Extra notes about Chapter 3 – Four Quadrants – in the book,
The Art of Receiving and Giving: The Wheel of Consent.
Other notes are found here.
This is the only other reference I have heard to something like the quadrants. When I heard it I was delighted! When I asked him where it was written, Mark said it was a verbal teaching from his Sufi Teacher.
“Abundance and energy flow in different directions. Instead of thinking of “flow” as just one thing, if you get a little more granular you can start to see where things get sticky.
The five basic flows are Giving (actively moving something from you), Taking (actively bringing something towards you), Receiving (passively open to what is given to you), Offering (passively making what you have available to be taken), and Stillness. You will tend to favor one over the others. Some are more comfortable passively sitting back to receive, others are more comfortable assertively trying to take.
Often when you are comfortable with a certain flow you’ll attach a stigma to other flows, as in, “Yes, it’s okay to receive, but it’s rude and pushy to go take something, even when it’s offered to me.” Or, “If I relax and wait for it to come to me there won’t be any left! Panic!”
The trick is to be aware of all five flows and to use the most appropriate flow for the situation you are facing. Even beyond that, to get really fluid where you can shift from one to another as a situation changes.”