“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”    ~Budda~

“Generosity is the habit of giving freely without expecting anything in return. It can involve offering time, assets or talents to aid someone in need. Often equated with charity as a virtue, generosity is widely accepted in society as a desirable trait.  .[1]”

“Generosity is a whole-being practice, and we experience it most deeply when we practice it on several levels simultaneously. On a physical level, we can practice giving away money or time, or volunteering our labor. Mentally, we "do" generosity by cultivating an attitude of offering and a willingness to examine our motives for giving. On an emotional level, we can learn to notice how the impulse to give feels, and how to use imagery and generous thoughts to summon our generous feelings. Energetically, we can notice the tightness that sometimes forms in the heart around giving, and work with breath to help release those contractions.[2]

A great video (5:36 min) that reviews the unhealthy (agenda filled) motivations behind giving and to assist in keeping generosity clean (healthy) is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2k73P6vWEg.

Science studies generosity!

“Scientific studies show that giving from the heart, without strings attached or expecting something in return, results in the release of hormones such as oxytocin - also known as "the cuddle hormone".

Feelings of connection, gratitude and appreciation, abundance and the ability to give freely, are all associated with the creation and experience of a coherent heart field. The coherent heart field is central to experiencing health, happiness, personal empowerment and effectiveness, and overall well being.

Science has also found that giving with expectations of getting something in return, such as exchanging money for necessities, products, or services, activates the area of the brain associated with pain, disrupting the heart's energetic field, creating stress and feelings of separation from others.

Receiving = part of giving!

Giving cannot occur without a receiver. Receiving, therefore, is actually an act of giving. Receiving gives the act of giving someplace to go.  In truth, only giving exists. In the physical Universe, where we experience the illusion of separation, it appears that one person can give an object, such as money, and receive something in exchange, such as clothing or food.  If you examine this "exchange" closely, you will notice that the only action  that occurs is giving. One gives money and the other gives the money someplace to go. The other gives food or clothing, and the other gives the food and clothes someplace to go.

In nature we do not observe exchange, only giving.   The sun shines, the plants grow and make flowers and fruits, the animals eat the plants and make more creatures. It is all giving.

We are...the creators of our own Universe, and that it is only by giving that we can and do create and receive. In your own life, pay attention to the times you are "receiving", and notice how you are actually "giving" that which is being given someplace to go.[3]”

Are you generous to yourself? 

Can you really be generous to others, if you have not first taken care of yourself?  I found two short videos that share ideas about this question. 

Suze Orman on Generosity (3:07 min): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtYZZy6rTPA

Healing the cycle of self denial: Expressing healthy needs (5:18 min) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5BtC4l1Bgg

"Before giving, the mind of the giver is happy; while giving, the mind of the giver is made peaceful; and having given, the mind of the giver is uplifted."     -Buddha –

Giving from a happy heart place raises your vibration and therefore creates a happier reality – it is the law of attraction at work!  I have the following imprinted on my checks to remind me to be in gratitude when I write my checks each month. 

"As I give, I receive."     -Mary McLeod Bethune

Abraham speaks briefly (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKYcX93GROI) about tithing and the importance of noticing the vibrations you give from.  If you are giving to someone because you feel they lack, you are out of the vortex.  If you are giving to make yourself feel better or out of a preserved obligation, you are out of the vortex.  Furthermore, if you are giving to get something in return, you are out of the vortex. 

"We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give."
-Winston Churchill-