“Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause; everything happens according to law; chance is but a name for law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the law.” —The Kybalion
Ok folks, so I’m not going to sugar coat it – this principle may be a hard one to swallow – especially if you find yourself wanting to blame something or someone else for your experiences. The Principle of Cause and Effect says that every single action in the universe generates a corresponding reaction – no matter what, even if we don’t know the cause.
Everything we experience and have in our lives is an effect that’s the result from a specific cause. Causes are the choices and actions we take (hourly, daily, weekly), small or large. Each and every choice we’ve made and action we’ve taken has set events into motion creating effects that we are now experiencing.
This principle puts us on notice, shouting loudly, life isn’t built on accidents – coincidences – chance or luck. Success is not an accident – neither is failure. If this seems like bad news, take heart – because of this principle we can BE the cause in our lives instead of the casualty of the situation. There’s no waiting for chance or coincidence where this principle is concerned.
“chance is but a name for law not recognized” —The Kybalion
What I’ve seen in my coaching practice to be the toughest part for clients working with this principle is taking full responsibility for their results to date. I jokingly remind them – when you point at someone else, take a look at your own hand, there’s 3 fingers pointing right back at you. Too often we waste time blaming other people or situations for our experiences. When we take ownership that WE are the cause of our experience it gives us the ability to change it in a New York minute. How do we change it? By utilizing the Hermetic Principles and Universal Laws (such as mentalism, polarity, and rhythm to name a few).
Seeing this connection between our actions and their consequences gives us the ability to witness how those actions impact our experience. Giving us wisdom, power, and freedom to make our choices and the consequences that come with them. Consider the person who wants to get healthy, when they make the connection that eating doughnuts every day keeps them from reaching their health goals, they can then choose to be the cause for their health and not eat them daily to have the effect of being healthy.
Another great example of this principle is our own existence. We wouldn’t exist today if it wasn’t for our ancestors. Starting with our biological parents going back thousands of years. We are not here by chance, we are the effect of a series of causes. Thank you ancestors!
The beauty of understanding and integrating this principle into our lives is that we know we can have success, health, wealth, anything we desire by modeling the habits and actions of those who have already achieved it. If we want health, we need only copy the habits and actions of healthy people.
In the same context , if you aren’t happy with the experiences you’ve created, you can change the causes that created them in the first place. Ask yourself, are you a cause? Or are you an effect?
We reap what we sow…. Even tiny things, tiny causes, create effects, such as smiling at someone; you could change their day and how they feel, resulting in them taking a completely different set of actions. It’s powerful to remember who you were in the past, caused who you are now while who you are now is creating the effects you will experience in the future.
How to apply Principle of Cause and Effect:
When things don’t go as planned or you find yourself unhappy, stop and ask yourself, what is the cause? Trace it back to the origin story so you can truly acknowledge it. Simply slowing down to seek out the cause shifts the auto pilot response. So often, we find ourselves reacting to our circumstances and environment, trapped in an automatic way of being instead of moving forward. When we take action aligned with the effect (outcome) we want, we move from feeling like we can’t to feeling like we can. Instead of reacting to life, we create the life we want.
In living this principle, we accept that every action we take has a consequence. And being deliberate with our choices we know WE are the cause of our lives, hands down.
As you can see, these immutable principles and laws are continuing to put the power in your hands. You are the cause in your life and world – time to own it!
You are the creator, the director, the producer – the buck stops there – so make it a great one!
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!
Big LOVE,
Lynnette
Meditation and Journal Prompts:
- How are my thoughts and beliefs causing and maintaining my current experience?
- What new effects do I want to experience in my life?
- Who are some people I consider successful in the way I want to experience success in my life?
- How can I model these successful people’s habits, choices, actions, and behaviors?
