Understanding Cause and Effect: Exploring Universal Laws
From the certainty that every action has a reaction or that for every cause there is an effect, the law of causality is among the most tried and tested universal laws. If every effect has a cause, then God himself is its cause. Closer to home, the law of causality clearly manifests in individual lives – each thought, vision, decision, and destiny.
The Nature of Cause and Effect
Fundamentally, the law of the chain of effects states that every event has a cause and every cause an effect. As such, it seems to presuppose an unity, a connectedness and continuity of all events, that there are, in other words, no isolated occurrences but events that are embedded within a totality of relations and causation.
Understanding Karma
The best-known adage of the principle of cause and effect is the Indian doctrine of karma, or, literally, ‘action’ or ‘deed’, which was elaborated by the Indian schools of thought of the Upanishads dating back to the eighth century BCE. It became part of the spiritual traditions of Buddhism and Hinduism, among others. The doctrine of karma holds that a good action results in good luck, while a bad action results in misfortune. It is generally believed that ‘you reap what you sow’.
Applications in Daily Life
It’s really the core of the law of karma or cause and effect and it takes it to an entirely other level. If I don’t get recognition for what I do, because I didn’t really do anything for my sweetie this week, I got frustrated. I toyed with the idea of yelling or criticising but instead I asked myself what would actually serve us both, which was to explain how my thoughts and views about the world can set in motion a train of events. In this lesson we’re given a new way of interpreting our world. When we start to understand how we create ourselves through the power of intention in the field, we become conscious agents and owners of that field.
Embracing Responsibility
And behind the concept of volition lies the notion of responsibility: seeing oneself not as a merely passive victim of Fate or circumstances but, by recognising the nature of one’s thoughts, words and actions, as a conscious co-creator of reality. Thus, willingly embracing a virtue-based life of benevolence and compassion can lead to waves of goodwill rippling out from the small influence of oneself.
The Law of Attraction
A corollary of the law of cause and effect is the ‘law of attraction’, where like is deemed to attract like, and we shape our experience through our thoughts and beliefs. Positive, uplifting thoughts are popularly held to bring positive results; negative, destructive ones, undesirable ones. With a mindset of positive expectancy, abundance, gratitude and optimism, we can manifest our dreams and desires using the ‘force’ (if you’ll pardon the Star Wars reference) of the law of attraction.
The principles of cause and effect are ages-old laws through which life itself moves. The dance of subatomic particles is the same as cosmic events, and all follow the laws of cause and effect. Cause and effect is the operating principle that gives form to all things — and is the force that shapes the universe, unknown to mortal eyes. By applying the principles of cause and effect in our lives, we can make changes for the better, enter into a deeper peace and, ultimately, step into the awakening to consciousness.
