9 The Law of Cause and Effect

LAW #9

Nothing happens in isolation.

Every experience grows from causes already in motion, and every choice we make becomes the cause of what comes next.

Spiritual justice works by using every human injustice to bring about a greater level of justice. This means that all forms of negativity can be steppingstones to something better.

This also means that as we go along, hoping to move in the general direction of perfection, the germ of evil must be allowed to sprout. For if it remained dormant with no opportunity to show itself, it would not release the untruth it holds.

We must experience the effect and then work to uncover the cause.

The law of cause and effect is not an impersonal, arbitrary force that has nothing to do with us. It is directly linked with the concept of free will and the reality that all outcomes arise from what we set into motion.

Life is not the cause of all our problems; it is the effect. The cause of our struggles is us and what we have set into motion through our errors and misunderstandings.

Time: Friend or foe?

As we cycle from one lifetime to the next, the relationship between cause and effect often seems broken. In fact, the element of time has no bearing on the reality of cause and effect. Whether we can see the connection or whether time hides it from us, the same law is still at work.

We must also realize that once an act happens, it’s irreversible. Therefore, its momentary consequences can’t be reversed. We can later correct our mistakes, however, by discovering our inner turmoil that led to a certain act.

In this way, we can neutralize the effect of a negative act. But in the moment, the act has consequences and those can’t be annulled. It’s only over time that we can eliminate the consequences that result from our actions.

As such, time can work in our favor.

In unwinding the causes that live in us, we receive both the medicine that heals our hurts, and the lesson that helps us grow.

Reaching the root

We may find it hard to comprehend that our world runs according to cause and effect. Further, that such spiritual laws are woven with mercy and grace, wisdom and love. If we live in alignment with spiritual laws, life begins to work with us rather than against us.

For it’s a law that what we put out is what we get back. This is a principle that works on every level of existence, and it works every time. Our goal is to act and react in such a way that what is returned to us is what we want.

Too often, we want to continue to cling to our misguided, untrue beliefs about life. But life struggles to co-exist with untruth. In typical human fashion, we jump to the wrong conclusion and think that life is retaliating—it’s against us.

Once we make some headway on our personal path, gaining some understanding about how this works, we’re bound to see that all evil is self-created. Every painful experience has an origin in us that can teach us something. To resolve the pain of the experience, we must unearth a hidden untruth.

In doing this work of finding and unwinding the causes that live in us, we receive both the medicine that heals our hurts, and the lesson that helps us grow.