Which is truer? The more you give- the more your needs are met. OR The more you meet your needs first- the more you can give.

The more I get off, the more i give…...

I think both are true, in different circumstances.

I’m with laureth, both are true considering particular circumstances. Maybe you shouldn’t be giving as much assuming your own needs haven’t been met. And if you’re a good person and you enjoy to give, once your needs are met, the more you can give.

@Mizuki: LOL, That’s what I get for posting right after the porn question !

Was thinking in terms of the gift economy – although the sex parallels are obvious (meet your needs first, then fall asleep)...

The latter.

I subscribe to the Deepak Chopra view: that wealth flows, and as long as we allow it to flow, and don’t try to hoard or stop it from flowing out, then it will continue to flow in at a greater volume…..—-but this still sounds like porn…..sorry

give and it shall be given unto you, pressed down, shaken together…

a scripture excerpt actually that simply means when you give from your heart without expecting anything in return, you get the love back in more than financial ways, but every way possible. true acts of kindness have longtime rewards, financial and otherwise.

If you are at peace with yourself, you will find that you have very few needs.

lurve @Mizuki Now I want mine!!

I’m with Laureth. It depends on the starting point. If one is lucky enough to be born wealthy, then the former would hold true. If you are caught in a cycle of poverty, then the latter.

If you’re born wealthy, or work hard and are lucky and become wealthy, you need to share or you’ll be isolated. Your sharing’s good for the community too, and for your own spiritual well-being you need to do this.

Let’s see if the converse works: If you’re born poor or become poor, you need to find and accept generosity or you’ll be isolated.
Accepting generosity is good for the community, as well as for yourself. What goes around comes around, be it material or spiritual.

I guess this IS the gift economy talking….

Money is just one way to interact with people. I’ve found plenty of very poor people who have been unbelievably generous to me (food, shelter, healing, stories, help, etc.) and plenty of wealthy people who have a terrible time accepting gifts or support from others. Giving and receiving seem to be more about openness and compassion than wealth. I think it’s a universal principle (Law of Thermodynamics). Will generosity always create more generosity? Any stories of times being unconditionally generous (with not just money) actually led to others being less generous?

Not to be preachy, but shouldn’t getting or having stuff on account of altruism be completely beside the point? I’m getting a “prosperity gospel” vibe here…

@knotmyday… totally in agreement with you!

however… if we’re talking about creating a better world (i’m not sure we are…but stick with me on this one…) then from past experience by giving stuff away/ meeting others needs can create a perpetual state of generosity with limitless scope – ever expanding outwards, upwards and beyondI have first experience of giving to other people (time, money, love etc ) and receiving those things back from other angles in countless ways

…. meeting one’s own needs on the other hand is so insular that its more than likely that the chain stops there… us all meeting our own needs first is just essentially…. i don’t know…just seems very…selfish and wrong….

maybe we should all experiment for one week meeting other peoples needs first at least 5 times a day and then the exact opposite for a week and see how we get on…could be fun….and enlightening

I also have to say though that I meet my sons needs before my own all the time… (or at least i do my best) because I’m convinced its going to pay off by him turning into an amazing little and big human being – and I’d really like to think that’s true altruism?

The latter

the more your needs are me, the more happier you are

forget that giving stuff