Basic Principles
On top of all the TV I've watched and all the people I've met and all the books I've read I also have all the noise inside my head that's influenced me, helped me craft myself into who I am now.
When I say "noise inside my head" I mean not just the normal cacophony of thoughts we all have but also the dissonant whine of conflicting ideas stirred together with the deep, resonating "thrum" of something larger than all of us--the underlying beat of the Universe.
We can all hear it, if we give it a chance. If we can quiet the rest of the noise in our heads long enough, we can make that universal beat a more active part of our own lives. If we do, it will guide us--sometimes in no uncertain terms, other times in very subtle ways.
Not that letting the Universe lead you will make your life any easier in the short term. Not at all, in fact. It often seems to make it more difficult than you'd image. When "tuned in" to that underlying beat and banter, so much in "ordinary" life can seem so trivial and pointless. "There's something more we should all be doing," you think, "if we could just dispense with this god-awful set of games and illusions."
Doing that--getting rid of the games and illusions--is something one just can't do. Especially if you want to actually interact with people on a regular basis.
But still... in order to balance out the mundane with the magickal, the secular with the spiritual, there is a thin line that needs to be walked.
Luckily, there are rules out there that help you keep your path once you've chosen it.
Many of these rules have been written about for thousands of years by various philosophers or sorcerers or priests or pundits of one sort or another. What most don't tell you, at least not right up front, is that once you agree to start following these rules there is no easy way out of that agreement.
So what are these rules, the basic principles of life "in tune" with the Universe?
Mostly, they depend on the path you choose to follow. They'll show up in the dogma of the religion, the parables of the philosophy, the bylaws of the society... often mixed in with a few more "earthly" rules and regulations, sometimes obscured by them.
I have my own set of special rules that I signed on to follow many lifetimes ago. I've written of some of them before. There are many more--some I'm still learning about and struggling with today.
Then there are the big rules. These apply everywhere, everywhen, forever and ever. You may not think so, but if you look, you will see them at play.
Do unto others...
This is a big one. The popular way we hear it is "Do unto other as you would have them do unto you." This also is supplemented with the "Love thy neighbor" sentiment anyone familiar with Christianity has heard hundreds of times over. Other religions and philosophies echo the same basic idea of "be good to one another." Generally, that's pretty darn good (though somewhat vague) advice. If you want to really live an "in tune" life, this is a requirement.
That which harms...
Because everything is connected, everything we do to others we are also doing to a part of ourselves. This is why the idea summed up in the idea "that which harms one, harms us all." By striking out against another, we are injuring ourselves. The Wiccan Rede puts it plainly "An ye harm none, do what thou will." The actual definition of "harm" can be (and has been) debated at length. Figuring that out for yourself is just another part of life on the path.
But why should I?
This is the question that many religions simply answer by saying "Because God said so." To me, that's nowhere near a good enough answer. That's why I was very happy to finally come across a rule that explained why following that first and second rules is a good idea. This principle is typically called The Rule of Three in Pagan circles. It can also be considered a slightly different take on Karma. The rule is: "Any energy you send out will come back to you three-fold." If you do good, you will be thrice-blessed. If you do evil, you will be thrice-cursed. It's not an "instant Karma" transaction, there is some delay (sometimes a very long delay), but it always plays out.
Serve
It is our duty to do for others. Rabindranath Tagore put it best: "I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I woke and saw that life was service. I served and found that service is joy." We are here to do a job. A big part of that job is helping other people. If you are not helping others, you are not growing as a person and you are not living up to your full potential. Without service, you are squandering that which the Universe has given you.
Heal thyself
This rule places a balancing factor on the previous one. "Physician heal thyself" is a phrase you may have heard bandied about every now and then without realizing just how important of an idea it is. If we are not well--if we are broken--we cannot help others as much as if we were healthy and whole. In order to properly serve others, we must take care of ourselves first.
The mean between the extremes
Aristotle had a theory about what is good and what is evil. In a nutshell, he proposed that any extreme was bad. Therefore, the mid-point between the extremes--the mean of the spectrum--is where good lies. This speaks directly to the state of balance that exists in the Universe. If we are to walk in tune with the Universe, we must mirror that balance.
The balance shifts
The Universe is not a static place. It is constantly changing, growing, evolving in some way shape or form into something different from what it is right now. At the same time, is stays fundamentally the same. The First Law of Thermodynamics tells us that in a closed system energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only change form. The Universe is a closed system. As it changes from one form to another, the energy that makes up our Universe has a sliding mid-point of balance between the different states. This creates a kind of dynamic equilibrium--always changing, but always, when looked at in its totality, balanced. We can learn to follow this ebb and flow, to surf on the waves of the dynamic nature of the Universe while maintaining our equilibrium.
Change is possible
Because the Universe is not stagnant and we are not static entities, change is always possible. It may not be easy or pleasant, but it is possible. We have to power to change a great number of things. Maybe not as quickly as we would like, and maybe not always in the way we expect, but we can cause change.
There is more in Heaven and Earth...
The Universe is a big place. Our minds are limited by our expectations, experience and energy. "There is more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in your philosophy," said William Shakespeare in Hamlet. He was right. The first thing to know, is to know that you do not know. Nor will you likely ever know everything. Nor would you be able to handle it if you suddenly did. That's not to say you shouldn't try... but don't be disappointed when you find out you're wrong about something. It happens.
These are some of the basic rules I've seen play out over the past three decades (and more if you want to count the whole past life thing--we'll get to that later). Others have written about them for longer. With open eyes and an honest heart, you just may see them at work in your life, too.
If not... well, I could be wrong. :)
When I say "noise inside my head" I mean not just the normal cacophony of thoughts we all have but also the dissonant whine of conflicting ideas stirred together with the deep, resonating "thrum" of something larger than all of us--the underlying beat of the Universe.
We can all hear it, if we give it a chance. If we can quiet the rest of the noise in our heads long enough, we can make that universal beat a more active part of our own lives. If we do, it will guide us--sometimes in no uncertain terms, other times in very subtle ways.
Not that letting the Universe lead you will make your life any easier in the short term. Not at all, in fact. It often seems to make it more difficult than you'd image. When "tuned in" to that underlying beat and banter, so much in "ordinary" life can seem so trivial and pointless. "There's something more we should all be doing," you think, "if we could just dispense with this god-awful set of games and illusions."
Doing that--getting rid of the games and illusions--is something one just can't do. Especially if you want to actually interact with people on a regular basis.
But still... in order to balance out the mundane with the magickal, the secular with the spiritual, there is a thin line that needs to be walked.
Luckily, there are rules out there that help you keep your path once you've chosen it.
Many of these rules have been written about for thousands of years by various philosophers or sorcerers or priests or pundits of one sort or another. What most don't tell you, at least not right up front, is that once you agree to start following these rules there is no easy way out of that agreement.
So what are these rules, the basic principles of life "in tune" with the Universe?
Mostly, they depend on the path you choose to follow. They'll show up in the dogma of the religion, the parables of the philosophy, the bylaws of the society... often mixed in with a few more "earthly" rules and regulations, sometimes obscured by them.
I have my own set of special rules that I signed on to follow many lifetimes ago. I've written of some of them before. There are many more--some I'm still learning about and struggling with today.
Then there are the big rules. These apply everywhere, everywhen, forever and ever. You may not think so, but if you look, you will see them at play.
Do unto others...
This is a big one. The popular way we hear it is "Do unto other as you would have them do unto you." This also is supplemented with the "Love thy neighbor" sentiment anyone familiar with Christianity has heard hundreds of times over. Other religions and philosophies echo the same basic idea of "be good to one another." Generally, that's pretty darn good (though somewhat vague) advice. If you want to really live an "in tune" life, this is a requirement.
That which harms...
Because everything is connected, everything we do to others we are also doing to a part of ourselves. This is why the idea summed up in the idea "that which harms one, harms us all." By striking out against another, we are injuring ourselves. The Wiccan Rede puts it plainly "An ye harm none, do what thou will." The actual definition of "harm" can be (and has been) debated at length. Figuring that out for yourself is just another part of life on the path.
But why should I?
This is the question that many religions simply answer by saying "Because God said so." To me, that's nowhere near a good enough answer. That's why I was very happy to finally come across a rule that explained why following that first and second rules is a good idea. This principle is typically called The Rule of Three in Pagan circles. It can also be considered a slightly different take on Karma. The rule is: "Any energy you send out will come back to you three-fold." If you do good, you will be thrice-blessed. If you do evil, you will be thrice-cursed. It's not an "instant Karma" transaction, there is some delay (sometimes a very long delay), but it always plays out.
Serve
It is our duty to do for others. Rabindranath Tagore put it best: "I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I woke and saw that life was service. I served and found that service is joy." We are here to do a job. A big part of that job is helping other people. If you are not helping others, you are not growing as a person and you are not living up to your full potential. Without service, you are squandering that which the Universe has given you.
Heal thyself
This rule places a balancing factor on the previous one. "Physician heal thyself" is a phrase you may have heard bandied about every now and then without realizing just how important of an idea it is. If we are not well--if we are broken--we cannot help others as much as if we were healthy and whole. In order to properly serve others, we must take care of ourselves first.
The mean between the extremes
Aristotle had a theory about what is good and what is evil. In a nutshell, he proposed that any extreme was bad. Therefore, the mid-point between the extremes--the mean of the spectrum--is where good lies. This speaks directly to the state of balance that exists in the Universe. If we are to walk in tune with the Universe, we must mirror that balance.
The balance shifts
The Universe is not a static place. It is constantly changing, growing, evolving in some way shape or form into something different from what it is right now. At the same time, is stays fundamentally the same. The First Law of Thermodynamics tells us that in a closed system energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only change form. The Universe is a closed system. As it changes from one form to another, the energy that makes up our Universe has a sliding mid-point of balance between the different states. This creates a kind of dynamic equilibrium--always changing, but always, when looked at in its totality, balanced. We can learn to follow this ebb and flow, to surf on the waves of the dynamic nature of the Universe while maintaining our equilibrium.
Change is possible
Because the Universe is not stagnant and we are not static entities, change is always possible. It may not be easy or pleasant, but it is possible. We have to power to change a great number of things. Maybe not as quickly as we would like, and maybe not always in the way we expect, but we can cause change.
There is more in Heaven and Earth...
The Universe is a big place. Our minds are limited by our expectations, experience and energy. "There is more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in your philosophy," said William Shakespeare in Hamlet. He was right. The first thing to know, is to know that you do not know. Nor will you likely ever know everything. Nor would you be able to handle it if you suddenly did. That's not to say you shouldn't try... but don't be disappointed when you find out you're wrong about something. It happens.
These are some of the basic rules I've seen play out over the past three decades (and more if you want to count the whole past life thing--we'll get to that later). Others have written about them for longer. With open eyes and an honest heart, you just may see them at work in your life, too.
If not... well, I could be wrong. :)