I have begun thinking about wellbeing in terms of a healthy river. (You’ll hear more about my upcoming “The River Thrive” program in the coming weeks.) Hey, I’m a writer! I love metaphors and similes. Not just for show, but because they add such depth to communication. They’re the color in a “word painting.”

So. Back to the healthy river. You need water in and water out. You need healthy, balanced flow for good water quality. It’s the same with life. Energy comes in, energy goes out. And there’s this magical alchemy in the middle called “creativity.” But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Energy flows in every day in your life. But what kind of energy? From what sources? Are you mindful about which sources you allow in and which you don’t?  That requires advocating for yourself as well as setting boundaries.

Here’s the big question: Are you limiting the amount of energy/abundance you allow in? Are there energy sources you simply don’t allow yourself to receive because of self-limiting beliefs or old messages? For instance: how much do you invest in your self-care? More to the point, what do you allow yourself to invest in for the purpose of self-care? Do you consider some things “too much” for you?

Receiving is the key to having more.

This is the way all abundance works. Money, relationships, joy, all of it. It has to flow in and out. In order to give more, you have to receive more and vice versa.“Well sure, Lindy,” you say, “if someone handed me more money, I’d give more!” That’s where our American fascination with the free handout comes in. It’s a misguided concept.

“More” pretty much always comes in the form of opportunities. Seeing your dreamed-of vacation advertised in a magazine. The thought “Maybe a massage would help my stiff neck.” A class or a program presenting itself for you to enroll in. All of these are opportunities—they do you no good unless you say “yes!” These opportunities require stepping out of our comfort zone, taking a certain amount of risk. 

Here is where it gets really tricky. Our limits are set by our energetic patterns. The physical, or “real” plane comes about because of your thoughts, beliefs, and subsequent actions. You have a current set point when it comes to all forms of abundance: money, joy, love, freedom, peace, etc. beyond which you cannot seem to reach.

The energetic set point is real. The limitation is not. Receiving is a muscle. You can exercise it, flex it, make it stronger. As your energetic ability to receive grows, so will your experience of abundance.

Coach’s Challenge: Read about my “Energetic Support from Lindy” program. (Click here.) It talks more in depth about the energy of receiving, and how I can help you stretch this key muscle. Receiving is key. It’s time for you to start saying “yes, please!” The numerology of this year, 2015, is one of abundance. But the abundance won’t reach you if you’re stuck in the old “oh, no thank you, I’m fine. I can do it myself.” And leave a comment! This should inspire all kinds of responses!

Lindy MacLaine of lindymaclaine.com is a Life Purpose Coach whose messages empower and inspire those in the second bloom of life to reclaim their dreams, reignite their passions and rekindle their joy.

She is the author of the forthcoming fantasy adventure book The Curse of the Neverland, for women and girls of any age who loved the Neverland and wanted to go there for something far more then Spring Cleaning.