Divine Order

Prosperity Thoughts: Divine Order

One of the very fundamental assumptions that each of us make is about the orderliness of the Universe. We may not consciously resolve this, but our assumption underlies every decision we make. I offer some observations that might stimulate you to become aware of your ideas on the nature of the Universe. Looking at the question dispassionately there are only a few possibilities. Here are some of the more obvious ones.

The Universe is rational and predictable and controlled by some sort of outside Higher Power. (Ordered).

The Universe is irrational and unpredictable. (Chaos).

The level of order in the Universe is changing randomly all the time- sometimes it is ordered and at other times it is not. (Undeterminable).

The level of order in the Universe is continually being reduced by power beyond our control. (Devolving).

The level of order in Universe is continually being increased by a power beyond our control. (Evolving).

The level of order in the Universe is rational and predictable and measurably impacted by our individual and collective consciousness. (Spiritual).

To my way of seeing this, each person can unconsciously cycle through these various world views many times per day depending on the circumstances of the moment. It is important to notice this because I think our mood shifts depending on which world view we have adopted at any moment.

For example, anyone in an airplane is operating under the idea that there is a high level of order and predictability in the world. Their flight may be delayed by unforeseen factors (such as bad weather) but these are predictable and so experienced winter travelers allow extra time to make connections. Their underlying assumption is that the pilot is well trained, the aircraft well maintained, the laws of aerodynamic flight are well understood and so forth. If they thought otherwise, they would not be flying. I think that an aware situational assessment of which world view to apply to any given situation is perhaps an example of a highly developed consciousness.

On the other hand, I have noticed after our recent election that many peoples answer to the question about if the Universe is evolving or devolving depends on if their preferred candidate won the election or not. It seems purely subjective, especially when the newly elected candidate adopts many of the policy choices of the former administrations. This is, to my way of seeing it, is letting circumstance dictate our world view rather than seeing the world through a particular paradigm. I think this is a relatively undeveloped way of being in the world.

I am convinced that many of our very early childhood experiences influence our world view in dramatic and unconscious ways. I think many unconsciously then project their childhood perspective of their caregivers onto God in some fashion. I think the idea behind this concept is fairly well understood but the actual mechanism in each individual is much more subtle.

On a generational level, I think that many that were born during the hardest times of “Great Depression” adopted a deep seeded sense of uncertainty about financial matters. Their world view was one of scarcity. I know from stories I have heard that many children wondered if they would have food in the house. Many children relied on adults who were very fearful about loosing their jobs due to mass layoffs that were made by executives far outside their control for reasons outside of their perception. Growing up in this environment might lead to a world view that suggests that the Universe is devolving due to forces beyond their control.

In the same economic climate another child in an immigrant family might have experienced both their parents working hard, struggling to learn English and stressing the need to get a good education. This parent is modeling a worldview that says the world is organized and predictable, what are needed for success are hard work and an education.

Someone who grew up in a family laced with addition and dysfunction might have experienced a childhood with times of great uproar and conflict as well as times of tenderness and stability. Sometimes daddy would come home on time, sober and happy and other times he would not come home and there was worry and angst. Perhaps mom would be upbeat and cheerfully responsive much of the time and other times morose and unwilling to make dinner. A youngster with this home life might then unconsciously adopt a view of the Universe that held it was unpredictable and irrationally chaotic.

I think it is very worthwhile to take the time to reflect on our basic assumptions about how the Universe operates and to notice where we might have adopted our cultural or family perspective on this question without being aware of the impact.

We teach as a foundational truth that the Universe is highly organized and that it is predictably responsive to our own thinking. This foundational principle explains how the laws of science allow us great predictability in our physical world, which when coupled with the impact of our consciousness leads to a certain appearance of uncertainty in our daily life. I will talk about this impact in the next segment.