The Tao of Divine Order
Change is one of the few constants in our physical world. As the Tao reminds us “the ten thousand things rise and fall without cease”. At the same time it says however that “Heaven and Earth last forever.”
How can this be?
Looking first at the natural world, moment by moment the waves ebb and flow, the breeze shifts, streams run, clouds float. Day becomes night, seasons come and seasons go and life goes on.
The circumstances are always unique, none lasting longer than a moment. Yet, the pattern is always perfectly predictable. While the waves ebb and flow, the ocean itself is permanent. While the sun is always moving across the sky (actually relative to the earth the sun is fairly constant- it is the earth that is rotating), we can predict exactly when the sun will rise. Spring will always follow winter and in the Northern Hemisphere spring days will generally warm and buds on trees will come out and the bulbs will become flowers and so forth and so on.
The same is true with technology and our personal world. First there were drums, bugles and banners, then smoke signals, then the break through of the telegraph and then upgrade to the universal home telephone and now personal cell phones. The only constant is that our technical world is always evolving.
In our private world as well, we are all the time, amidst change. Circumstances and conditions come and go surrounding jobs, health, friendships and a myriad of ten thousand other details. The only constant here is that we are eternal souls on an infinite journey of exploration.
In thinking about our prosperity consciousness from this perspective, we can see how we make the decisions that shape the details of our lives.
There are really only two ultimate world view choices. One can choose to live from a world view that rejects a higher power as an organizing and responsive force for our good. This world view is enmeshed in the details because there is nothing larger involved. Making choices based on circumstances is typically exhausting because we cannot adequately predict how the circumstances will alter and so we end up micromanaging our lives. We are living then in an unpredictable and/or chaotic world and from this mind set are typically thinking of self centered survival issues most of the time. The best we can do from this consciousness is to maximize our experience of our own preferences.
The other perspective available is a spiritual perspective that holds that while we are having an entirely human experience, we are actually spiritual beings and our lives are governed by spiritual laws. As we study and come to integrate our understanding of these universal principles then we can improve the quality of our life in generally predictable way. We may not be able to control all the short term circumstances, (other people do have free will after all) but we know that we are trudging a spiritual path that promises inner peace and a life of abundance.
There are examples of this phenomenon in quantum physics that seem very pertinent but I am not really able to explain it clearly. Scientists have run multiple repetitions of certain experiments to determine to a very fine accuracy which outcome of several possibilities is going to happen. They are able to predict how likely it is that each variable will occur, but they cannot know ahead of any specific test run which outcome is actually going to happen until it actually does happen. What I am describing here is not a chaotic environment, but one which is not certain.
Here is a example of a non chaotic but uncertain system from the natural world that I think I can use to illustrate this principle. Debbie and I just got back from
The surfers know from common experience that ocean waves tend to come in sets, perhaps 3-8 waves in a series followed by a lull in the wave action and then the commencement of the next set. The surfers never know ahead of time if the next wave will be a dud or last wave of a set. They never know for sure until the wave begins to break if it will be a perfect wave. They are looking to pass on the duds, while seeking to catch a good wave before the onset of the next lull so they can surf and then paddle back out during the lull.
In spite of the appearance of a chaotic environment where no one can predict the quality of the next wave, many surfers will pass on wave after wave and then simultaneously a pair will jump up in unison to ride the next wave even though multiple riders on the same peak tends to diminish their own ride. How does this happen, that independent of each other several surfers will determine the next wave is the one to ride and not the one after that? They must develop some feel, some sixth sense that activates them to ride as the swell begins to form but before the wave actually breaks into a curl. They cannot know ahead of time so their environment is uncertain, but they know a good wave is going to come along sooner or later because every day there are literally hundreds of good waves.
This process of discerned thinking by surfers hopefully leads us to an understanding of the difference between a chaotic universe and one that is uncertain but predictable. As Einstein said, he believed that God did not play dice with the Universe. In other words, Einstein was convinced in his heart that the Universe was not random or chaotic, and he spent the entire balance of his life trying to find scientific proof of this conviction.
This perspective deeply impacts our prosperity thinking in how we deal with the changes in our life. If we assume the Universe is chaotic and random then we will have a gut reaction to each perceived threat. The gut reaction is activated in the lower chakras where the survival and power instincts are located. Gut reactions are often urgent and very strong adrenalin driven currents and tend to be, as their namesake indicates, reactive. They are noted for self centered and protective behavior. Protective behavior can be defensive or aggressive, is often focused on shifting blame and it is typically competitive or even hostile.
On the other hand, if our deepest belief is that the world is unfolding in response to our intentions in a rational but uncertain manner, then we can take the time to rely on our intuition to guide our decisions. Intuition arises within the higher chakras. These intuitive senses are integrated for the well-being of all concern. They tend to be gentle signals or subtle hints that take time to fully take shape and are most often expansive or generative in character.
Reactive energy and decisions made from a world view of chaos are less likely to lead to a sense of our goodness. It is focused on self centered survival- which is unlikely to help us thrive unless we are truly in a dire situation. On the other hand, a world view which encompasses a Higher Power and Divine Order lead to intuitive decision making and a calmer life. These decisions will be expansive rather than protective and will thus more likely to lead us towards prosperity and abundance. In the end, it is our choice of which world view to adopt, chaos or Divine Order.
No comments:
Post a Comment