Principles
Principle Two: Cause & Effect
Of all the principles that govern the universe this is the most basic of them all. This is the principle from which all others are derived. There is no effect or creation without a cause and no cause that does not produce effect.
Cause and effect is the foundation of duality, which is the cause of all manifestation.
Cause and effect brings intelligence into being. From eternity effects have been observed and then causes are repeated with an improved end in mind. This brings into being the principle of evolution and creation.
Below are several comments on cause and effect from my previous writings.
There is no First Cause because cause and effect has always been and always will be.
Even if a person is in a state of complete forgiveness, or complete peace of mind, he is still subject to the laws of karma or cause and effect.
For instance if you misstep and fall down some stairs this is a result of your not playing along wisely with cause and effect created by gravity. No matter how much forgiveness you have been given you still have to watch out for this law because cause and effect and forgiveness have little to do with each other.
In fact about a month ago as I was getting ready to go upstairs and go to bed I had all the lights off and got turned around and took a step on the stairs going down instead of the ones going up. I assure you that even though I am a fairly enlightened fellow with a forgiving heart that I found myself fully subject to this law and fell down a flight of stairs. I was lucky. I had sprains and bruises, but nothing was broken. Even now my right arm is returning to normal strength, but for a while I had difficulty in even writing my daily posts to you.
Karma is like this. If we set causes in motion the effects come back to us. If we have sent forth destructive causes in times past in a way this is like borrowing money from a bank. We have to pay it back and we wish we didn’t have to. The key of wisdom here is to not wait until the bank comes after us for payment, but to pay off the debt so interest will not accumulate. With negative karma the best way to do this is through service. The more you serve the more negative karma is paid off. Zia said something that was a help to Jill. This put some money in her account to offset negative karma. If you do something even more dramatic like enter a burning building and rescue a child then you make a giant deposit.
Now don’t forget that there is also positive karma. Good people, as we have on this list, will have a lot of this in the bank and if we listen to our souls we will know the appropriate time to cash in on it. I know a lot of you will just want to reinvest it so the good will continue to multiply and benefit the world.
Whereas the law of cause and effect is an eternal principle, forgiveness is not. Forgiveness is a temporary measure that manifests in the state of illusion. The illusion that makes forgiveness seem real is the idea that there is something to forgive. As a reflection of God you are invulnerable and as such there is nothing anyone can do to hurt you in the real sense. This is a realization that all the great ones have attained. Once this understanding is incorporated into our being then forgiveness no longer exists or is possible because there is never anything to forgive.
But even those who have attained this high realization still have to deal with the law of cause and effect because this law is no illusion as it relates to creation.
Cause and effect (or karma) applies to the universe, galaxies, suns, planets, humans and even atoms… there is no escape as long as we are experiencing the life principle.
Some gurus argue with this by saying: “My consciousness is so high that I am one with a beingness that is beyond cause and effect.”
To this I answer: Look in the mirror. Do you see yourself? If you do then you have not left the world of cause and effect. Are you conscious of time and space? If so then you are subject to the law of cause and effect. Do you use money? Then you are in the world of cause and effect.
The trouble is that many read teachings about some ultimate reality that is beyond cause and effect and they immediately assume that this is the next step for them. Then after a short period of contemplation they assume they have taken that step and they then enter a world of illusion where they see themselves as untouchable by the normal laws of being. Entities who enter this illusion often receive a painful and alarming awakening by the law of cause and effect from which they see themselves immune. Sooner or later they are forced into the realization that they have not left the laws of the universe behind but must deal with what is.
Let us use a car as an example of this law. You get in your car and head out to the freeway and accelerate to seventy miles an hour and then put on the cruise control. You have now created cause that has the effect of making you cruise down the road at a certain speed.
Now that this cause and effect is a reality in this part of creation let us say that for some reason you want to change this situation and bring your car to a stop. If forgiveness has any effect on karma (or cause and effect) then all you would have to do is say to your car: “I forgive you for going seventy miles an hour and because I forgive you I expect you to stop!”
This seems like an obviously silly thing to do because there is nothing to forgive and even if there were it would not affect the speed of the car.
So it is with the burglar. Seen from the reality of cause and effect there is nothing to forgive and even if we think there is, nothing changes.
Let’s get back to the speeding car. Suppose you blurt out a mantra decreeing: “I see myself in the Eternal Now and decree that all is still!”
Does your car stop?
No.
Why?
Because you created no cause.
So how do you stop the car?
There are several ways.
The worst method is to run head on to an opposing vehicle. This would stop you dead in your tracts in an undesirable manner.
You could run into a stationary object such as a building or a cow. This would also stop you, but is also undesirable.
You could take the cruise control and acceleration off and let natural resistances outside of yourself cause you to slow a stop.
But perhaps this method of stopping takes much longer than you desire. So what else can you do? Aha! You discover a device called a brake that works with cause and effect in the real world, and using such device you can bring yourself to a quick and secure stop. You have not negated the law, but worked with the law with intelligence so your desired end is achieved and under your control.
So the burglar who has created a thousand burglaries has many more effects with which to deal. It’s like a thousand causes for his car of life so it is going at the terrible speed of a thousand miles an hour. Now he wants to stop because he has discovered he is going the wrong direction. He needs to slow to zero, turn around and go the other direction. How does he do this?
- First he must realize that there are causes in motion that he must steer correctly. If he does not he is likely to have a collision and come to a disastrous stop which will take a long period of pain and healing from which to recover.
- He can turn off his cruise control and acceleration (stop committing burglaries) and let natural causes from the opposing direction bring him to zero. This is comparable to the burglar changing his behavior (he no longer is a thief).
- He decides to just “go with the flow” and applies no intelligence to apply the law of cause and effect in his favor. Thus what brings him to zero are a thousand negative resisting experiences happening to him. This stretches the pain out over a long period of time, but is still undesirable.
- The final and most desirable method of coming to a stop is to apply the brakes. Consider the miracle of the brake. A frail 100 pound weakling can apply a small pressure with his foot and bring a vehicle weighing tons to a complete stop in seconds, much faster than using the going with the flow idea. The brake applies the leverage principle wherein a pound a pressure can create a thousand pounds of resistance through intelligent application of law and materials.
So how does the burglar apply the leverage principle so he does not have to suffer the equivalent of a thousand thefts himself?
First he must come to the realization that he is going the wrong direction and take off the cruise control and acceleration (stop burglarizing homes). Then he must obtain a sense and awareness of his situation. He must become aware that he is going a thousand miles an hour and he must do something to slow to zero so he can turn and head in a positive direction. Once he obtains a sense of the energy (service) that is required to stop he then seeks power to manipulate this force.
There are a number of ways the wise burglar can neutralize this speeding energy; here is one.
The burglar changes his ways and seeks to live by the highest that he knows. As he does this he achieves a degree of inner contact and begins to get direction from within which tells him that he should strive to succeed and do good works to help his brothers and sisters. He follows this impulse and starts a business and becomes successful. After he achieves considerable wealth his inner self tells him he should be generous with his good fortune. He then sets up a scholarship program that helps a thousand kids go to college and improve their lives. This then becomes a lever that puts a brake on the great debt that he owes and brings him to a complete stop much much quicker than going with the flow will ever accomplish. In addition, he pays off his debt through joyous service rather than painful experiences.
This also illustrates the beauty of BECOMING. As we become that which we decide to become we discover more and more levers that give us accelerating power to make our decisions reality. We receive joy and peace as additional levers are registered by our consciousness and used with wisdom.
“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge. It is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.”
— Charles Darwin
Copyright by J J Dewey
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