There is a difference between a belief system and an observation of reality.
photo credit: h.koppdelaney
When we speak of Reality, we refer to “life-in-the-happening,” and when we observe life happening (as our greatest teachers and Christ did) we notice the presence of basic, consistent, principles that are ever present in the process of life – certain laws of manifestation that define the nature of reality. They are the governing laws that form the backbone, foundation, and structure of reality. They are the undergirding of reality that operate it on all levels.
And they are taught in some form or another in every major philosophy, theology, and cosmology, because they form the structure of all life. A very simple example of what we mean is the principle that underlies our knowing that if I hold a ball in my hand and I release that ball from my hand, it will fall to the ground. We say that the law of gravity is in operation, and we count on it as simply being the way it is. We orient our whole life around the principle that what goes up must come down. If is not a belief system, as much as it is an observable fact. It is reality. We do not question it, and it matters not whether we believe in it or not, it is what is – what goes up will come down.
Reality has a set of similar laws that sages and wisdom seekers have been observing to us for thousands of years. Such basic guiding principles, or laws, were ascertained from their oft-repeated observations of life and nature (including human nature). They observed that these principles are at work on every level of life, including in the way our very own psyche works, even to the structure of the mind!
It is why my book is called, Guiding Principles for Life Beyond Victim Consciousness, because when we apply these principles consciously to our lives we begin to move into alignment with reality, and life improves dramatically for us as a result.
Let's look at the difference between reality and a belief about reality as we examine the statement, “There are no coincidences, mistakes, accidents…” On the surface, this statement sounds like it is a belief, rather than reality, but let's examine it more closely.
The preceding statement is simply a reflection of the law of cause and effect that says nothing happens by happenstance or in a vacuum. There is always a preceding cause for every thing that happens – there are no coincidences. (see The Kybalion regarding the universal laws of manifestation at http://www.kybalion.org/) What we experience in life today was preceded by yesterdays causes. There are no ‘accidents.’
To further expand my meaning, let's look at this law on the level of our own thinking; the law suggests that what we will experience tomorrow is being determined today by the choices we are making now. Or another way of saying it is that the choices we make in this moment are determined by the thoughts we presently think and believe. It does not matter whether we believe that statement or not, it is the way reality is … it is one of the ways that the law of cause and effect works in reality.
It works like this: whatever beliefs we line up with will be what we attract, and are attracted to in life. For instance, if we believe the world is dangerous or that people cannot be trusted, that will be our experience of reality. We can observe our beliefs-in-action in our lives and therefore know that what we experience in our lives does not come to be there ‘by accident.’
With such a fear-based belief as “the world is dangerous,” we would automatically feel the feelings that go with that belief system. We might feel paranoid, and afraid of people. (Remember feelings come from thoughts/beliefs), as a result we might react (often in negative ways) out of those feelings, often unconsciously.
We might for example avoid people and situations, or react defensively when there’s no need, or see attack where there is none, etc. When we act out of the feelings that come from deeply held fear-based beliefs, we invite a negative reaction from those we interact with that we then use as validation of our original belief.
If, for instance, I believe you’re not a safe person, I might avoid you, or react defensively with you, which then may prompt you to respond to me in a less-than-friendly, perhaps even offensive way, which I can then use as validation that reinforces my belief that you are dangerous. My belief about you sets the stage for my experience with you, my thoughts/beliefs are the cause and your reactions towards me are the predictable effect. This is what we mean when we say there are no coincidences – we are observing the law of cause and effect. There is no accident to it! The choices we make, the stories we believe, show up in the situations we face in life. There are no mistakes.
When we learn to observe reality and we come to know the guiding principles that operate in reality, we begin to recognize and question our thoughts and our beliefs ABOUT reality so we can attract a happier future.
I am not saying life is predestined … meaning already mapped out, like we are puppets on a string, it's not that sort of thing. No, but I am saying that we are the ones who determine the quality of our tomorrows, I guess you could say, we ‘predetermine' our future by the beliefs we carry and project out onto the world around us, and those in it.
BUT, we can choose the freedom and peace that comes when we apply certain basic guiding principles that align us with Reality and Source and allows us to experience a life wonderfully different than anything we’ve known before.
Rather than a life governed by our mind-made beliefs, we instead study and learn to apply certain basic laws of reality. We look for these guiding principles in all of our life situations and use them to anchor us in reality, rather than to go on believing our painful life stories. We can choose to believe in these principles or not, they work whether or not we believe them, but when we align with them we come to know them as the universal laws that set us free!
Hope this was helpful.
Blessings,
Lynne