The beautiful feminine art of receiving – an article for the woman who wants to learn how to open her heart and become comfortable with receiving love, admiration, support, abundance, and so many more gifts the world offers her everyday.
something shifts within a woman when she starts practicing the feminine art of receiving.
her heart melts open and relaxes in the comfort of the love, affection, support and care that is being poured into her life.
her body feels a deep exhale knowing that she is always loved, always taken care of, always provided for.
her soul blooms, grows and thrives in the belongingness she feels with God and with those who truly value her.
there’s so much beauty in embodying this gift of receptivity because deep within, every woman knows that this is one of the most essential aspects of her femininity that she was never really taught to stay connected with.
in a highly-masculinised world that celebrates striving and proving, she too is taught early on that giving is noble and receiving is selfish. that asking for support means she is weak and that she doesn’t have what it takes to be a ‘self-made’ success story.
she moves through life seeing this in every layer of her society.
her feminine nature that is designed to thrive on connection and belonging starts drifting towards the myth of individuality from a very young age, slowly disconnecting her from the very ecosystem she is a part of. now, something as simple as asking for help feels like dependence and is often accompanied by a lot of shame.
even if she somehow manages to escape that conditioning, she finds that receiving comes with conditions around her worth that is always tied to something outside of her. being a good student, or a girl who meets the external beauty standards, or an obedient daughter, or an independent self-sufficient woman, or giving wife and a selfless mother.
this slowly builds a shield around her heart that dictates she is worthy only when she gives and does for others, a shield that doesn’t allow her to receive even the simplest well-meaning gestures of care, affection and service offered to her.
on a personal level, it makes her look at these acts of kindness from the lens of her perceived flaws. because she is so deeply conditioned to attach her value to her outward appearance, to how she speaks, to whether or not she thinks or feels like most around her, whenever any form of goodness comes her way, she can’t help but question its legitimacy, its realness.
in the space of relationships, this hardens her heart and makes it difficult for her to believe that someone might want to love her with pure and true devotion. that someone might be drawn to her for who she is in her most natural state, and not for her achievements or how much she can do for others including that person.
in the realm of her career and business, this leads her to taking on the stride of “i can do it all” when she might actually be needing support underneath. it makes her equate delegation with weakness and losing control, depriving her of the nourishment that is always available through the support of those around her.
and on a spiritual level, this shield makes it difficult for her to believe in the unseen support of the grace that’s always guiding her. often leading to an over-riding of her intuitive wisdom in situations that cannot be navigated solely via logic. it makes her more impatient and less relaxed around problems that may present themselves with a solution only if she allowed herself to truly feel and receive what’s unfolding within her.
if you resonate with any of this, please know you are not alone.
so many women today are feeling this way. they are slowly realizing the cost of hyper-independence that has deprived them of the fulfilment they could feel if only they allowed themselves to truly receive, whether from the people in their life or from the divine grace of the higher power they feel drawn to.
they are paying attention to the tugging at their heart, telling them that there might a different way to living and being.
they are letting themselves feel the exhaustion that their striving and grinding culture has brought to them, slowly allowing themselves to rest, heal and restore their life force energy.
they are releasing the pressure on themselves to figure life out, to know everything (before it even unfolds!)
i have been seeing a lot of these shifts in my feminine softening work with women. and i feel it’s necessary.
because these initial permissions are what leads to restoring and returning to the various beautiful aspects of our femininity that include our capacity to receive without shame or guilt.
i see it as a good sign if you are longing to receive love and support without having to perform, earn your worth, over give and over work. if you’re craving to receive deeper intimacy, belonging and emotional connection in your life and relationships.
because it’s through these desires is how we truly arrive to the heart of this feminine art of receiving. it is through these sacred callings that we allow ourselves to melt our hard masculine shield and soften into our feminine essence.
and so, continue listening to and honoring what’s arising within you, giving yourself the permission to practice this feminine art of receiving as and when you feel safe to.
and if you find yourself seeking more support with this, feel free to explore my feminine softening course Her Soft Power or work with me privately in one of my feminine softening 1-1 sessions.
Navdeep 💗
p.s. looking for more articles on feminine softening in life and in love? please visit here.
