Does it really matter that you do unto others as you would have them do unto you? Is there a link between what you give and what you get back or experience? If so, how do we learn how to give and receive in a way that is helpful to all?

I had an image the other day of a long oval wheel of thought that exists between all of us. This wheel of thought is always rotating between each of us which means that we are constantly giving through one end of the rotation and receiving through the other end.

“Does it really matter that you do unto others as you would have them do unto you? Is there a link between what you give and what you get back or experience? If so, how do we learn how to give and receive in a way that is helpful to all?”

Think of thought like a bicycle chain where you have the sprockets at the pedal and the sprockets at the wheel, with each sprocket being either yourself or another being. The moment you begin to turn this chain, or give to somebody, you are immediately also receiving from them because the entire chain moves both away and towards each sprocket at the same time.

You are always giving and you are always receiving. A Course in Miracles states that whatever you desire for yourself, to first give that to another and then you shall have it for yourself as well. This works because we receive thoughts in return that are in line with the spirit of how the thoughts were given.

If you extend or share thoughts of love, peace, healing and abundance, those same thoughts will return to you in some way. Likewise, if you share thoughts of mistrust, greed, fear or hate, those thoughts and experiences will return to you in same way.

This is why we have the golden rule to do unto others as we would have others do unto us, because we will experience the results of what we have given. In the Bible, Jesus says 'judge not or you will be judged as well'. This was misunderstood as a retribution from God that he will judge us if we judge others, but that's not what Jesus is saying. He is saying that you receive or experience what you give, so if you don't want to experience being judged, don't judge others. The spirit of this concept works with any line of thinking.

Let's go back to the golden rule and go one step further to realize that doing means nothing without the proper intent behind it. It's what you are being while you are doing that matters. Jesus said that if you were to lust after a woman, it's no different than having been with her. This was not meant to foster guilt, but to demonstrate that it is our thoughts that really matter and not the resulting actions. He is saying that our thoughts are the source of all things and that these thoughts are the cause of all the effects we experience here.

So if we look at the source behind the effects of the golden rule, we could say instead, be unto others as you would have others be unto you; think about others as you would desire they think about you; desire for others what you would like them to desire for you.

There are many spiritual things we strive to learn, but at the end of any whole hearted attempt to discover the truth about a concept, the answer is often the same. There is nothing you need to do to master a technique or concept other than letting go of your own preconfigured concepts and simply allowing in that which is already naturally there. Likewise, giving and receiving is not an act you need to learn how to do. It's an unending process that exists whether you are aware of it or not. You are always giving. You are always receiving. The only thing you have any choice about is the experience you will have due to what you choose to give and receive.

One of the first questions about giving and receiving I generally get is along the line of, "If I need money, how can I give money I don't have, in order to get it?"

The answer to any and all questions like this is the same. Never pursue specific answers to anything physical, but be open for and pursue the spirit of the perceived need. For example, if you need money, your problem is not the lack money, because that's simply the effect of the source of your problem. The source of your problem is a lack of knowing you can be abundant or are deserving of being blessed. To resolve this, choose somebody and sincerely desire they be abundant. Desire the best for them. Choose that they do well. Desire that whatever may be holding back their experience of being abundant is healed. Extend thoughts of blessing, peace and love to them and those same thoughts and experiences will return to you in some way. It simply will.

So often we are trying to fix the effect of a problem instead of being open for the source of the problem to be healed. This is like perpetually placing band-aids on your cut fingers while you continue to hold a knife by the blade. The cuts are an effect of the problem, but the way you are holding the knife is the source of the problem. All the band-aids in the world will never fix your problem, but a simple shift in how you see and use the knife will.

Giving and receiving never stops and it never has a physical focus. The focus is always one of being. Then, when we experience a change in how we are being, the effects or physical aspects of our lives change accordingly. We have gotten so confused in believing it is the other way around in what Neale Donald Walsh calls "Having a Do Be", where we think if we Do this or Do that, then we'll Be happy or Be successful, but this is all backwards and is focusing on the effect and not the cause.

Find and focus on the cause of anything you perceive as a lack. Anything you perceive as a lack is something you are withholding from truly desiring for another. It takes the joining of the thoughts of two or more to result in any change, so join with another and love them. It doesn't matter if they're not conscious of your thoughts because the connection is there anyway, waiting for your participation. Hold them in your heart and desire the best for them. Desire that they see more clearly and that they become more open for their mind to be healed. Extend your loving and creative thoughts to them and the source of your problems will begin to resolve. Peddle that bike. Send your links of love and goodness along the chain that connects you to another and the perfect links for you will flow into your being as well.