The law of cause and effect

                            By Bayo Ogunmupe

    The law of cause and effect is also known as the law of karma. Every action generates a force of energy that returns to us in like manner. This means that whatever we sow, is what we reap. And when we choose actions that bring happiness and success to others, the fruit of our karma is happiness and success. As a spiritual law, karma is the eternal assertion of human freedom. Our thoughts, our words and deeds are the threads of the net which we throw around ourselves. According to Deepak Chopra, in his book: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, karma is both action and the consequence of that action; it is cause and effect simultaneously, because every action generates a force that returns to us in like kind.

    Thus, if you want to create happiness in your life, you must learn to sow the seeds of happiness. Therefore, karma implies the action of conscious choice-making. You and I are essentially infinite choice makers. In every moment of our lives, we are in that field of possibilities where we have access to an infinity of choices. Some of these choices are made consciously, while the others are made unconsciously. However, the best way to understand and maximize the use of karmic law is to become consciously aware of the choices we make in every moment.

    Whether you like it or not, everything happening to you at this moment, is a result of the choices you have made in the past. Unfortunately, a lot of us make choices unconsciously and therefore we don't think they are choices- but yet, they are. If I were to insult you, you would make the choice of being offended. If I were to pay you a compliment, you would most likely choose to be pleased or flattered. Certainly these are choices. Therefore, most of us have become bundles of conditioned reflexes that are constantly being triggered by circumstances into predictable behaviour.

    There is only one choice out of the infinity of choices available to you in every second, that will create happiness for you and those around you. When you make that one choice, it will result in a behaviour called spontaneous right action. Spontaneous right action is the right action at the right moment. It is the correct response to the situation as it happens. It is the action that nourishes you and everyone influenced by that action.

    This is a mechanism that the universe has to help you make spontaneously for correct choices. Your body experiences two types of sensations: the sensation of comfort and the sensation of discomfort. At the moment of your choice-making pay attention to your body. If your body sends a message of comfort during choice making, that is the right choice for happiness. For some, these messages come in the solar plexus, but for most people it is in the area of the heart.

    Certainly, the heart knows the correct answer. You can use the law of karma to create money and affluence. But you must be consciously aware that your future is determined by the choices you are making in every moment of your life. Always be conscious of the choices you are making  so that you can make spontaneously right choices.

    For your past karma influencing you now, there are things you can do about them. One is to pay your karmic debts. The law of karma says no debt in the universe ever goes unpaid. There is a perfect accounting system in this universe. Secondly, you can transform your karma to a more desirable experience by making your experience useful to your fellow men. By doing this you look for the seed of opportunity and then tie that seed with your purpose in life.

    This is achieved by always transmuting your adversity to a benefit. Thirdly, to deal with karma is to transcend it. This can be done by paying off your karma consciously through right action. Every action you make is a karmic episode. You put the law of karma into effect by making commitments of making conscious choices of right actions. Whatever action you make generates good or bad consequences. As long as karma is evolutionary, for both yourself and anyone affected by you; then the fruit of karma will be happiness and success. Remember, karma is inexorable; it is as certain as gravity. It is a spiritual law, nothing can save you from its operations. As you sow, you reap.