The One Thing Preventing You from Receiving What You Desire

These days, it’s common to hear talk of manifestation and attracting or creating what you desire. Long ago, only in religious circles were you taught, “Ask, and you shall receive.” However, if you cannot receive, you can ask until you are blue in the face and still not create what you want.

You must be a receiver.

The concept of being a receiver—someone able to receive—may seem odd. After all, nothing is stopping you from receiving your desires—if they are fulfilled, right?

Wrong.

Be an Open Vessel

As a long-time student of Kabbalah, I’m well aware of the concept of receiving or being a receiver. In fact, Kabbalah means “receive” or “accept.” It’s a “received tradition” offered by teacher to student, and what is received is Divine knowledge.

Additionally, this mystical tradition teaches that you must be an open vessel able to receive and hold the knowledge given to you. You also must be able to receive all the “goodness” the Divine/Source/God has to offer and wants to provide.

Without an open vessel, though, it’s impossible to receive what you are given—asked for or not. As a result, you are unable to accept the gifts offered or the fulfillment of your desires.

Why Am I Not Receiving My Desires?

In the last 15 years or more, I’ve often wondered why I don’t receive my desires. I have believed in the Law of Attraction (LOA) since my late 20s or early 30s. Yet, almost three decades later—after becoming a certified LOA coach and teaching a Kabbalistic LOA formula, I still wasn’t receiving or attracting what I wanted consistently.

I saw this in my relationships, product launches, and bank account. These were just a few places where I wasn’t receiving what I asked for.

Last year, I stopped blaming the Universe or my marketing skills or my husband—or anything else—and took responsibility for my part in the problem. “I am not a good receiver,” I said.

And then, I set out to learn how to open to all the goodness available to me. I decided I had to figure out how to clear away any blocks I had to receiving.

Do you Receive?

Every day, you have opportunities to receive. It’s highly likely, though, that you don’t.

Think about this common opportunity to receive—when someone compliments you.

The last time someone complimented you, did you say, “Thank you”? Or did you negate it in some way?

For instance, when your friend said, “Wow! You look great in that outfit. I really like it,” how did you respond?

Did you say, “Thanks so much!” and feel great about the compliment?

Or did you say, “Oh…this? I got it at a second-hand shop years ago. It’s so old. And I’m exhausted. I must look terrible.”

Obviously, the first example demonstrates receiving a compliment. The second shows how you push it away or resist letting it in.

If you can’t accept a compliment, you probably can’t receive the things you want either.

Lid On or Off?

Many of us claim to be open to receiving what we want. In fact, we aren’t.

Think of yourself like a huge container—picture a jug, carafe, or something similar. To pour water into this container, the lid must be off. If the lid is on, the container cannot receive the water. If you try to pour water into it, the liquid will simply splash off the cover and run down the sides.

That’s what it’s like to not be a receiver.

Is your lid on or off? If you aren’t receiving what you want, it’s definitely firmly on.

Resistance Makes Receiving Hard

So, why would you block your desires from flowing in abundantly? Most of the reasons involve your old beliefs, negative thoughts, and subconscious programming.

I clump all these reasons together into one: resistance.

Resistance could come in the form of discomfort, for example. You may feel uncomfortable accepting what you desire and, therefore, resist allowing it in. Or you may want it but not think you are worthy or deserving of it. So, rather than feel those emotions, you push away what you want. You close the lid and don’t allow it in.

Resistance also comes in the form of fear. If you feel afraid—of success, failure, what your life will be like or what you will lose if you get what you desire, your power as a creator, etc.—you are resisting what you want. Energetically, your fear closes the door to your desires. They may be knocking, but you aren’t willing to let them in.

How to Become a Receiver

If you realize you are not a receiver, it’s time to change this, is it not? So…how do you do that? Here are a few things I’ve learned that help pop the cork on your container.

1. See fear as excitement. Fear and excitement feel the same in the body. Thus, when you feel afraid, you can simply recategorize that feeling as excitement. Tell yourself, “Hey! I’m really excited to receive my desire.” Then, move into expectancy, which maintains your excited feeling.
2. Change your vibration. We live in a vibratory world. You attract things similar to the rate at which you vibrate, which means your energetic state might be disallowing your desires. Vibratory resistance is caused by negative emotions, like anger, jealousy, lack, or judgment. Focus on love, peace, harmony, joy, and gratitude. These positive emotions raise your vibration, which makes you more receptive.
3. Change your emotions. If you are mired in negative emotions, you are likely to be thinking negative thoughts. You can change your emotional state—and raise your vibration—by thinking positive thoughts. To accomplish this, try #1 and #2 above. Or focus your attention on things that make you happy, cause you to feel grateful or excited, or invoke awe and inspiration.
4. Change your thoughts. Beliefs are thoughts you think repeatedly, and if they oppose what you want, they create resistance. For instance, if you want something but believe you can’t have it, that belief influences your receiving ability. So improve your thoughts and beliefs, and your ability to receive will improve as well.
5. Practice receiving. Receive everything—the smile offered by the person passing you on the street, a random compliment, someone holding the door open for you, the penny you find on the ground, or the tip for your services. Practice receiving everything and anything…even the bad stuff.
6. Feel and express gratitude. For each thing you receive (see #4)—big or small, express gratitude. Be grateful for everything! Gratitude puts you in a very high vibratory state. It blasts off the lid of your container, allowing you to receive more.
7. Allow. Stop trying to control how what you want shows up, when it will arrive, and how it will look when you get it. The adage that “we make plans and God laughs” applies here. Make your plans—ask for what you desire. Then, “let go and let God,” as so many like to say. Allow whatever is for your highest good to come to you, and be willing to receive that. Surrender… And remember: Control closes the lid to your container so tightly that nothing can get in.

Notice Your Resistance

Notice where you are resisting what you desire. It’s easy to discover these places. Just look at where in your life you aren’t receiving what you want.

Then, explore why that might be. For example, if you aren’t receiving money—a common issue!—how might you be resisting? You say you want it, but…

• Are you stuck in thoughts of lack—not enough money?
• Do you judge money as evil?
• Are you jealous of people who have money?
• Are you afraid you won’t know how to handle money if you have it?
• Do you think you have to work harder to get it?

This takes some internal work. However, therapy, journaling, coaching, and hypnosis can prove helpful.

Manifestation Requires Receiving

As long as you aren’t being a receiver, you’ll struggle to create or manifest anything. And it could be that resistance to receiving in one area of your life affects your ability to receive in others. That means that if you can’t receive love from your partner, for example, you may not be able to receive money from your clients.

You can see, therefore, how important it is to learn to receive all the time. Be an open vessel and trust that by allowing in everything—even what you don’t want, you also allow in what you desire.

Are you open to receiving, or do you resist receiving your desires? Tell me in a comment below. And please share this post with your social networks and friends.