Miracle Soup Day 17

Today is your introduction to the concept of tithing, and the first of three specific tithing exercises that I invite you to undertake.

Every person who reads this lesson will have a difference sense of the word "tithe". You may already be actively tithing, or completely new to the concept, or filled with heavy burdens related to the word from what others may have told you of its meaning. No matter where you are, let's start with a fresh look at tithing, and the ways that you can use it to give and receive more miracles in your life.

Note: if you are new to tithing, or have resistances related to it, you may want to do a "doubt count" while reading this material today, and then repeat it again in a few days to see if your doubt count is shifting. This is a way to get a solid sense of shifts being made in your resistances.

The word "tithe" is based on the word "tenth". Tithing refers to giving the tenth part, or the tithe, of all income, in an act of service or honor.

This week we will extend tithing to other areas beyond financial income. Today, however, we'll focus on your income as a way to illustrate this momentous opportunity.

Tithing has strong roots in religious cultures, but it is a concept that extends far beyond the realm of churches, synagogues, or religious factions or groups. Depending on the path of your life, you may have negative associations with tithing. You may have been exposed to tithing as a way of "bribing" God for getting answered prayers, or learned that you would be punished if you did not tithe. You may have seen tithes been abused by religious and organizational leaders who manipulated others to use their prosperity in less than honorable ways.

For our "fresh start" on tithing, allow me to introduce tithing as the following:

- a tangible, hands-on way to give thanks for all we have been given

- a way to circulate abundance and ignite the entire world with greater prosperity

- a way to exercise faith in the flow of all kinds of abundance and goodness coming our way

- a glorious way to become conscious of the cyclical nature of abundance

- an opportunity to direct gratitude for specific blessings to specific channels

- an opportunity to let go of attachments to what you think you need or desire

- an opportunity to realize the oneness of all creation and release conceptions of what is "yours" and "theirs"


Tithing is very handy because it is a way to get "heady" concepts out of the theoretical and into the practical. It becomes much easier to truly learn about faith when we are practicing it, and not just thinking and talking about it.

The most important thing that I can say about tithing is that it is not, and never should be, an obligation. Tithing is a wonderful opportunity to put your spiritual beliefs about all forms of prosperity and faith into action.

What I have found is that just was we are consciously creating everything in our lives, whether intentionally or not, the Universe is constantly tithing for each of us. The natural laws of giving and receiving keep all flows in balance whether we are aware of it or not. Tithing is a grand opportunity to be conscious of what is flowing outward from our abundance, allowing us to direct this energy in specific directions to offer specific messages of gratitude.

In other words, the natural state of the Universe is to constantly keep things circulating and flowing. It is impossible to ONLY receive, just as it is impossible to ONLY give. However, by reveling in the opportunity to tithe, you become a participator in directing the flow and observing, first-hand, how regularly, perfectly, and infallibly this flow works.

Giving away your tithe - 10 percent - will always bring greater blessings to you. As you've already discovered in this course, blessings come in many forms. For example, re-organizing your finances to give away 10 percent of your income might not necessarily bring you more income - but it may provide you with a context for managing your money in a way that is more life-affirming and in line with your values. The Universe delights in giving us what we need to be happy, along with guidance on how to use these gifts. Tithing is an easy way to see the flow of those gifts in delicious action.

I don't know WHY it works this way, just as I don't know exactly why the degrees of all triangles add up to 180 degrees. If you engage in tithing and observe what comes to pass, you will see first-hand the joy that comes from being an active participant in the circulation.

When choosing where you will place your tithe, go where the JOY goes. As soon as you find yourself thinking, "I SHOULD donate to such-and-such...", stop the thought. Tithing is not about obligation, it is about expression. A great exercise is to think of the people and places from which you have received life-enhancing nourishment. Tithing to those people and places is a perfect way to not only circulate your abundance through your tithe, but also express gratitude for the "spiritual food" you have received. Give where the joy is...you will know where is right!

Resistances to tithing are natural. If you are struggling to make ends meet, you may wonder how in the world you could survive on 90%, rather than 100%, of your current income. You may worry that you will need the money later. You may become distressed over where to place the money. You may be full of fear that a bad financial situation could become worse.

These fears are completely natural, and I encourage you to recognize them but not be hard on yourself for feeling fear. Tithing requires our faith to take a big leap to trust far beyond a sense of lack and truly trust in God and the Universe. You won't lessen your fear by reading or talking about tithing -- you have to experience it for yourself to come to a new level of faith.

If you are fearful of starting with 10%, start smaller to give yourself some muscle memory about this process. Start by tithing 1% of your income, or 5%. Be sure to include all increases in
income, including any loans you make take out. The idea is that 10% of whatever is yours goes back into the soup...in whatever form makes YOU happiest.

TODAY'S RECIPE

After reading today's material, write down your initial thoughts, fears, or reactions.

Next, use the recipe card to make a plan for a tithe for this week. Record your income for this week, determine the 10%, and plan where you would like to place that 10%. Think of the blessings you have received and use this 10% as an opportunity to -- literally or metaphorically -- express gratitude for those blessings.

When you've made your tithe, mark it off on the recipe card and record your experience.

Don't worry about what comes next ... for now, just use this opportunity to circulate 1/10th of this week's income back into the soup.

More tomorrow!


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of Artella.com. Used with permission by license.