Understand the Law of

Cause and Effect

Every choice we make has far-reaching consequences; all actions do.
I’m a great believer in the universal principle of cause and effect.
What we sow we reap. Every action has a reaction. What goes around
comes around. All the old sayings are true. If someone is dull, his
dreary
behavior causes dreary feelings in others. If someone is stimulating
and
inspired, they have an infectious way of exciting and inspiring others.
When we give the best we have to give, the best comes back to us; in
some way we are rewarded. It may not be in exactly the way we
expect,
but the more we put into life, the more we get out of it, the more good
we experience. We’ve been taught since early childhood that it is
better to
give than to receive. The great secret we grow to discover is that the
more
we give, the more we possess, or have inwardly.
Lao Tzu, believed to be the founder of Taoism, understood the law of
cause and effect and wrote, “Having given all he had, he then is very
rich
indeed.” You receive more than you give when you do good deeds.
Cause and effect is a scientific principle. When an apple falls from
a tree because of gravity, where it will land can be determined. Every
action, each mindset, has consequences. If you set a table in an angry
consciousness, or feed a child in a grumpy mood, it hurts you and the

people you are feeding. Energy, good and bad, affects us. In Hinduism
and Buddhism, we are taught that every deed or action has a cause
and
effect, that we have a distinctive aura, an atmosphere, that surrounds
us
in our thinking, feeling, and actions.
The seventeenth-century Dutch philosopher Spinoza taught, “Nothing
exists from whose nature some effect does not follow.” Each choice we
make will make a difference, for better or worse.
Determine the value of an action by weighing it against the value
of its consequences. The term for this is consequentialism. Consider
the logical consequence of every action. You and I have the power to
produce an action that will achieve a good result. We have a great
deal
of influence about the way we live our lives. The author of Anatomy of
an Illness, Norman Cousins, believed, “Wisdom consists of anticipation
of consequences.” We choose what we want to produce. The Swiss
psychiatrist Carl Jung wrote in Psychological Reflections, “Man
breathes
his own life into things until finally they begin to live of themselves
and
to multiply.” We are the ones who choose our life’s course. The best
way to get the most out of our short lifetimes is to put forth more
effort.
Our lives are made possible by the goodwill and hard work of so many
others. We first have to give, in order to receive the full measure of
abundance of all the good things in life.
Choose wisely what actions of others you will pay attention to and
those you will ignore. Be sure your actions will bring the results you
desire.
When you are responsible for the consequences of your actions, when
you
are never satisfied with what you have done, but are dedicated to
doing
more and better, you will be making a useful, worthwhile contribution
to the universe. In turn, you will be awarded abundantly for your good
work.
You are your choices; you choose what you want to manifest with the
best-intended results. If you choose the path that leads you to the
good
life, you will be living in the light. This is just common sense.