# A New Vision Of Money - 16: Giving and receiving are truly the same One of the lessons of A Course in Miracles tells us that “Giving and receiving are in truth the same.” The Course expresses this idea in a thousand different ways. It is one of the most fundamental ideas in its thought system. If we want to move beyond the sense of scarcity that dominates our lives, we must put this idea into practice. In this world it is a fact that in order to give something, you must first have received it. The Course agrees with this idea: > No one can give what he has not received. To give a thing requires first you > have it in your own possession. Here the laws of Heaven and the world agree. > But here they also separate. The world believes that to possess a thing, it > must be kept. Salvation teaches otherwise: To give is how to recognize you > have received. It is the proof that what you have is yours. ([CE W-159.1](https://acimce.app/:W-159.1)) As we saw earlier, the Course refers again and again to the treasury where miracles are stored. The good news for us is that the treasury is already full. God made sure it would never lack anything. All the miracles you need, you have already received. They are there for you to claim whenever you choose. Before giving miracles, we must connect with the vision of that treasury, enter it, and receive the miracles it contains. How do you receive them? Many imagine some kind of meditation in which you connect with that energy and open yourself completely to receiving what is yours by right. That may be part of the process—coming into contact with what is already there. However, the Course says that to truly receive them, we must give them: > Receive them now by opening the storehouse of your mind, where they are laid, > and giving them away. ([CE W-159.2:5](https://acimce.app/:W-159.2:5))  Having received the vision of Christ within, we now have to give that vision in the form of miracles. As we give the world all the miracles we find within, the world itself will begin to transform into an oasis where the sick are welcomed and healed. The final step involves receiving miracles back. Having given miracles is the proof that you already had them. With the second step you have verified that in order to give, you must first have. But we still have the other part left to verify: that giving is keeping and not losing. The final step involves seeing that you are part of those you help and therefore you also receive as you give. All this talk of giving and receiving sounds very beautiful, but it seems to apply only to intangible things like love. I think we also feel more comfortable imagining that we will give an abstract love and pleasant feelings to others, rather than concrete expressions of love. There is a very beautiful prayer in Lesson 345 that explains perfectly that when we give miracles, what we receive in return are God’s gifts that solve our problems—including money problems: > Father, a miracle reflects Your gifts to me, Your Son. And every one I give > returns to me, reminding me the law of love is universal. Even here it takes a > form which can be recognized and seen to work. The miracles I give are given > back in just the form I need to help me with the problems I perceive. Father, > in Heaven it is different, for there, there are no needs. But here on earth > the miracle is closer to Your gifts than any other gift that I can give. Then > let me give this gift alone today which, born of true forgiveness, lights the > way that I must travel to remember You. ([CE W-345.1](https://acimce.app/:W-345.1)) ## Paying is giving, and giving is receiving Think now of the last time you wanted to buy something expensive—such as a laptop. What do you usually do? If you are like most of us, you look at many options and choose the one with the best price. Perhaps you even negotiate with the seller to get a discount on the listed price. Or you search online for other stores that sell the same item until you find the best deal. When we think of paying for something, our mind thinks only in terms of “getting.” However, the Course shows us the dangers of this way of seeing: > If paying is associated with giving, it cannot be perceived as loss, and the > reciprocal relationship of giving and receiving will be recognized. The price > will then be set high, because of the value of the return. To price for > getting is to lose sight of value, making it inevitable that you will not > value what you receive. Valuing it little, you will not appreciate it and you > will not want it. ([CE T-9.II.11:1-4](https://acimce.app/:T-9.II.11:1-4)) In other words, if you think that in order to obtain something you must pay a price, then you will focus your efforts on paying as little as possible. However, by doing this, your mind is reducing the value of what you want to obtain. This becomes a message to your mind: what you are trying to obtain is not something you truly desire. If you genuinely desired it with your whole heart, you would not try to pay as little as possible for it. Jesus offers us a different vision. In this view, paying does not mean getting—it means giving: > If paying is associated with giving, it cannot be perceived as loss, and the > reciprocal relationship of giving and receiving will be recognized. The price > will then be set high, because of the value of the return. ([CE T-9.II.11:1-2](https://acimce.app/:T-9.II.11:1-2)) It is not merely a relabeling in which you replace the word “pay” with the word “give.” It is a change of purpose. Now paying becomes a tool for allowing someone else to benefit. In this vision, what you receive is the natural recognition and gratitude that come as a natural consequence of giving a gift. This means that the more you give, the greater the response of gratitude you receive in return. If this is so, you would never think of “paying” little. On the contrary, you would give with great generosity, knowing that the “value of the return” is very high. The gains would multiply. Jesus continues in the next paragraph: > Never forget, then, that you have set the value on what you receive, and have > priced it by what you give. To believe that it is possible to get much for > little is to believe that you can bargain with God. God’s laws are always fair > and perfectly consistent. By giving you receive. But to receive is to accept, > not to get. ([CE T-9.II.11-12](https://acimce.app/:T-9.II.11-12)) The section where the paragraphs I quoted appear is actually explaining why our prayers to God seem not to be answered. The reason is that we cannot simply “get” from God. He asks for a “payment” for what you want to receive from Him. He asks that you recognize Him in every person you encounter. As a natural consequence of giving this vision to others, you will accept what He has already offered you. In other words, you will hear His answer to all your requests. The Course continues by saying: > It is impossible not to have, but it is possible not to know you have. The > recognition of having is the willingness for giving, and only by this > willingness can you recognize what you have. What you give is therefore the > value you put on what you have, being the exact measure of the value you put > upon it. And this, in turn, is the measure of how much you want it. ([CE T-9.II.12:4-7](https://acimce.app/:T-9.II.12:4-7)) Have you ever considered that if you are looking for bargains or haggling, it is because what you want to obtain has little value for you? Now think about what you truly want to have in life—what really has value. Not what you think you need, but what your heart most deeply longs to experience. What you desire in the deepest part of your being is already there. It only needs to be accepted through the act of giving it to others. ## Practice ### In the morning We will devote this morning’s meditation to accepting what God has given us. As we saw today, in order to accept, we must give. So we will simply welcome those who come to mind and offer them joy and peace: 1. Close your eyes and quiet your mind using any of the techniques you have learned in this workshop. 2. Think of people in your life. Let their image come to mind. 3. To everyone who appears in your mind say: “I offer you joy and peace, for that is what I want as well.” 4. Say these words slowly and imagine giving each person joy and peace in the form of a light that contains both. 5. Imagine each person receiving your gift and smiling back at you in gratitude. 6. Notice how you feel as you offer joy and peace to everyone. ### During the day We will continue yesterday’s practice and focus on frequently asking for guidance to know what miracles we are to offer today. > "What miracles do You want me to perform in the next hour?" If anything disturbs your peace during the day, remind yourself: > "God only asks me to recognize His perfect Son. Today I will not deny Him."