Introduction
As a coach, Industrial Psychologist, consultant, father and follower of
Jesus Christ I’m constantly faced with various beliefs on aspects such as
leadership, success, purpose and more, but also with belief systems contrary to
what I belief.
When a close friend delved into the laws of the universe and started to
change his believe system from what we previously shared, I decided to
investigate to try and understand.
In my reading I came over various authors who identified and grouped
various laws, for example 11 Forgotten Laws, 7 Universal Laws (Principles), 12
Universal Laws and 20 Universal Laws.
Collating these I came up with 39 laws which one needs to attuned to, to
ensure success.
In many cases I tend to over simplify, forgive me for that. However, as I do not judge other’s belief
systems, please do not judge me. We all
have the privilege to believe as we decide, according to our own
considerations.
I’m not trying to make this an empirical study, thus a large amount of
“copy and paste” took place from various sources. I’m not trying to prove anything, I’m not
trying to prove a point or to convert anyone; I’m just sharing my notes. You will tend to agree or severely disagree
with me – it is fine.
It was not my intention to defend the Bible or provide counter verses or
provide contextual arguments. This would
be a very specific exercise and is not of importance here. Important is that where Bible verses are
provided, it comes from the reading matter (this is where your knowledge of the
Bible and the context of those verses are important).
What follows is my understanding, limited I might say, and my reflection on
what I believe.
I would like to start this exercise with two quotes from the material that
I read:
All successful people are in harmony with the Laws of the
universe – either consciously or unconsciously.
When the mind is attuned to the cosmic law, all the laws
of nature are in perfect harmony with the aspirations of the mind.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Prominent Building Blocks
I identified a number of building blocks or recurrent
themes throughout the reading of which the following few are continuously
reiterated.
The first one is that you have access to unlimited
power, which is within you. In many
cases this refers to the power to think and to choose.
Live from the inside out; think about the life you want
despite your current circumstances. You
can start to think about your DREAM JOB and about ABUNDANCE right NOW
regardless of your circumstances.
A man is
but the product of his thoughts - what he thinks, he becomes. Mahatma Gandhi
We become
what we think about - Earl Nightingale
A man's
life is what his thoughts make of it - Marcus Aurelius
The second one is the right
to abundance”. Abundance (it seems)
mostly refers to material abundance.
The third refers to claims that these laws are not a
religious program, but a science!
It is stated that these laws are based on the understanding of natural laws. A proven step by step approach for you
to follow in order for you to get what you want out of this life.
- For me an important starting point will then be to understand the definition of science and test these laws accordingly.
- Science (from Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
- Medical Definition of science: knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through the scientific method and concerned with the physical world and its phenomena.
- For me science relies heavily on scientific method, testability and repeatability. Unfortunately I cannot agree with the science statement. I found a number of contradictions and vague statements on application of these laws.
The fourth is the importance of being successful and as I
experienced it, success measured in an abundance of “things”. Prosperity or “welvaart’ in Afrikaans.
The fifth is continuous reference to “you can be
whatever you want”. Being reasonably
open-minded; I tend to ask the question – “really”?
39 Laws
Following is a summary of the laws found and reference to
a source. I believe that this list is
not exhaustive and there is also no specific sequence to it. For those who are interested, there are a
table with an explanation for each of these laws at the back of this document.
Law of Thinking (11 Forgotten Laws)
The law of supply (11 Forgotten Laws)
Law of Attraction (11 Forgotten Laws / 12 universal Laws / 20 Universal
Laws)
Law of Receiving (11 Forgotten Laws)
Law of increase (11 Forgotten Laws)
Law of Compensation (11 Forgotten Laws / 12
Universal Laws)
Law of Forgiveness (11 Forgotten Laws)
Law of Sacrifice (11 Forgotten Laws)
Law of obedience (11 Forgotten Laws)
Law of Success (11 Forgotten Laws)
The Principle of Mentalism (7 Universal Laws)
Law of Correspondence (7 Universal
Laws)
The Law of Vibration (7 Universal
Laws / 12 Universal Laws / 20 Universal Laws)
Law of Polarity (7 & 12 Universal
Laws)
Law of Rhythm (7 & 12 Universal
Laws)
Law of Cause and Effect (7 & 12
universal Laws)
Law of Gender (7 & 12 universal
Laws)
Law of Divine Oneness / Law of One
(12 & 20 Universal Laws)
|
Law of Action (12 Universal laws)
Law of Correspondence (12 Universal
Laws)
Law of Perpetual Transmutation of Energy (12 Universal Laws)
Law of Relativity (12
Universal Laws)
Law of harmony (20 Universal Laws)
Law of Reincarnation and Karma (20 Universal Laws)
Law of Wisdom
(wisdom erases Karma) (20 Universal Laws)
Law of Grace (20 Universal Laws)
Law of Soul
Evolution (20 Universal Laws)
Law of Bodhisattva
(20 Universal Laws)
Law of free will (20 Universal Laws)
Law of Manifestation (20 Universal
Laws)
Law of Conscious
Detachment (20 Universal Laws)
Law of Gratitude (20 Universal Laws)
Law of Fellowship (20 Universal Laws)
Law of Resistance (11 forgotten &
20 Universal Laws)
Law of Reflection (20 Universal Laws)
Law of Unconditional
Love (20 Universal Laws)
Law of Magnetic Affinities (20 Universal Laws)
Law of Abundance (20 Universal Laws)
Law of Divine Order (20 Universal Laws)
|
Reference to a Divinity
In the reading I identified a number of references to
what I will label “a divine power”, which are the following:
- The universe.
- The Divine Operation - is always for expansion and fuller expression and it wants to express itself through us. Hence, that desire, that urge inside you to reach our goals and dreams is the divine trying to express itself through you. Hence, we must never give up our dreams. "The All.
- Energy gestalt. We are all part of a great energy gestalt called God, and because we are part of God, we are God.
- Divine energy. This and all universes are made of Divine Energy. It is everywhere and in everything. Everything, including us, lives, moves and has its being in this divine energy. We are this divine energy.
- We are god. Our purpose is to become god.
- In certain instances you can deduct that there are space for more than one god.
When you are harmonious for a lifetime, you will have
attained the highest vibrational rate - the
God level.
Although references are made to Bible text, I did not
find acknowledgement of the God that I, as a Christian, believe in.
So, What is my Conclusion?
After spending much time reading and contemplating, I
came to a number of conclusions regarding these issues. From here on it is Johan speaking and please
remember, this is my understanding of the laws and their implications.
The power of thinking. Absolutely, there is no substitute for tuning
your mind onto the positive things, focusing on the good, and all that. Even the Bible in the Wisdom Book Proverbs
(23:7) agrees that “as a man think, so is he”. However, to claim you have unlimited power is
by changing your thinking, in my mind, creating false expectations. As humans, in our human form, I believe, we
are limited. Can we create anything out
of nothing?
The Laws of the Universe as a science. This is for me one of those claims that
people use to “sell” something, to make it more credible. If one wants to use science as a vantage
point, then you must abide by the definition of science, and can you really
proof this scientifically? This also means
that one needs to establish a clear (and accepted) definition of “success and
abundance”, which then should be one of the criteria for measurement. Science and religion is not necessarily room
mates. How do you prove that there are
millions of states before getting to “god level”? (Aka Law of Vibration)
The use of Bible verses. Without going into detail the utilisation of
Bible verses to support specific laws are close to some of the religious uses of verses, i.e. a
specific verse are used out of context or just off context, to support a law or
argument. One of these are constant
references to “abundance”, while (in my view) the focus should be on “abundant
life” and not “abundant goods and things”.
Nowhere could I, in the Bible, read that we have a right to material
abundance – I’m not saying that we should not have abundance or that no-one in
the Bible had abundance, I say I could not find the right to abundance.
You can be whatever you want to be. Really?
I don’t know. The whole universe
is built on eco systems and hierarchies.
Rather encourage people to be the best they can be than
to teach that you can be a super rich, super human, super something; actually
creating more pain and frustration. For
not one moment do I say you must not have dreams and ambitions, you should, you
must have otherwise you are spiritually dead, however, there are boundaries to
everything.
A goldfish will never be a shark, but it can be the best
goldfish there can be; thus being true to itself, finding peace within and
living a fruitful, happy and content life.
And, if you believe that you can be and want to be “X” and does not
realise it – then you did not “believe” good enough or you did not adhere to
some of the laws; what else are you doing than most of the religions
today. You are not healed because you
did not believe enough; really?
The power of the mind is incredible, with the power of a
believe system it is almost unstoppable, but it does not give anyone an open
cheque book.
Becoming god?! The “Law of Thinking” directly indicates that
“our purpose is to become god”. Although
God is in us and we are in God – we can never become God. God created us for Him. Enough said.
Attitude.
A number of these laws (e.g. vibration, attraction, increase, etc) are
about sending out positive vibrations into the universe and then you will
receive more of the same.
A positive attitude goes far and will attract positive
people and maybe convert negative people – but I find it difficult to believe
that you can be sure (science?) that you will receive more of what you are
grateful for because the universe will respond accordingly. Good things happen to good and bad people,
and vice versa.
Once again, if you believe this and it works for you – excellent.
Success.
Some of the authors claim that these laws are a recipe for success, a
proven step by step process; meaning that if you follow the recipe closely, you
will achieve success.
If you’re not successful you are not adhering to one or
more of these laws – thus, you’re rejected; not good enough. I could not find the
step-by-step recipe!
What better is this then than all the “Christians’” who
let people believe they are sick or failing due to not having enough faith? So what about a lack of opportunity that is
effectively hampering the achievement of success?
From my reading it is clear that the laws of vibration
and attraction are the most commonly sited by authors as the most important
laws that you have to obey to be successful.
This opens the next question; how do you define success – but I’m not
going there.
There are a lot of truths in these laws, but we are not
God, and we cannot call on God as a “servant” to attend to our every wish.
Believing and Wants vs Needs and
Reprogramming via Affirmations.
I found that there is a primary drive throughout the reading that we
need to believe that anything is possible. We just need to believe it.
Believing is seeing. Note: And if you are not seeing what you believe; did
you then not believe enough?
The Law of Attraction states that you can start to alter
your life just by altering your thoughts and emotions, and by doing just
that you will be able to attract into your life what you truly want.
In order to change your belief system you can start
applying affirmations, doing so you will "reprogram" your
subconscious mind with a new belief system.
And then things will start to happen to you, as you belief.
Consider
This[1].
Affirmations in New Thought and New Age terminology refer primarily to the practice
of positive thinking and self-empowerment—fostering a belief that "a
positive mental attitude supported by affirmations will achieve success in
anything." More specifically, an affirmation is a carefully formatted
statement that should be repeated to one's self and written down frequently.
For an affirmation to be effective, it needs to be present tense, positive,
personal and specific.
According
to Rhonda
Britten, affirmations work best when combined with acknowledgements because the
acknowledgements build up a backlog of results in one's mind to prove that one
can do what one is affirming. So,
for example, the acknowledgement "I bought a good pair of sneakers and
some gym clothes" could complement the affirmation "I can reach my
goal of losing 20 pounds." The goal is to focus on steps one has taken
toward accomplishing one's goals rather than criticizing oneself for what one
hasn't yet accomplished, or could theoretically have accomplished but didn't.
Once again, everything has its limits.
Positive
affirmation has been found to have a detrimental effect on those who need it
the most, because people with low self-esteem will perceive the affirmation as
so unbelievable that it strengthens their negative mindset. Those who already
have high self-esteem feel slightly better, and those who don't will feel worse
than if they had been allowed negative thoughts. When people with high
self-esteem uses positive affirmation, it acts as a buffer for constructive
criticism that goes against the self-perception, and when people with low
self-esteem uses positive affirmation, it rings untrue and therefore brings to
mind exactly how they are not successful, loved, etc.
Final Thoughts
As an intellectual I strive to evaluate according to
value, always considering the “flip side”, and even after I made a decision on
what I believe, I still allow space for others’ believes.
I’m of the opinion that all people need something to
believe in, I believe it is part of our design or DNA (if you wish). We can thus choose to believe in a range of
things, from believing in
ourselves to believing in some god or divine power; even those who believe
there is nothing, still believe something.
The question is: “what do you believe?” Having
read about the Laws of the Universe, the Forgotten Laws, the most important
Laws, and more, I’m absolutely convinced that the answer lies in myself; I
choose in what I believe; the answer lies in my hands.
One must
carefully consider what you believe in, as this forms the basis of your believe
system, which forms the basis of your behaviour. For me a lot of these laws are part of the
bigger design and cut easily to both sides; to those who believe in these laws
and the role of the universe as the alpha and omega, or those who believe in
intelligent design and a divine creator. Consider the following:
If you believe in yourself and you fail,
then your whole universe fails.
If you believe in a god of sorts, and things
are not going as you want it, then your god failed you.
If you believe in God and things are not
coming your way, you still fit into the scheme of things, God is still there,
He is still listening, guiding, proving.
If you find success, you see God’s hand in it – and you grow to the
point where everything is not about you, it’s about the creator!
I found “contradictions”
that are interesting - some of the laws are focused on success and abundance,
while a number thereof is focused on giving grace, mercy and love (doing good);
and then there are laws that states everything is relative and we must accept
that there are some things we can do nothing about? Just the next law states you can achieve
anything by changing the way you think and feel?
I found that
these 39 Laws is opposing to the Law of Love, as explained in the Bible, where
the focus is on loving God, loving your neighbour and loving yourself – not
things. I believe that the moment you
made peace with who you are and what you have, you will experience abundance –
abundant life. The contradiction is that
a number of these laws explicitly focus on achieving on what you want.
After careful consideration I conclude that it is up to you to decide if
you believe in God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit or not. A number of these laws are in my mind part of
the masterfully designed universe, but it is not about the laws. I’m of the contention that some of these laws
“makes” you god, which you are not.
Thus, the larger part of the laws is (in my view) good advice, but it
should not take your attention off God!
What is
interesting to me is that a large number of the thinkers who’s thoughts are
used to explain or justify arguments and laws, really lead a very simplistic
life!
For me it
takes a whole lot more "faith" to believe in evolution, the big bang,
the universe as creator of plans for you due to your thinking and the power of
these laws than it does to believe in intelligent design by a divine Creator
(who is also the creator of most of these laws).
Zig
Ziglar wrote that according to legend, it was reputed that a very wise old man
who lived on a hilltop overlooking the beautiful city of Venice, Italy, could
answer any question anyone might ask him. Two local boys figured they could
trick him, so they caught a bird and took it to the wise sage.
"Tell
us," they asked, "is the bird in our hand dead or alive?"
The wise
man replied, "Son, if I say the bird is alive, you will close your hands
and crush it to death. Or, if I say the bird is dead, you will open your hands
and it will fly away. The answer is in
your hands."
I’m quite sure that there will a number of aspects that
I’ve missed or maybe miss interpreted. I
therefore confirm why I did this – I needed to gain an understanding of these
so called laws, the laws that give so much power to the human and (almost)
makes him god. As I was confronted with
these laws and “losing” a friend to it, I needed to understand and decide where
I stand; I chose. I chose to keep on
believing in my God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
I believe in the God who calls Himself “I Am” (Ex 3:14).
If I offended anyone, I do apologise sincerely, it was
not the intention. We are all on our own journey to spiritual
maturity – no judgement, be accommodating.
Bottom line
– it’s all about what you choose to believe! The answer is in your hands!
Note: If you are interested I do have a tabled summary of these laws.
