Generosity VIII

Generosity is one of the first teachings that the Buddha gives. It is important for our spiritual growth. We need to practice generosity.

I know you have been patient with this for the last eight readings! You have been generous to yourself. You have extended that generosity to others. You have been observant, noticing generous acts by and for others.

And, I know you are feeling the benefits of increasing generosity in your life; feelings of satisfaction, increased feelings of kindness and compassion, feelings of contentment and ease in your life, spontaneous expressions of joy and happiness, and more! Yes, all the benefits of generosity are showing themselves to you.

But. How do we know that all these wonderful results are directly from our attention to and our expressions of generosity?

Perhaps they are a fluke, or just natural growth, or due to a change in diet. Who knows!

So, to be sure these benefits come from our Generosity, we need to do a test!

Here is the test: for the next 4 weeks, STOP being generous! Completely!

Don’t cut yourself any slack. In fact, you can be more critical of your own behavior.

Don’t help anyone else. Don’t give them your time, your money, your protection, or any material goods.

Don’t give your attention to any kindness you see. Just ignore any that you see. It was probably just accidental or a societal nicety and didn’t really mean anything.

After 4 weeks, you will have completed the test.

How do you feel after a month of NO Generosity at all?

You will be the best judge of which intention and behavior is better, Generosity or No Generosity, and you can evaluate the results.

Or, if you think you have an idea of what the test results would be, and you prefer to continue being more generous, and healthy, then feel free to skip the test. The test is really only for those with any doubts left in their minds about the power of generosity.