Receptive

"Our systems are designed to be receptive. When we are receptive, we are not coming from any agenda to get something. We are simply open and allowing that which is ever present to enter our being. There is an absence of a person trying to figure it out, or trying to get a certain experience. When we are truly receptive, the separate self is absent in the moment, and so the transmission can enter into our system. Being receptive is an absolutely essential quality for our nervous system to begin to feel for itself. When we are receptive, we can literally feel the entire totality entering us and informing our being of its infinite nature. If we are closed and trying to get something either from life or a teacher--we are completely in the way of that which is being given. Receptivity takes a great humility and courage. It gives us nothing to know and hold on to. But at the same time, it can also be immensely satisfying, for the same reason.

Receptivity is pure connection with the source. When we are receptive, there is no place for any personal agenda to make its demands. If we are making any demands, we are not receptive. If we think we know anything, we are not receptive. Receptivity is a deep feeling of being entered by the infinite. Receptivity is when our system allows energy to enter, and in that allowing we attract. When we are open we are attracting consciousness to us, like a lover would attract the beloved, or a flower would attract a bee.

This attraction is very natural, and it is only our beliefs that block this natural attraction from happening. When we feel receptive, we are opening our whole lives to the infinite vastness that exists right here, right now. We are not making any demands, and we are not looking for any kind of experience. To be receptive takes a great stopping in time, so that we can feel a deep intimacy with presence. When we feel this intimacy we naturally want to open up to what is here, and the more we pay attention to presence, the more we evolve as a vesselto receive what is here.

To receive the infinite into our being can feel quite profound. At first we can sense in our system that what we are experiencing is only a small fraction of what is available. As we evolve, the system’s capacity to receive naturally evolves, and it begins to realize its own capacity to receive. The system naturally opens up further, allowing the infinite to come all the way in. This is what our system is designed for, so when the system receives the infinite it is like a key fittingperfectly into a lock.

This magical design of the formless entering form is what unlocks the mysteries of existence; this is the essence of Tantra. There is a powerful shift that happens as consciousness descends into the physiology of our being. It is pure conception. There is dissolution of the old as we receive. As consciousness evolves, it shifts paradigms. One of the most radical shifts lies in the way we think. The separate conditioning thinks in a linear way, such as if I do this and that, then I should get a certain result. It is a linear, mental trajectory creating a horizontal existence. It is also the spiritual seeker that thinks that if she just does this and that, then she will become enlightened. All her problems will be solved, and she will be happy.

This particular paradigm has layers and layers of beliefs supporting its linear mental projection. And if everyone around us is thinking in the same linear way, then we are probably not so inclined to try something different. But don’t worry; if consciousness wants to evolve, then consciousness itself will shift the paradigm. All we need to remember is to stay open completely open. The receiving takes care of the rest. We will watch as layers upon layers of dense illusions within are exposed by consciousness as it descends. We receive the descent as a lover receives its beloved, with.no demands. We will then be actualizing the purity of our devotion to Truth.

Of course this is a process, so it doesn’t happen all atonce. It takes time. This is the embodiment process."

~ Joi Sharp, The Unbound Self (edited)