CHANGE YOUR MISTAKEN THOUGHTS INTO EMPOWERING TRUTHS

Welcome to this first video on the Law of Mentalism, which introduces the concept of a higher power or a Giant Mind that oversees everything and knows everything. It is also referred to as God, The Creator or Universal Consciousness. This powerful force created everything in the Universe by simply thinking it into existence. Once created, everything remains a part of the whole, each part connected to and influencing every other part.

The Law of Mentalism, also known as the Law of Divine Oneness, serves as the foundation for everything discussed in this course. If you find it difficult to understand, don't worry. Just continue to listen and absorb what you can. As you progress through the course, you will gain a better understanding based on what you are ready to accept. If the concept goes against your beliefs, take your time to let it sink in and, perhaps, it will change your perspective.

Remember, each step you take towards understanding this Law will change you slightly and bring you closer to a more profound comprehension.

Story: Raasay

I was introduced to this powerful force one balmy, cloudless morning, when I set out alone on a hike through some heather-clad hills in Scotland, near the Isle of Skye. After a few miles I noticed a rock face about seventy feet high that seemed to be beckoning me, and I thought it would make for an enjoyable climb.

On this morning, I felt immortal and so supremely confident that I attempted my first free climb – no safety equipment, no companion, nobody knew where I was. I effortlessly scrambled up the first few feet, the firm rocks providing plenty of hand and footholds. Then, halfway up, standing on a narrow platform, I had to make a difficult move, lunging up onto a much smaller ledge. The next move looked still harder, and the once firm rocks had now become alarmingly loose. I had no idea of what was above or if I could get off at the top. The easy climb had suddenly transformed into a foolhardy, dangerous undertaking and I was no longer feeling indestructible.

Panic surged through me. Reversing my last move and climbing down was extremely risky – I couldn’t even see down to the narrow platform to know where to place my foot. If I missed that foothold, I would fall onto the jagged boulders thirty feet below and almost certainly be killed, or so seriously injured that I’d be unable to walk. I had never felt so terrified. In that instant, for the first time in my life, I appealed to the only form of help I could think of, a higher power that I intuitively knew was there. Eventually, a sense of calm permeated through me. I knew with absolute certainty that I could rely on it, and with total confidence, I lowered my foot onto the unseen ledge and safely descended.

My introduction to this Giant Mind on that rock face showed me that I was not alone. I eventually came to realize that I could never be alone, because this Giant Mind is there all the time, it never leaves. I now know that I am a small portion of this Giant Mind, so it is not “with me” at all times, it is me. Separation from it was an illusion, just a wrong thought in my head.

Accepting the concepts of the Law of Mentalism may be challenging, especially for those holding onto beliefs instilled in childhood. However, by examining and changing unhelpful thoughts, one can better align with the power of the Giant Mind.

Major Mistaken Thought

One major mistaken thought that you might be holding onto is the belief that you are alone in this world. However, take a moment to reflect on any instances where you may have had a sense of something more significant than yourself. Perhaps during a moment of danger, you felt the presence of a higher power and asked for its help. Maybe while lying in a grassy meadow on a warm day, you felt a sense of connection to everything around you, feeling like a part of nature. Or during the birth of a child, you felt something extraordinary. Take your time, observe, and reflect on any possible moments where you felt that there could be something unexplainable. Don't rush or force it, just be aware of your thoughts and feelings.

Associated Mistaken Thoughts

If you do have the mistaken thought that you are alone and you don’t believe there’s a powerful force up there, then other associated thoughts may pop into your head such as:

• Nothing makes any sense

• Life is a haphazard affair

• Does my life have a purpose?

• Is there something I should be doing with my life?

• I must be self-reliant

• Don’t depend on other people

• If I want something done right, I must do it myself

Consequences of mistaken thinking

If you do hold some of these mistaken thoughts, here are some of the consequences:

• You won’t receive much help from God

• You won’t achieve much in life

• You’ll attract other under achievers

• You won’t attract happy, successful people

• You’ll be a drifter

Benefits of correct thinking

When you a have successfully aligned your thinking with the Law of Mentalism, these are some of the benefits you’ll experience:

• You’ll be much happier

• You’ll be less confused

• You’ll experience beneficial synchronous events, which are ways that God is helping you on your journey of understanding

Remember, this whole course is about helping you identify any mistaken thoughts you have and changing them into true, beneficial thoughts that are in alignment with the Universal Laws.

The next video will delve deeper into the Law of Mentalism.

In the previous video, we discussed the Giant Mind or the higher power that oversees everything. This concept may have been familiar to you, as many of us have sensed its presence at some point in our lives. The Giant Mind is so powerful that our limited minds cannot fully comprehend it. It’s infinite in size, occupying the whole of space, as there is nothing else to form a boundary around it. It’s infinite in time – it always was and always will be – there’s nothing else that could have made it, and nothing else that could destroy it. It’s all there is.

This Giant Mind is the greatest power there is and has been called by many names, such as God, The Creator, or Universal Consciousness. As it encompasses everything, it is also believed to create and sustain all things.

The Law of Mentalism, also known as the Law of Divine Oneness, states that as this Giant Mind is the only thing that exists, everything must be one and connected. There is nothing outside of it, and thus there is no other power that can divide it into parts. Hence, the whole remains unified and connected.

This concept of God and Oneness may challenge your beliefs, but it forms the basis of most religions and has been recognized by many societies throughout history. If it seems foreign or difficult to accept, allow the idea to grow gradually, and don’t immediately reject it.

Manifestations of Universal Consciousness

As this Giant Mind thinks of something, it creates it - all the galaxies, stars, suns, planets, worlds, all animals, plants and minerals, every molecule and atom, and all forms of energy. This capacity to manifest things and events using the power of thought is the mightiest power there is.

A continuous part of itself passes into everything it creates. So, the little bit of the Giant Mind in you is a small extension of the whole thing, not a separate part. Consequently, your mind has similar, but lesser, capabilities as this Giant Mind. Your thoughts, like its, are creative forces. You are a creator.

The Universe – Everything

The universe is everything that exists – all kinds of matter, and all forms of energy. It is retained in Universal Mind; it does not split itself off. It is not something outside of Universal Consciousness, but a part of it, so Universal Mind remains one, whole.

You can see that the Universe is made up of many things and events, all of which are in a constant state of change. These changes are not random or happening by chance. They are the result of an organized process of sequential steps – what you would expect from a highly organized mind.

The Universe is a Mental Creation of the Giant Mind

How did the Giant Mind create the Universe? It could not use outside materials, because there are none – the Giant Mind is all there is. And it cannot reproduce itself – it cannot split parts of itself off, as it always remains whole, one.

It created the Universe mentally – that is, it thought it into existence. Its thoughts are incredibly powerful – when it thinks of something, that something is created. I’m sure you’re wondering how this can possibly happen. At this stage of the course, I cannot adequately explain it to you, as that requires an understanding of the Law of Vibration, which we’ll explore in Module 2.

You probably know that the Universe is constantly expanding. At present physicists are exploring what causes this to happen, but there is no agreement amongst them. From a metaphysical point of view, the Giant Mind is constantly thinking new thoughts, and as it thinks of something it creates it, hence the continued expansion of the Universe.

Updates from Quantum Physics

What I’ve been talking about for the last few minutes is wisdom that has been known for centuries by metaphysicians. Take a look now at what some prominent quantum physicists have to say on the subject:

Richard Conn Henry, physics Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at The Johns Hopkins University, stated: “One benefit of switching humanity to a correct perception of the world is the resulting joy of discovering the mental nature of the Universe.”

In 1975 physicist Fritjof Capra published The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism, where he concludes “In modern physics, the universe is thus experienced as a dynamic, inseparable whole.”

In his 1985 book Quantum Reality, physicist Nick Herbert, a member of the Fundamental Fysiks Group, which was formed to investigate the metaphysical ramifications of quantum theory, cites a conclusion drawn from Bell’s Theorem: “The world is an undivided wholeness.”

Physicist David Bohm declares: “My main concern has been with understanding the nature of reality in general and of consciousness in particular as a coherent whole, which is never static or complete, but which is an unending process of movement and unfoldment…”. “Underlying all this is unbroken wholeness.” “In some sense man is a microcosm of the universe; therefore, what man is, is a clue to the universe. We are enfolded in the universe.”

And from cell biologist Bruce Lipton’s The Biology of Belief “The universe is one indivisible, dynamic whole…”

Understanding the Law of Mentalism will help you change any unwanted, mistaken thoughts into more worthy ones. Your aim is to change any mistaken thoughts you may have about the Law of Mentalism into more accurate thoughts.

The way to stop thinking a wrong thought is to consciously think a correct thought, so as soon as you notice that you are thinking a wrong thought, deliberately start thinking a correct one, one that is in alignment with the Law of Mentalism.

When you begin to consciously control your thoughts it will not be easy, it will probably require much practice on your part. The more you do it, the easier it will become. You are in control of your thoughts, nobody else. Your thoughts do not have control over you unless you allow it. Your thoughts do not have a mind of their own – but you do.

Your feelings are your guide

If you have difficulty recognizing the worthiness of some of your thoughts, begin to consciously notice what feelings you are experiencing while having those thoughts. If you feel bad when thinking a particular thought, then that thought is an unworthy or incorrect thought. If your thoughts make you feel happy, you are thinking worthy thoughts.

So, if you begin to feel bad, this is your warning that you are thinking incorrect thoughts. Immediately choose to think more worthy, correct thoughts, that make you feel good. When you start this process, it will probably be difficult at first, but as you persist in your search for better feeling thoughts, it will get easier and easier.

Universal Laws

The more familiar you become with the Universal Laws the more enjoyable your life becomes, the less troubles you will encounter, and the more joy you will experience in your everyday life. That’s because the Universal Laws describe how the Universe is put together, and how it works. If you think of life as a game – The Game of Life – then the Universal Laws are the rules of the game. Every game has its rules, as does every organized human activity. Your gym, your classroom, how you drive your car, and how you live in your community – all these activities are governed by a set of rules. Can you imagine attempting to play a game of chess, or any other game, if you don’t know the rules? The more you play by these rules, the easier your life becomes.

The Universal Laws govern the workings of your Inner World, the world of your thoughts.

Understanding the Laws, and living in harmony with them, will help change any of your thoughts that are random or negative or just plain wrong into the thoughts that will help you obtain any of your goals in life. The more you live in harmony with them, the happier and more successful you will become.

In contrast, the scientific laws describe how your Outer World works. The more you understand them, the more success you will achieve in your Outer World, your Reality. Some of them are obvious and you learned them at a very early age, e.g., you learned about the Law of Gravity as soon as you started to walk, and you kept falling down. Others are far more sophisticated and to learn them you need to attend science classes.

ASSIGNMENT:

At the end of each Module you’ll find a written assignment. Writing is such a good way to clarify your thoughts. You’ll be asked to explain your thinking about a particular issue. Write as much or as little as it takes to make your views clear.

Here’s an assignment for Module 1.

Describe your current beliefs about the Giant Mind that is out there, somewhere.

If you don’t believe there is such a Giant Mind, explain why not.

In the next Module we’ll take a look at the ways energy affects every aspect of your life!

Story: The Thinker

On a dark, foggy evening in the early fall, I went to the Legion of Honor in San Francisco to see the large bronze casting of The Thinker by Rodin. Despite the chilly damp air, I experienced feelings of wonder and reverence as I stood before this magnificent statue. I wanted to touch it but couldn’t. Something powerful was being emanated from this seemingly solid object that prevented me from placing my hand upon it. I didn’t understand what was happening. As a scientist I told myself it was just a large piece of metal. But something intuitive told me it was much more than that.

PICTURE: THE THINKER

Introduction to the Law of Vibration

I now know that everything in the universe is energy, which is in a constant state of vibration, as explained by the Law of Vibration. As Einstein put it: “Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. This is not philosophy. This is physics.”

Description of a vibration

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A vibration can be thought of as a wave, much like the wave of the ocean. There are three ways to describe such a wave: its wavelength, amplitude, and frequency. Its wavelength is the distance from one peak of the wave to the next, which can vary from a fraction of an inch to a mile or more. Its amplitude would be the height of the wave above its median level, like the resting sea level between peaks. Its frequency would be the number of peaks per period of time.

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DIAGRAM 1: A Vibration

Thus, there are millions and millions of possible vibrations. This one is similar to that one, but its wavelength, amplitude or frequency is slightly different. The only difference between objects and events is the vibrations making them up. We’re unaware of the vibrations themselves, we just know what our senses tell us, interpreting these vibrations as sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches.

Newtonian Physics

Solids, liquids, and gasses

Like me, you were probably taught Newtonian Physics in high school, that as you looked around you saw solid objects, such as tables, chairs, houses, and cars. You were instructed that all these objects were made of matter, which exists in three states: solids, liquids, and gases. You were probably also taught that matter is made up of very small particles called atoms, and that every atom is made up of even smaller particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons.

Quantum Physics

Whirlpools of vibrating energy

This old view of the atom has been abandoned by quantum physicists, who study extremely small particles. They inform you that the atom is not made of matter and has no physical structure. It is composed of whirlpools of vibrating energy. This changes your awareness of the world. Everything in the universe is energy, filling all space. Universal Consciousness itself is energy. Therefore, there’s an infinite supply of energy available to anyone who knows how to utilize it.

You must now think of matter as consisting of energy. The only difference between one type of matter and another is the way it’s vibrating. Each type of matter vibrates in its own unique way. An apple is vibrating differently than a pear, a Mercedes differently than a BMW.

Quantum Physicist Heinz Pagels tells us: “Science shows us that the visible world is neither matter nor spirit; the visible world is the invisible organization of energy.”

Major mistaken thought

All matter is either a solid, liquid, or gas.

Associated mistaken thoughts

The atom is the smallest particle of matter

Energy is just stuff like heat and electricity

If I can’t detect it with my senses, it doesn’t exist

Consequences of mistaken thinking

You won’t understand how different forms of matter are manifested

You won’t become a highly competent manifestor

Benefits of correct thinking

As your ability to manifest increases, your self-confidence will soar

The Law of Vibration informs you that everything – every object and every event – is energy which is constantly vibrating. Nothing is at rest. The only difference between one thing and another is in the way each one is vibrating. The same goes for events – the only difference between events lies in the way each one is vibrating.

Arrangement on a continuum

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The main difference between vibrations is their frequency; the speed at which they vibrate. All vibrations can be arranged on a continuum with the slowest at one end and the fastest at the other. Between these two poles there is an infinite number of frequencies.

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DIAGRAM 2: Continuum of Vibrations

Electromagnetic spectrum

I’m going to briefly describe the electromagnetic spectrum, or light. The only reason I’m doing this is to demonstrate how a very small change in vibrational make-up can result in very different phenomena.

Light is a form of energy. It’s a continuum of vibrational frequencies from low to high. These vibrations can be arranged on a continuum according to their wavelength and frequency. You can see how a slight change in wavelength results in an entirely different phenomenon. The only parts of this spectrum that we can detect with our eyes are the visible light rays.

There are seven types of light making up this continuum:

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DIAGRAM 3: The Electromagnetic Spectrum

Radio Waves

Radio waves have the longest wave lengths, varying from 1 millimeter up to about 100 kilometers. They are widely used for various forms of communication, such as radios, televisions, and cellphones.

Microwaves

Microwaves are high frequency radio waves, about 2 centimeters long. They are the waves used in microwave ovens. They are also used in medicine, as an alternative to surgery, and in industry for various clean up purposes such as air and soil pollution.

Infrared Waves

These waves are often used to detect objects we cannot see, so they are useful in night-vision cameras and goggles.

Visible Light Rays

These are the rays that are visible to our eyes. The complete visible light ray spectrum is: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet: ROYGBIV.

Ultraviolet Waves

These are the waves from the sun that give us a suntan.

X-rays

X-rays are very important in medicine and scientific research. They pass through the soft tissues of our bodies such as skin and muscles but are absorbed by harder parts such as bones and teeth. This enables doctors to take X-ray photographs to determine if we have broken bones or tumors, and dentists to see if we have tooth decay.

Gamma Rays

Gamma rays are high energy waves that can be used to treat cancer.

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Creation of The Universe

In the Module on The Law of Mentalism, I mentioned that the Universe was created mentally Universal Consciousness without explaining how it was done. I couldn’t do that without referring to energy and vibrations. Now we can explore this topic:

When the Universe creates something, such as a new galaxy, it forms an image of it. It does this with great feeling. Feeling is the power that changes the vibrations of some of the energy readily available in the Universe into the vibrations of the desired creation. The only difference between creations is the way they are vibrating. As Universal Consciousness is a creator, and you are a little extension of Universal Consciousness, then you, too, are a creator. You create the same way as Universal Consciousness: you form a mental image of your desired creation with great feeling, which changes the vibrations of some of the infinite universal energy into the vibrations making up your creation.

Fortunately, when you create something, you don’t have to know the vibrational makeup of the energy you are using as raw material, or the vibrational makeup of your intended creation. You just need to imagine your completed creation vividly in all its detail, accompanying its image with as much feeling as you can muster. Feeling is the power that changes the vibrations of the undifferentiated energy into the vibrations of your creation.

Thoughts are vibrations.

Thoughts, too, are things, made up of vibrating energy. You use your brain as a broadcasting station, sending your thoughts out into the universe. They stay there and can be received by other people using their brains as receiving stations. In this way your thoughts affect your relationships with other people. If you are feeling happy and cheerful, most people will respond to you in a friendly way. If your mood is dark and angry, people will probably dislike and avoid you.

Story: Melanie

I once took part in a two-day workshop where everybody worked with a partner, spending much of the time repeatedly taking turns asking each other “Who are you?”

At the time I wasn’t quite sure what we were trying to accomplish. At the end of the workshop, both my partner and I felt disappointed, a sense of failure, as neither of us felt any different or that we had experienced any major revelations.

At supper that evening I was seated next to Melanie, another workshop participant, with whom I’d never spoken. She was smiling and beaming love to the whole room. She said something to me, I can’t remember what, but her words and smile produced the strangest feelings in me that I’d never experienced before. I can’t adequately explain how I felt in words. My vibrations rose, and I felt an unusual elation as I responded to her, which I found was both exhilarating and disturbing. I said something else to her, and again she responded with that smiling, loving energy. In response my vibrations accelerated even faster, along with an increasing sense of foreboding. I became intoxicated by this new level of awareness, but at the same time confused and bewildered. Despite my apprehension, I responded once again to Melanie. She continued to glow, exuding more love, light, and understanding. My vibrations rose to such an elevation that I became panicky, unwilling to further respond to her. I walked away, thoroughly confused. It took me several days to realize that what I had been seeking for two days in that workshop I had actually found. The hours of asking the same question of my partner, and responding to it myself, somehow cleared my mind of many of the thoughts that I habitually indulged in, leaving a space for Universal Consciousness to penetrate and raise my own vibrations. I learned that I was not simply a body, but an energy center, both emitting vibrations and receiving them. I learned that the reactions I got from other people largely depended on the vibrations I was sending to them.

Raise Your Vibrations at Will

You can use this law in a very practical way by raising your vibrations at will. If you are vibrating at a low level, causing feelings of unhappiness, you can, by an act of will, raise your personal vibration. In his 2003 book The Sedona Method Hale Dwoskin lists nine emotional states that you may experience from time to time: apathy, grief, fear, greed, anger, pride, courage, acquiescence, and love. Think of these states as being arranged on a continuum with apathy at one end, where the vibrations are the slowest, and love at the other end, where they are the fastest.

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DIAGRAM 4: 9 Emotional States

Apathy is a state characterized by low energy. If you’re feeling apathetic you won’t want to take any action. As you move along the continuum your energy increases, your vibrations become faster, you are more inclined to act. It’s highly improbable that you can shift from apathy to love by making a quantum leap, but you can get there by moving step by step, from apathy to grief to fear and so on all the way up to love. Why bother to make the effort? Well, one good reason is that each higher state on the continuum feels better than the one below it. Another is that you will attract persons vibrating at similar levels to yourself. If you want a bunch of apathetic friends, then vibrate yourself at that level. If you want interesting, meaningful relationships with loving friends, then vibrate at that level yourself.

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ASSIGNMENT:

Write down the name of a person with whom you would like to have a better relationship. Describe the vibrations you are currently sending them. How do you think that person is reacting to your vibrations?

Then describe the ideal relationship you would like to enjoy with that person. What sort of vibes would you have to send them for this to occur? What new thoughts would you have to think about them in order to realize this new relationship? How do you think this person would react to your new thoughts about them?

In the next video we’ll examine how you can become clearer about something when you think you are stuck.

The Law of Correspondence, or Similarity, explains that all manifestations, be they things or events such as stars, mountains, animals, plants, earthquakes, or hurricanes, exhibit varying degrees of similarity because they all come from the same source – the Giant Mind, or Universal Consciousness, as I shall now refer to it. We can say they are analogous to each other.

Because of these analogies, a knowledge of the Law of Correspondence enables you to reason intelligently from the known to the unknown. If you dissected a fetal pig in Grade 12 Biology, then you can make some intelligent guesses about the anatomy of an elephant. Likewise, if you’ve looked at the cells of a green alga under a microscope, you can make some valid assumptions about what the cells in the leaf of an oak tree look like.

Story: Tommy

Here’s a story about Tommy, who was crazy over cars. He lived and breathed them, so in his last year of high school he opted to take the Mechanics course because over the year the class would take apart an old car, clean and repair every part, then re-assemble it. When Tommy graduated, he found a job as a car mechanic. The first vehicle he worked on was a truck made by the same manufacturer as the car he dismantled in high school. Tommy found that although he had never worked on one of these trucks, he knew quite a lot about it. The components of the truck were basically similar to the car he was familiar with, so using his knowledge of the car he could deduce how the truck was assembled and how the different parts functioned. The reason for the similarity between the two vehicles was because they both came from the same source, they were both manufactured by the same automotive company, and similar thinking about design was incorporated into both the car and the truck. Hence there was a correspondence, a marked similarity, between the car and the truck.

Major Mistaken Thought

If you think you don’t know what to do next, or you think you can’t take any action because you are feeling confused, then you are mistaken! Take what you know and deduce your next steps by aligning your thoughts with the Law of Correspondence.

Associated Mistaken Thoughts

If you entertain this wrong thought, then you’ll begin to attract similar associated wrong thoughts such as:

• I’m lost

• I don’t know where to go from here

• I can’t see any relationships here

• Nothing makes any sense to me

Consequences of mistaken thinking

If you don’t know that all things and events bear varying degrees of similarity to each other, you’ll live parts of your life in total confusion. You’re not going to experience much peace like that, and well-organized people will probably give you a wide berth. You won’t be considered for leadership positions, and it may unfavorably affect your chances of promotion at work.

Benefits of correct thinking

When your thoughts are in harmony with the Law of Correspondence, and you realize that all things and events show varying degrees of similarity, your self-confidence will sky rocket, and people will notice you and have confidence in you.

Remember, everything in the whole universe comes from the same source – Universal Consciousness. Consequently, every thing and every event - every manifestation – bears varying degrees of similarity.

The Three Great Planes

As we’ll see in the next Module, The Law of Vibration, all things, and all events are made up of energy, which is in a continual state of vibration. All vibrations can be arranged on a continuum with the slowest at one end, and the fastest at the other. Based on his understanding of the philosophy of Hermes, Atkinson arranged all vibrations on such a continuum. He divided them into three groups, which he called The Three Great Planes. He grouped the slowest vibrations to form the Great Physical Plane, the middle group formed the Great Mental Plane, and the fastest vibrations formed the Great Spiritual Plane. There is no distinct line of demarcation between the planes; the Physical Plane merges gently into the Mental Plane, which gradually merges into the Spiritual Plane.

Each Great Plane was divided into seven Minor Planes, and each Minor Plane further subdivided into seven sub-planes. Thus, we see that these fine divisions of the major planes form a continuum, so it is possible to move along the planes in very small increments.

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DIAGRAM 5: 3 Great Planes

The Great Physical Plane

The vibrations making up matter and energy are found on The Great Physical Plane, the plane studied by chemists and physicists. Matter, which is simply energy with a relatively slow rate of vibration, is found in the form of solids, liquids, and gases. Energy is found in the form of sound, heat, light, electricity, and magnetism. The Physical Plane gently merges into the Mental Plane. In fact, between the higher vibrations of the Physical Plane and the lower vibrations of the Mental Plane are found the viruses, which possess properties of both inert chemicals and living things. The viruses live in a host, a living being. They do not reproduce by sexual reproduction, like most living things. Instead, they produce more viruses by reorganizing the host’s tissues, using the host’s raw materials, to form new virus particles.

The Great Mental Plane

On the Great Mental Plane are found the vibrations associated with the consciousness of plants, animals, and people. This plane is the domain of the biologist. There was a time when people thought that only humans had consciousness. Now we realize that consciousness is found in all animals, even the lowliest on the evolutionary scale, and also in plants. In fact, The Law of Mentalism tells us that consciousness is found in everything, right down to the atom. This is a great advance, because we are beginning to see the earth as a living organism, with consciousness found in every rock, plant, and animal, as well as in every ocean, lake, and river.

The Great Spiritual Plane

Masters and Adepts are found on the lower levels of The Great Spiritual Plane. Then, higher up, are found the Angels, Archangels and Demi-Gods. The Gods are found on the highest levels. The highest of these vibrations is Pure Light or Pure Love. Little can be known about this Plane, as it can only be accurately described by people who live there.

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Arrangement on a continuum

Another way of explaining this Law is: As above, so below. As below, so above. Let’s get clear about the meaning of this aphorism. Remember that all vibrations can be arranged on a continuum, with the slowest at one pole and the fastest at the other.

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The terms above and below refer to the relative positions of vibrations on this continuum. So, a vibration that is 75% towards the fast pole is above one in the middle. Likewise, a vibration just 25% above the slow pole is below one in the middle. The closer manifestations are to each other on this continuum, the greater the correspondence between them.

DIAGRAM 6: As Above, So Below

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The Spiritual Journey of each one of us is a passage along a portion of this great continuum of life. We’re all on different parts of it, moving along at different speeds.

All plants and animals come from the same source – Universal Consciousness. Therefore, they all share some basic similarities.

Sentience in animals

Let’s take a look at a situation that even some of today’s scientists are unclear about. Have you ever wondered whether animals have feelings or experience pain? You can use the Law of Correspondence to help crystalize your thinking. Rene Descartes, a French mathematician and metaphysician, born in 1596, the man who came up with the saying “I think, therefore I am,” wrote a treatise on emotions, arguing that because humans had a soul, they could feel anxiety and pain, but because animals didn’t have a soul, they could not. Regrettably, his views resulted in many people treating animals in a very cruel way. Eventually Charles Darwin, two hundred years later, contended that because animals were so similar to people, they must be sentient.

Today, there is still discussion among some scientists as to whether animals feel pain or experience emotions. They have found that there is an area in the human brain which is responsible for feelings of pain – a pain center. If they find a corresponding area in the brain in other animals, they assume the animal can feel pain. If the animal lacks a pain center, some scientists think that this indicates that they do not feel pain.

Pet owners believe their dogs and cats have feelings. Do you believe other animals are sentient? You can gain insight into this controversy by referencing the Law of Correspondence. As man experiences pain, we can assume that a mouse likewise feels pain. If a person values his own life and is enjoying it, then we can presume that a worm or an ant feel much the same way.

In his 2016 book The Inner Life of Animals, Peter Wohlleben, a professional forester, described many of his observations and experiences that led him to be certain that animals are sentient. He wrote his book from both a scientific point of view, and as an animal lover who spent much of his life in the forest observing the behaviour of numerous species of animals. He may be completely unaware of The Law of Correspondence as Atkinson described it, but his writing shows that like Darwin, he has the gist of it and is convinced that animals feel pain because of the many similarities between them and people. He tells many convincing stories illustrating his opinions that animals experience a whole range of emotions, just like humans, and are not just restricted to feelings of pain and anxiety. In the forest a deer is part of a family, part of a community. If it dies, then we can assume that the other members of the deer’s family and community feel a sense of loss, of sadness. Wohlleben describes how a doe grieves if her fawn dies, a process very similar to the way a human mother mourns if she loses her baby. He also believes that horses have an inborn sense of fairness and can feel shame if they misbehave. He relates how rats seem to experience regret if they make a wrong decision and wait in the wrong place when it is feeding time.

Sentience in plants

How about plants - do you think plants have feelings and sometimes experience pain? In their 1973 book The Secret Lives of Plants, Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird describe how, in 1966, Cleve Backster, a leading lie-detector expert, found that plants do indeed seem to be sentient. He hooked up the electrodes of one of his lie detectors to a leaf of one of his houseplants, intending to burn it and note the plant’s reactions. To his amazement, the leaf responded in a way that was almost identical to the way a person reacts under similar circumstances. When Backster was just thinking about burning the leaf, the plant reacted more strongly to his thoughts than when he actually burned it, leading Backster to conclude that plants can think.

Now the early metaphysicians didn’t have access to any sophisticated equipment as Backster did, but they had something that Backster didn’t appear to have – a working knowledge of the Law of Correspondence. They deduced that if humans had sentience, plants must have it too – not human sentience, but plant sentience.

Peter Wohlleben published another book in 2015, The Hidden Life of Trees. This professional forester has no doubt that plants are sentient, while cautioning that very little is known about the subject. He postulates that trees communicate with each other, learn from their experiences, have memories, and feel pain. He believes that when plants are eaten, they experience pain. If his beliefs are proven true, many vegetarians are going to be in a dilemma – what will they eat? Is it better to cause pain to plants than to animals?

A few years ago, I made a road trip from Vancouver to California. On the way south I parked the car and walked into a forest of giant California Redwoods. It was a beautiful bright, sunny day, with nobody else around, so I was able to fully experience these colossal trees with my senses – I saw them, heard the rustle of their leaves in the slight breeze, detected their odor, and felt their bark. On the return trip to Vancouver, I again stopped to enter the redwood forest, but this time in the middle of the night. What a different experience! It was a little bit creepy because I wasn’t experiencing these giants as much by what I could sense, but with my total awareness – I was experiencing them! Now they appeared to me as living, sentient beings, not just as trunks with branches and leaves, but as sentient beings living a full life anchored in one spot in that forest, aware of everything going on around them and of me standing there in awe hugging them!

ASSIGNMENT

Describe how you think about the members of your family. What feelings are associated with these thoughts?

Now imagine you are a young deer in a forest. Actually be the deer. One day your mother completely disappears. What thoughts do you have? What feelings are associated with these thoughts?

This law tells us that everything has its opposite, that everything has two opposing poles. We can refer to these two poles as a negative and a positive pole. Between the two poles is a continuum of vibrations, those at the negative pole are the slowest, which increase in speed towards the positive pole. The natural tendency is a movement along the continuum away from the negative pole towards the positive pole.

(Diag 7 Up)

Thus, everything can be arranged on a continuum between its two opposing poles. When this is done, you can see that opposites are a part of the same thing, because between the two poles are numerous degrees of the same thing. Think of a pair of opposites, for example hot and cold. There is cold at one pole and hot at the other. So, all the vibrations between the two poles are part of the same thing – temperature.

(Diag 7 Down)

DIAGRAM 7: Continuum: Temperature

This duality exists on all three planes: physical, mental, and spiritual. On the physical plane there is the concept of hot and cold; on the mental plane there are the emotions of love and hate; and on the spiritual plane there is the idea of spirit and matter. It teaches us that there are many

shades of grey between these two poles, that nothing is either black or white. Constantly get into the habit of looking at both sides of the story before forming an opinion.

When you hear something on the news, you are usually presented with only one side of the story. Learn to look at both sides. That doesn’t mean you have to take sides. You can form your opinion anywhere between the two poles or extremes.

Story: Florida marlin

I recently watched an item on the news about a teenage boy in Florida who won a fishing competition by landing a 400lb marlin. Everybody at the event was very excited, congratulating him, and generally feeling that this was quite an accomplishment for such a young fisherman. Now, look at the other side of the story. Such a large fish was probably a female. This magnificent creature was enjoying her life, swimming around in the ocean. She spied a tasty morsel, opened her mouth to swallow it, and felt a searing pain as a large, barbed hook was set in her mouth. Then she was pulled toward the boat, fighting and struggling, eventually becoming exhausted, and was winched up out of the sea onto the deck of the boat to be weighed and measured, where she slowly died.

You don’t have to side with the young fisherman or the marlin. You could form an opinion based on your own beliefs and values, somewhere on the continuum between the two poles.

Story: Local Politician and Liar Bill

Think about this. Your local politician has devoted twenty years of his life to your community, serving with great integrity, never lying about any of his activities. Then, for some reason, he is exposed for having told a deliberate lie to his constituents. Who knows why? Perhaps it was to cover up a mistake he made, or to protect himself, his family, or a friend. People immediately call him a liar. Is this fair? More to the point, is it even accurate? Imagine a continuum with ‘liar’ at the low end and ‘truthful’ at the other. For twenty years this man has lived his life at the ‘truthful’ end of the continuum. Now he has told a lie, moving him slightly towards the ‘liar’ end of the continuum. To put a number on it, we might say that he is 99% truthful. Does it even make sense to call this man a liar? He is a mostly honest man who has told one lie.

Let’s look at this idea in another way. Bill is an absolute liar. For years he has been in and out of court and jail for all sorts of offences: traffic violations, petty theft, drunk and disorderly, you name it, Bill has been found guilty of it. He always denies everything, telling lie after lie in his defense. Everybody knows he’s a liar. Then one day he’s in court accused of another offense, and to everyone’s surprise he tells the truth about what happened. Is Bill now an honest man? Of course not, he’s 99% liar who has made one baby step towards the ‘truthful’ end of the continuum.

Major mistaken thought

Everything is either black or white

Associated mistaken thoughts:

Mary’s right, but Ellen’s wrong

Consequences of mistaken thinking

You’ll probably get caught up in a bunch of pointless arguments

People won’t pay much attention to what you say

Benefits of correct thinking

People will respect your opinion

The Law of Polarity is one of the most practical Universal Laws. You can use it to improve your life by learning to consciously move along any continuum step by step. Isn’t it true that what you want is the opposite of what you have? If you’re poor, you want to be rich. If you’re fat, you want to be thin. If you’re lonely, you want to have friends. Then put your desire, which consists of a pair of opposites, on a continuum. Move along the continuum in a series of baby steps.

Poverty and Abundance

Story: Become wealthy

Imagine that you are really short of cash. You have a few bucks in your pocket, and that’s it. You have no chequing account, much less a savings account. There’s a continuum with ‘broke’ at the low end, and ‘wealthy’ at the other. You’re standing close to the ‘broke’ end. Like it or not, this is your truth, your starting point. Lao Tzu told us that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So, begin! Take that first step! Go to a bank and open a chequing and savings account. Congratulations, you’re on your way to prosperity. Nothing can stop you!

Now for the next step. Do you start your day with a latte? Or have an afternoon coffee and doughnut? Give up that little pleasure for just one day a week and take those five bucks to the bank and deposit them. There are bank machines everywhere. It’s critical to bank those five dollars. If you leave them in your pocket, they will soon be in somebody else’s. If, as you begin your journey to prosperity, a little defeatist voice says: “What’s the point? Five bucks is neither here nor there,” don’t listen to it. Tell yourself that it’s the very beginning of your journey. Every journey starts with a single step, remember? You can’t take the second step until you’ve taken the first.

Then think if there’s anywhere else you can save a dollar, to take another baby step in the direction of prosperity, without seriously compromising your lifestyle. Perhaps you and your spouse go out for supper once a week in an upscale restaurant and it costs you about one hundred and fifty dollars. Decide to go out to a less expensive restaurant instead, depositing an extra twenty dollars a week to your savings account.

Now here’s the really good news. Once you start on your path to personal change, little synchronicities or ‘lucky breaks’ will begin to happen. They will become more substantial and more frequent, sometimes leaving you speechless! The Universal Laws tell us there is no such thing as chance. So, what is happening? The Substantial Reality, Universal Mind, has heard you. Your determination to change, and the fact that you have started, is your asking. So now Universal Mind steps in and answers your request, giving you a helping hand. It always works!

At the end of a month, you will have the beginnings of a nice little nest egg. After a few months you’ll have enough in your savings account to buy into a mutual fund, doubling the interest you earn. Soon after that you’ll have enough money to invest in a small real estate venture, doubling your money in an even shorter amount of time. You continue to invest in houses and small apartment blocks and in ten years you are a millionaire! You didn’t get there in a single leap, but by taking many baby steps along the continuum toward the prosperity pole.

Haich sets of opposites

In her book Initiation Elizabeth Haich describes twelve sets of opposites that initiates were required to master. By mastery she meant learning to use each of the opposite pairs at the right time and in the right place. Here’s a brief description of each of these pairs of opposites:

Keeping silent and talking

There are times when it is right to keep silent, and to speak at such a time would be wrong. Likewise, there are times when it is right to speak up for something you believe in, and to keep silent on such an occasion would be wrong.

Being receptive and resisting influence

Sometimes it is right to be receptive to useful ideas and all things that are good and true. At other times you need to have the ability to resist all wrong influences.

Obeying and ruling

At times it is necessary to obey any ideas you have that are in alignment with your innermost convictions. At other times it is necessary for you to call the shots, to rule over other people, but you must always do so with their well-being at heart.

Possessing humility and self-confidence

When you put your confidence in God, recognizing that all good things come from God, it is necessary to accept them with humility. It’s good to have self-confidence if you recognize that your confidence comes from God. However, if you think your self-confidence comes from yourself, from your ego, then this becomes false pride.

Making fast decisions and being prudent

Successful people can make fast decisions. Sometimes, though, such haste can lead to wrong decisions, and it is prudent to consider a decision from every angle. Be wary, though, that you do not allow this prudence to lapse into indecision.

Accepting everything and being discriminate

Learn to accept everything that comes your way, but also learn to defend yourself when others attempt to humiliate you or cause you harm.

Fighting and being peaceful

Sometimes it is necessary to fight for what you believe in. The most important fights occur in your inner world, the world of your thoughts. But remember, you are fighting to restore peace. But do not allow your love of peace to turn you into a coward.

Being cautious and having courage

Be cautious when making decisions, but don’t allow fear to creep in. Be courageous, when necessary, but never reckless.

Possessing nothing and being in charge of everything

Nothing belongs to you; it all comes from God. You’ll always have as much as you need to fulfil your life’s mission. Master the art of manifestation, but don’t do it to excess where you have too big an appetite for an overabundance of possessions.

Being loyal and having no ties

Learn to be loyal to the goodness or Godness in everyone but have no ties to individual people.

Having a contempt for death and a regard for life

Have a contempt for death because you realize there is no such thing as death. At the same time, have the utmost respect for the life of all things.

Being indifferent and being loving

Learn to love everyone and everything with complete indifference.

ASSIGNMENT

Think of somebody who harmed you. Describe any resentful thoughts you still harbor towards them. Then explain how you could use the Law of Polarity to change any of these bitter thoughts into correct thoughts that would give you peace of mind.

The Law of Rhythm tells you that the energy of the universe moves in a rhythmic fashion, first one way, then the other. There is always an action and a reaction, a rise and a fall, a swing to the right then a swing to the left. The swing to the left always equals the swing to the right. The Law of Rhythm is closely associated with the Law of Polarity, as these rhythmic movements occur between any two extremes or poles as explained by the Law of Polarity. Everything in the universe vibrates to its own unique rhythm: everything marches to its own drummer!

All manifestations vibrate rhythmically. Universes, galaxies, suns, and worlds are created, mature and then die. Nations rise and fall in a rhythmic fashion. All living things are born, grow, mature, and die.

You have your own unique rhythms, such as your heartbeat and breathing. Your moods and feelings are also subject to the Law of Rhythm. Different people have different personal rhythms. Take, for example, a continuum with ‘happy’ at one pole and ‘miserable’ at the other. One person may swing just a few degrees towards the ‘happy’ pole. Then on the return swing they will move only a few degrees towards the ‘miserable’ pole. People may view such a person as living a very even, balanced life, describing him as being very predictable and reliable. Somebody else may be described as bipolar, swinging from one pole to the other rapidly and frequently. One day he may be elated, the next severely depressed. If you experience extreme highs in your life, you will likely experience extreme lows. If you want to avoid the extreme lows, then avoid the extreme highs.

Each part of the universe has its own set of rhythms. Each of the four seasons occur rhythmically in a totally reliable sequence. Spring follows winter, then come the lazy days of summer, which gradually change into fall, followed once again by winter. The sun rises daily in the east, travels across the sky, and sets in the west.

The tides come in and go out again, there’s no stopping them. King Canute, King of England a thousand years ago, ordered that a chair be placed at the edge of the incoming tide. Then, sitting in the chair, with his feet just inches from the water, he commanded the tide not to come in any further, not to wet his feet. Of course, the tide came in, soaking the royal feet! He did this to show his ingratiating courtiers that even he was unable to prevent the tide from advancing.

Major mistaken thought

Events tend to continue in a straight line for ever.

Associated mistaken thoughts:

This relationship is rapidly going downhill. I’d better end it.

The value of my stocks is declining – I’d better sell.

Things have always been this way.

Consequences of mistaken thinking

You’ll make hasty decisions thinking things will always follow a straight line

Benefits of correct thinking

You’ll make better decisions in your relationships and finances

Everything has its own rhythm, its own time, which is governed by the Universal Law of Rhythm. It takes a specific amount of time for leaves to grow, mature, and die. Under ideal conditions, it takes a lettuce seed 3 days to germinate, 4 days for a radish seed, 6 days for carrots, and 7 -10 days for corn. Can you imagine what a farmer’s life would be like if there was no Law of Rhythm? One year he would sow corn seeds, which he noticed germinated in 10 days. So, the next year he planted corn he expected it to germinate in the same amount of time. Imagine his dismay when his corn took 6 weeks to germinate! If the germination time of his crops varied each time he planted, he would not be able to plan his planting program.

It takes twenty-one days for a fertilized chick embryo to develop into a fully developed young chick ready to peck its way out of the egg. Chicken breeders know this and absolutely depend on it in order to successfully plan their business. It takes nine months for the human embryo to develop inside the mother before it’s born. The woman can’t say to her doctor “I’m a busy professional, I only have six months to do this thing.” Can you imagine the havoc that would occur in our hospital system if the Law of Rhythm was not in operation? One woman’s pregnancy might last for 4 months, another’s 6 months, somebody else’s a year or a year and a half.

If there was no Law of Rhythm, you would have tremendous difficulty planning your day-to-day life. You wouldn’t know when it would get dark in the evening, so you wouldn’t be able to confidently plan an evening ball game or a firework display. If you live in a northern country, you wouldn’t even be able to plan your wardrobe – shorts and flip-flops, or down jackets and leather boots? When should you put your winter tires on your car, and when should

you take them off?

Fortunately, the Law of Rhythm is working all the time in every part of the world. If you live in Alaska and decide to take a January holiday in Mexico, you can be pretty sure what to pack for the trip. The Law of Rhythm allows you to plan just about every aspect of your life.

Rhythms in Relationships

The Law of Rhythm is manifested in all personal relationships, including marriage. Sadly, so few people are aware of this. Imagine that two people meet, are attracted to each other, become good friends, and eventually fall in love and get married. As the pendulum continues its swing in the same direction, life is blissful – they buy a house and start a family. Then the pendulum slows to a halt and begins its unavoidable swing in the opposite direction. They start to argue, to find faults with each other, and their relationship changes for the worse. They try to fix it by going on a vacation together, seeking counselling, trying a temporary separation. No matter what they do, things continue to worsen. Believing their situation will never improve, or that it will continue to get worse, they decide to get divorced, to ‘put an end to it.’ If they were aware of the Law of Rhythm, they would know that eventually the tide would turn, the pendulum would swing in the opposite direction, and things would get better again.

Rhythms in Finances

Rhythm is in operation in the stock and commodity markets. You see it all the time – the stock market goes up, people think it will continue to rise for ever, so they jump in. Then, of course, it begins its opposite swing, and many people, noticing that the value of their stocks is falling, get worried and then perhaps panic, selling their stocks at a loss.

For several years silver was about $4.50 an ounce. Nobody took any interest. Then it began to creep up, unnoticed, then to rapidly increase to over $50 an ounce. Many people thought it would go up in a straight line for ever. At this point everyone wanted to own silver! There were bank line-ups around the block, people anxiously wanting to buy an ounce or two, before it became too expensive for them to own. While people unfamiliar with the Law of Rhythm were queuing up to buy a little silver, the savvy investor who bought low was selling them his silver at a huge profit!

This to and fro swing is also seen in real estate investments. People who don’t understand this Law sometimes loose thousands and thousands of dollars. For example, when the cost of houses was low, Jim assumed that the cost would always be low, and was in no rush to buy. When prices inevitably began to rise, Jim began to take notice. As the cost of a house continued to increase, Jim’s desire to own a house increased. When the cost was at the upper limit of his budget he panicked and decided to get in the market at once, while he could still afford to, thinking prices would continue to rise forever in a straight line. Of course, shortly after this rapid rise in prices the market peaked, and prices began to fall. At first Jim wasn’t too concerned, thinking this was just a normal correction. But as prices drifted lower and then began to plummet, he again panicked, thinking that prices would continue to drop for ever. So, he sold his house at a huge loss, grateful to have preserved a little of his capital.

Overcome Law of Rhythm with Law of Polarity

You know from your study of the Law of Polarity that everything is on a continuum between two opposite poles. You’ve learned how you can take baby steps to move along a continuum towards the desired pole. It’s possible to overcome the Law of Rhythm by using the Law of Polarity. Instead of passively submitting to the Law of Rhythm and experiencing its swings from one pole to the other, you can utilize the Law of Polarity to get where you want to be. You move from where you are on the continuum to where you want to be, baby step by baby step. You manipulate the Law of Rhythm instead of being manipulated by it.

Many unfortunate people, unaware of the workings of the Law of Rhythm, think that their current undesirable circumstances are permanent. When the pendulum swings into negative territory they think things will never change. They lose hope and become depressed, perhaps even committing suicide. Nothing stays the same forever, not even for a second. The pendulum will keep swinging. It’s the Law.

Live a more balanced life, walk the middle road, as the Buddha teaches. Walking the middle road is at the core of the Buddha’s teaching. When you follow this teaching, you avoid the extreme swings of the pendulum of the Law of Rhythm. Your life becomes less stressful, more peaceful, and you become happier and more joyful.

ASSIGNMENT

Imagine a friend comes to you for advice. She tells you that for the first few months of her marriage she enjoyed a happy, loving relationship with her spouse. Then they started arguing and the magic disappeared. She tells you she is now considering a divorce and asks what you think. What would you tell her?

Introduction

The Law of Cause and Effect deals with events. It teaches you that every effect results from its own distinct cause. Hence every cause results in its own unique effect. A particular cause always results in the same effect. So, if you want a particular effect, you must put in place the specific cause. If you want to watch TV, you must turn it on. It’s not going to work if you turn on the light switch. If your house is cold and you want it to be warmer, you must turn up the thermostat.

(Diag 8 Up)

Nothing happens on its own. Every event that happens in your life has a specific cause, or, more likely, a specific series of causes, all occurring in an orderly sequence. A cause gives rise to an effect, which in turn becomes a cause giving rise to another effect, and so on. For example, Cause A results in Effect B. Effect B then becomes Cause B resulting in Effect C, and so the process continues in an orderly procession.

(Diag 8 Down)

DIAGRAM 8: Progression of Causes

The relationship between cause and effect is governed by law. It never changes. You can completely rely on it. This absolute, reliable, constant relationship between cause and effect allows you to take certain actions and be confident of the results. When you get up in the morning and put the kettle on, the water boils, day after day. You know that’s going to happen.

So many people are unaware of this basic relationship. They want a specific effect, so they try a particular cause which they think will result in the desired effect. If that doesn’t work, they try again – using exactly the same cause!

Stories: Patty and Fred

Take Patty, for instance, who loves house plants. She has one plant that simply refuses to bloom. She always uses the same potting soil and fertilizer, gives the plant the same amount of water and light, keeps it in the same place in her house. When the plant doesn’t bloom, she tries again using the same soil and fertilizer, the same amount of water and light, keeping the plant in the same place in her house – all the same causes - and expects to get a different result! She must do some research, find out what conditions the plant needs to bloom, then put these different conditions – causes – into place if she wants to get a different result – a flowering plant.

Fred thinks the same way as Patty. He has a computer problem, he can’t get a particular program to work properly, so he keeps on trying, always doing the same thing! He thinks he’s doing the right thing – putting the right causes into place – but in spite of the fact that he can’t get the program to work, he keeps on doing the same old thing, expecting to get a different result.

A while ago if somebody asked somebody else how things were going, the response would frequently be “same old same old!” It never occurred to such people that if they wanted some new experiences in life, they would have to try something different.

Everything Starts with a Thought

Thoughts are the ultimate causes of everything. Nothing happens unless someone first thinks it. There was no St. Paul’s Cathedral until Sir Christopher Wren thought of it, no Titanic until Thomas Andrews Alexander Carlisle brought it into existence by thinking about it. Your thoughts determine your reality, what you are going to experience in life. If you keep thinking the same thoughts, then you are going to keep experiencing the same results. Examine your current reality carefully, determine the events that are present in your life, particularly the ones that seem to be happening time after time. Then see if you can identify any thought patterns that you repeatedly run through, day after day. Can you find any relationships between your thoughts and what is happening to you?

Major mistaken thought

I’m having a string of bad luck! I keep on trying to make this work, but no success. As Einstein pointed out: “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”

Associated mistaken thoughts:

• It didn’t work, so I must have done it wrong, so I’ll try the same thing again and be more careful this time.

• If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again…

• As I couldn’t make it work using that recommended process, I’ll ask a friend to do it the same way and see if he gets it to work.

Consequences of mistaken thinking:

• You’ll waste a lot of time

• You’ll become extremely frustrated – then perhaps unhappy or angry

• You’ll bore other people when you keep on telling them of your failures.

Benefits of correct thinking

• You’ll be happier

• People will want to be around you

• People will ask your advice

• People will want to follow you

Introduction

What you see happening in your outer world, the world of your senses, are effects, caused by the thoughts you have in your inner world. There are two types of causes: First Causes and Second causes.

First Causes

First Causes are the thoughts of Universal Consciousness, which have their effects in the outer world. So, if Universal Consciousness thinks of a new galaxy or a new range of mountains on earth, it instantly appears. The thought occurs in the inner world, the effect is seen in the outer world.

Second Causes

Second Causes are the thoughts that people have. A second causes arises in the mind of a person and has its effect in the outer world. Life isn’t quite so simple as to always have one thought causing one effect. Frequently an effect is caused by a whole string of causes. One thought gives rise to an effect, then that effect becomes a cause for the next effect, and so on – sometimes indefinitely. Sometimes we just cannot know all the causes that resulted in a specific effect. For example, take the throwing of a dice, which comes up as a 6. There is a whole string of causes that ultimately resulted in the throwing of that 6 – it was not a matter of luck. Most people would call it that, as they do not understand the string of causes that resulted in that 6. How was that dice made? How was it balanced? Who was throwing it? How powerfully was it thrown? What sort of surface did it land on – rough or smooth? Was the surface perfectly flat, or sloping from side to side, or up and down? Was there a breeze blowing? How strong was it? What direction was it blowing? And so on and so on.

Beliefs

Beliefs are simply thoughts that you habitually think. You usually do not think about them! You have them, and you totally accept them. Where did they come from? You gained your thoughts mainly from your parents. You became aware of what they did and what they said. You uncritically accepted everything they said or did up to about age 5. Up to this time, you did not have the ability to think for yourself. As you grew up and matured and gained the ability to think for yourself, your beliefs were ingrained – you continued to accept them without question. Even so, these thoughts continue to be causes for as long as you hold them. If you want your life to be different, you must identify your beliefs and become aware of the effects of them upon your life. Do you want the results of these thoughts in your life? If not, what results do you want? You must change your old beliefs that are not benefitting you and consciously choose new beliefs that will result in the things you want to happen.

Feelings

Notice that certain thoughts have distinct feelings attached to them. You can use these feelings as your Emotional Guidance System – if your thoughts make you feel good, you are on the right track. If they make you feel bad, beware! They are mistaken thoughts that are not in harmony with the Universal Laws.

Become aware of the relationships between what you are thinking and what you are feeling. For instance, if you are watching the news about a murder, you start to think about murder. These thoughts may cause you to feel sad, angry, or sympathetic. They are causing your feelings. So, if you want to change your feelings, change your thoughts. Want to be happy? Think happy thoughts! The thinking comes first. First you think happy thoughts, and this leads you to feel happy. Too many people think that when they are happy, they’ll have happy thoughts.

If you know you want to change the way you feel, maybe you are bored, and need some variety in your life, but don’t know what, put some new causes into your life, and see what new

effects result. Get up an hour earlier and go for a walk or go to the gym or do yoga or meditate. Drive a different route to work. Listen to a motivational tape or an audiobook in your car instead of the same old radio station. Talk to different people when you get to work. Of course, it’s better to decide what you want to spice your life up. Buy a new car? Take a vacation? Find your true love? If you want a new significant other, you probably won’t find him or her if you spend every evening watching TV or going to the pub with the same circle of friends. What other interests do you have? Do you also like camping, hiking, and skiing? Then don’t look for a companion in the pub, join an outdoor club.

Goals

As you go through life you must be very clear about what you want, or you’ll probably get something else instead. Goals are very important, they determine what you are going to do, what causes you are going to initiate, and therefore what results or effects you are going to experience.

Chance

Scientists have verified that there is a specific cause for every effect. Nothing is random. Nothing happens by chance. There is no such thing as chance. Chance is a term used by people when they cannot explain something, when they cannot see the link between cause and effect.

Story: Mike

Consider the situation that Mike found himself in. He’s a successful 47-year-old executive in a large corporation. He’s attractive to the ladies and has a wide circle of men friends. He’s been married for 15 years and has 2 beautiful daughters. He’s reached that stage at work where he has his own office and a private secretary – Gina, an attractive, well-dressed thirty-something.

Recently Mike has been in a bit of a rut. Life has become very routine; he needs to spice it up. He’s tried the usual remedies – took the family for a vacation to Mexico, bought himself a new sports car, attended a meditation retreat. Nothing seemed to do the trick. Then one evening, while working late with Gina, the inevitable happened – he found himself locked in a passionate embrace with her. The next day they had lunch together. A couple of nights later they had supper in an intimate little Italian restaurant. The following week Mike had to make a three-day business trip to Boston, asking Gina to accompany him, as he’d need some secretarial assistance. So, without really planning it or even being totally aware of what he was doing, Mike was having an affair. The affair was the effect, the causes were the embrace, the lunch and supper, the three days in Boston.

As Mike is having an affair, he is going to have to pay for it. If he gains something with Gina, he is going to lose something, probably with his wife. He cannot get something for nothing. He’s excited, he’s confused, he’s scared, and he doesn’t know what to do. So, let’s look at his situation by bringing the Laws of Polarity and Rhythm into focus. Imagine a continuum of vibrations with ‘Infidelity’ at one pole, and ‘Loyalty’ at the other. At the ‘Infidelity’ pole Mike feels excited, adventurous, and young again. He also feels apprehensive and scared. At the ‘Loyalty’ pole he feels secure, responsible, happy, peaceful, loved, and loving, but also bored, in a bit of a rut, that he needs to spice things up a bit in his life. Vibrating close to the ‘Infidelity’ pole, he thinks of at least 2 of his friends who had affairs, and it cost them their marriages. Mike doesn’t want to lose his marriage, too. What can he do?

DIAGRAM 9: Infidelity to Loyalty

(Diag 9 Up)

He must change his thoughts, from close to the ‘Infidelity’ pole towards the ‘Loyalty’ pole. He might attempt to move the whole distance in one giant leap – by ending his affair quickly with Gina and arranging for her to work somewhere else within the company. Or he might decide to move along the continuum degree by degree, taking baby steps towards his goal. He’ll have to explain his position to Gina, do his best to understand how she must be feeling, make her realize that there is no future for her in this relationship, that they should stop seeing each other outside of the workplace, and that she should work for somebody else in the organization. The important thing for Mike is to take that first step, then the next one will follow, and step by step he will pay the price.

(Diag 9 Down)

There is a price to be paid for everything. The cause is the price you have to pay. What you get is the effect. If you want that vacation in Hawaii (the effect,) you may have to save for a year by eating in less expensive restaurants (the cause.) If you want to enjoy smoking cigarettes every day (the cause,) you may have to pay for it by getting lung cancer later in life (the effect.) In other words, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

Take Responsibility for Everything

This Law also teaches you a tough life’s lesson, that might be very hard, but completely essential for you to grasp - to take total responsibility for everything that happens in your life. This is because everything that happens in your life starts with one of your thoughts. You, and you alone, are completely responsible for your thoughts. This is such a magnificent revelation; it means that you can be in total control of your life. You, and only you. Not your parents, not your boss, not your life circumstances. No more being blown hither and thither like a leaf in the wind. No more questioning why bad things always seem to happen to you. You are causing it all. You, and only you, can change it all. You are in total control. You have the power – don’t give it away! If you don’t like what’s happening, you can change it all by changing your thoughts. This approach to life is so much more exciting and liberating than blaming someone or something else when things don’t go the way you want them to.

With practice, you will have control over your thoughts. If you don’t like what’s happening, YOU can change it. YOU have the power. If you blame your misfortunes on somebody or something else, you are no longer in control. You have just made yourself a victim. You have handed your power over to someone else. You have decided that it’s all somebody else’s fault, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

ASSIGNMENT

Think of a time when you blamed another for your misfortunes. What were your thoughts? Then describe how you could revise your behaviour by taking total responsibility for your actions.

Atkinson called this Law the Law of Gender, which is a bit confusing for today’s reader. When we see the word ‘Gender’ we tend to think about men and women, as in “What gender are you?” And he does talk gender – masculine energy and feminine energy. But he also explains that this Law has more to do with generation and creation than it does with sexuality. Sex is a manifestation of Gender on the Physical Plane. A new individual is created when the masculine energy moves towards the feminine energy and fuses with it – that is when the sperm unites with the egg. The job of the sperm is to seek out the egg and fuse with it. The egg takes the first sperm that comes along, then changes its cell membrane so that no other sperm can enter. Then the female energy does all the work, forming the new individual. The egg contains enough food for the embryo to fully develop.

Generation on the Mental Plane

In this course we are concerned with generation on the Mental Plane. Your mind has two parts, a masculine mind, and a feminine mind. The masculine mind is called the conscious mind, and the feminine mind the subconscious mind. For generation to occur the two minds must work together. The conscious mind thinks of an idea which it passes on to the subconscious mind. The subconscious accepts all ideas presented to it, it does not pick and choose. It then gets to work manifesting the idea presented to it.

Story: Boeing cockpit

Here’s a story that illustrates how the conscious and subconscious minds work together to manifest an event. Several years ago, I participated in a three-month Resident Fellowship at Cold Mountain Institute. Towards its conclusion, I was privileged to attend a three-day workshop led John Blofeld, a scholar and author who had spent much of his life in China studying Eastern religions, particularly Buddhism and Taoism. At the end of the workshop, he said to me “Ed, you should go to Dharamsala in India. The monks there have a school teaching Buddhism to Westerners.” I just said “OK.” I was ready for an Indian adventure!

One of the other Fellows, Joanne, asked me if I had anywhere to stay until I left for India. When I told her no, she said her daughter had just left the house, and I could stay in her room until it was time to go. I was extremely grateful to Joanne for her kindness. The day after I moved in, I decided to spend the afternoon downtown Vancouver. I asked Joanne if there was anything I could get for her, and she replied that her daughter had been looking for the poster of the cockpit of a Boing 707 but couldn’t find one. I absolutely knew I would get that poster. I went to the largest poster shop in Vancouver, confident I would find it there, but to my surprise the sales assistant told me she had no copies left. I wasn’t concerned – I knew that poster was mine.

It was a magnificent, still-warm afternoon in late August as I enjoyed the hustle and bustle of city life after three months of utter peace and tranquility on Cortes Island. I bought some fruit from one of the open-air stores and wandered over to the Art Gallery and sat on its steps eating the fruit, basking in the sunshine, mesmerized by the hum of the traffic. Hundreds of tourists were milling around. As I was engrossed in this reverie, I had an intense instinctive feeling that someone was coming towards me. I looked up, and about twenty yards away I saw a perfect stranger with a broad smile on his face, weaving his way through the crowd, approaching me as if I was an old friend. He asked me if I could direct him to Duthie’s bookstore, which was just around the corner. Then I noticed he was carrying an open bag and sticking out of the top of it was the very poster I wanted! I asked him where he bought it, and he pointed to a small store across the street. I finished my fruit, totally amazed at this Synchronicity, and purchased the poster.

The amazing thing was, the poster was brought to me, I didn’t have to go looking for it. As I was sitting on the lowermost step, and he was standing, the poster in the bag was at my eye level. Had I been standing, I might not have noticed the poster. The Universe takes everything into consideration, it sees the big picture: delivering the poster was not just beneficial to me, but also the guy that brought it to me. That’s why we should never concern ourselves with the how’s, only the universe has all the facts, and is working for the benefit of everyone concerned, down to last detail.

So what happened here? I used my will to generate an idea – that I would get that poster. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind that I would get it – it was a very strong desire. That was the conscious mind in action. This thought was received by the subconscious mind, which went into action to manifest that desire.

Major mistaken thought

I manifest my desires by working in my outer world

Associated mistaken thoughts

I have to work hard to get what I want.

I have to develop the right contacts.

A good education is necessary for my success

Consequences of mistaken thinking

You spend a lot of time and money to accomplish very little.

You get very frustrated and disappointed that your progress towards your goal is so slow.

Benefits of correct thinking

When you realize everything starts with a thought in your inner world, you are on the right path. Your true thoughts are acted upon by Universal Mind.

Generation on the Mental Plane

Consciousness has both male and female components. You have a conscious mind, which is the masculine principle, and a subconscious mind, which is the feminine principle.

The Conscious Mind

The conscious mind is the male energy. It thinks, generating ideas and forming images, which are conveyed to the subconscious mind which performs the act of creation. When you think, you are using your conscious mind to generate thoughts and ideas. Thoughts are the first cause of everything. There was no St. Paul’s Cathedral until it was first a thought in the mind of Christopher Wren. Likewise, no Titanic until Alexander Carlisle thought of it and designed it. Once the conscious mind has formulated an idea, it passes it on to the subconscious mind, stimulating its creative energy.

The Will

To have an original thought, you must use your will power. Many people lack will, and although they have the power of choice, and the ability to think their own thoughts, they don’t always make this choice. Then the conscious mind becomes occupied with thoughts initiated by other people.

Think of the conscious mind as your will, your desire to create something. To have an original thought, you must use your own will power – the masculine principle. Regrettably, the male energy sometimes lacks will, and although it has the power of choice, and the ability to control itself, to think its own thoughts, it doesn’t always make this choice. When this happens, the conscious mind becomes occupied with thoughts initiated by others. Such people are letting other, stronger-willed individuals do their thinking for them. Strong men and women use their own willpower, they don’t let their thinking be dominated by others. They use their masculine energy to influence other people, to get them to do what they want.

If your mind is not focused on a goal, then your thinking will probably consist of a host of scattered thoughts, and you will not get very much accomplished. Discipline your mind to concentrate on what you want in life. Be very clear, so that your subconscious mind knows exactly what to manifest. If you don’t form your own ideas, then the ideas of stronger willed men and women will impress their thoughts upon you.

Story: John

Consider this scenario. John is awoken by his alarm clock at 6.00 a.m. He lays in bed for a few minutes, listening to the news on his radio. The weather man is giving the forecast for the day, so John thinks about the weather. He then gets up and performs his morning routine, idly thinking any thoughts that pop into his head. He goes down to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast for himself, continuing to listen to the morning news on the kitchen radio. The announcer is describing a horrific road accident, so Tom starts to think about his car and the morning drive to work. It’s probably time to service his car, maybe get the brakes and tires checked. After breakfast he heads off to work, his car radio blasting away. Now the news is about the performance of some of the players in last night’s football game, so John thinks about the game, maybe it’s time for him to get in shape himself, should he join a gym? Arriving at work a few minutes early, he joins his colleagues at the coffee machine and gets involved in whatever his colleagues are talking about. After work he drives home, thinking about whatever thoughts are presented to him by his car radio. After supper he grabs a beer and settles down in front of his TV, letting it determine his thoughts for the evening. Then he goes to bed and idly thinks about performing the whole routine the next day until he falls asleep.

John has virtually no willpower. His thoughts are controlled by other people – anything he hears on the radio, anything other people are talking about. He is not in control of his life.

Story: Pete

Now look at the way Pete operates. He has a much stronger will. He knows what he wants, what his goals are, and has a plan for achieving them. They are written down on an index card which he carries around in his wallet, referring to them several times during the day. Each night he writes out five action steps on a slip of paper to perform the next day that will carry him closer to his goals. As he sleeps his goals become clearer in his mind, as he mentally prepares himself to complete his five actions for the next day. His whole day is concentrated on performing those five critical actions which will get him closer to his goals. His thoughts are clear and focused, readily accepted and understood without question by his subconscious mind.

The Subconscious Mind

The subconscious mind is the feminine principle. It receives the thoughts and images presented to it by the conscious mind. The subconscious isn’t critical, it doesn’t judge the ideas given it, nor does it choose which ones to accept or reject. It is totally receptive. It gets to work manifesting whatever is presented to it. If the ideas presented are clear and organized, it is relatively easy for the female energy to manifest them. If they are vague and disorganized, then it doesn’t have clear blueprints, it can’t manifest anything. It is this feminine energy that performs the actual task of creation, the male energy initiates this action.

In the early days of New Thought, people thought of the subconscious mind as a servant, something that did whatever it was told to do. They were encouraged to be firm with it, to give it definite orders.

Later on, people were advised to treat the subconscious like a good friend, to be polite and to make requests, as opposed to giving it orders. They thought the subconscious had a direct conduit to Universal Consciousness, which did the actual manifesting.

Here’s what I think. You remember from the Law of Mentalism that everything is One. That there is only one consciousness: Universal Consciousness, which cannot be divided into separate parts. I believe the subconscious is a part of Universal Consciousness – that the subconscious is Universal Consciousness.

At this point, you may be wondering who I am. I am your guide and teacher.

I was born in England and obtained my Bachelor of Science degree and Diploma of Education there. Later, I emigrated to Canada, where I taught high school Biology and Environmental Education. I also helped train classroom teachers at Simon Fraser University.

When I was about thirty years old, a thought came to my mind: "There's something I don't know that I ought to know." However, I had no idea what it was. For the next forty years, I sought to clarify this question and find the answer.

First sought answer in Outer World

At first, I sought the answer to my question in the outer world. I read numerous books, took many seminars and courses, and embarked on many adventures - the biggest of which was traveling around the world for a year, spending six months studying Buddhism in India where I had the privilege of meeting the Dalai Lama and his senior tutor.

Upon my return to Canada, I desperately wanted the freedom that I had experienced in India to be a permanent part of my life. I quickly realized that working as an employee would never help me fulfill this desire, so I decided to become self-employed. I attended a weekend success conference in Vancouver, where I had the opportunity to learn from three successful real estate teachers. Inspired by their teachings, I bought everything they had to offer and started my real estate career by purchasing and renovating single-family houses, then moving on to larger properties such as apartment buildings.

After a few years, I achieved my aspiration of financial independence.

Then Sought Answer in the Inner World

One evening, while channel-surfing, I stumbled upon one of Oprah’s programs where she was interviewing teachers from a book and movie called The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. I was instantly drawn to it and bought both the book and the movie the next day. I even purchased everything the teachers in the book had to offer. Jack Canfield, one of the teachers, was conducting a 7-day program in Phoenix called "Breakthrough to Success" the following summer, and I immediately enrolled. From there, I attended every workshop Jack offered and he eventually became my mentor.

Jack suggested that I set myself a challenging goal, something that would change my life in a major way - a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG). For me, that was to become a Doctor of Metaphysical Science. However, before I could pursue that degree, I needed to first become an ordained minister, as that was a religious degree, and then write a thesis and dissertation for the master's and doctoral degrees.

During my studies, I stumbled upon The Kybalion, a book written over a century ago by William Walker Atkinson. In this book, Atkinson wrote about the seven Universal Laws that explain how the universe is ordered. These Laws were a result of Atkinson's understanding of the work of the alchemist Hermes Trismegistus, who was a contemporary of Abraham. These Laws

are the basis of most major religions and are found in many self-help books. Hermes Trismegistus was the founder of alchemy, astrology, and psychology. He was even deified by both the Egyptians and the Greeks.

Hermes stood out among his contemporaries, who were preoccupied with the futile quest of turning base metals like copper and lead into gold. Instead, Hermes directed his focus towards his pupils and aimed to transform their negative thoughts into worthier and constructive ones. This sparked my journey into the inner world of my thoughts. The Universal Laws explain the structure and functioning of this inner world, while the scientific laws describe how our outer world operates.

As I familiarized myself with the Universal Laws - the Laws for Playing the Game of Life - my confidence and peace of mind grew significantly while my overall demeanor became happier. Imagine moving to a new town without knowing its bylaws. You sprinkle your lawn and end up getting fined because you were unaware that on even days, only lawns with house numbers ending in an even number should be watered. Your car is parked in a no-parking zone, and you're slapped with another fine. Additionally, your dog wanders to different parts of the neighborhood, and someone calls the dogcatcher, forcing you to pay another fine to retrieve it. Your neighbors start noticing and ignore you, leaving you feeling isolated and miserable. Eventually, it dawns on you that you've made a mistake moving into this unfriendly town. At this point, a friendly neighbor takes you under their wing and explains the bylaws to you, allowing you to live harmoniously with them. Your neighbors start noticing your change in behavior and respond more positively to you, making you feel a lot happier in your new surroundings.