympathetic nature or their false sense of duty. True charity is not synonymous with mere giving but is distinguished by discerning service, true helpfulness, kindness and love. We must recognize the great truth that the best and only way to help another is to help oneself, and that poor, neglected individuals need friendliness and understanding more than they need donations.

The mark of true love and service, distinct from the mere pretense for show or personal glory, is that it does not seek praise or publicity. The individual who has the spirit of true service at heart has no desire for commendation and does not boast of good deeds. That person’s reward comes from the knowledge of a deed well done. The joy given to others becomes that person’s greatest joy. His or her whole nature radiates a spirit of love, kindness and generosity, thus unintentionally but irresistibly drawing to themselves a rare and divine praise.

Someone who focuses only on personal interests deprives life of its chief charms. Moreover, that defeats the very objectives the person hopes to attain. The natural world has a law that whatever is of no use or serves no purpose will whither and shrivel up. Likewise, a law of our own being holds that if we contribute nothing to the great body of humanity, if we make ourselves of no use or service to others, then those qualities of our nature that promote the development of our higher self will begin degenerating and disintegrating. Thus we lose the chief charm and happiness of life. Then we live only with a small and stunted self. However, when we project our lives into the service of others, in generosity, kindness and helpfulness, we evolve to a very high plane of existence. Our whole nature will grow and expand, and we will share in the greatest joys of life, our lives becoming rich and beautiful. When we have entered into and taken part in many other lives, as a consequence we share in everyone else’s successes, joys and happiness.

Once we recognize the truth that all are ONE, and that each individual is an integral part of the whole of humanity, then we will strive for the perfection of all people. Just as the imperfect functioning of one bodily organ can impair all function, so in the greater body of humanity when one individual is poor, disheartened or ill, all people in some degree share the suffering. Humanity is created in the image and likeness of God. All of us are the children of God, and therefore all are entitled to share in God’s beneficence and abundance. Each individual is but a channel for the outflow of God’s abundance to bless all humanity. Just as the individual contributes to the enrichment of others, so all humanity contributes to the individual’s well being.

Once we have purged our minds of hatred, fear and their allies and have welcomed into our minds love and its companions, we will recognize that these positive attributes of the Soul bring a peace of mind and an infinite inspiration that clarify the vision until we can see all the beauties of the earth and recognize humanity’s perfection. Each individual is humanity: the ONE in the many, the many as ONE. As part of humanity, the individual finds the God-given confidence and ability to go forth and carve out a career of divine usefulness.

In accordance with what we give, and the spirit in which it is given, so shall we receive. If we understand and obey the Law of Generosity, Life is bound to give us what we ask. The Law of Compensation forever operates, and we cannot bargain with life on any other terms. Generosity is a quality of love that gives of itself without any expectation of a material reward – the giving that grants true freedom.