At times, life can feel very chaotic and random. Challenges may seem to arise without explanation, and circumstances can appear unpredictable or even unfair. Yet what appears chaotic is often an order we do not yet understand. It is our lack of understanding of the causes and principles at work that prevents us from seeing the order beneath our experience. When we come to understand the consciousness of the soul and the laws of the universe, uncertainty dissipates and that greater order begins to reveal itself.
To begin to understand how that order works and why it so often eludes us, it helps to borrow a concept from the world of science known as entropy. Entropy describes the natural tendency of any system to drift toward disorder when left to itself. A system, in this sense, is simply any collection of things that interact and function together: a household, a relationship, a business, a life. The higher the entropy within a system, the more difficult it becomes to know an outcome before it occurs, thus making life appear more chaotic. The lower the entropy, the more order and predictability exist.
To understand entropy more fully, it helps to understand the difference between a closed system and an open one. A closed system is one that receives no new energy or information from outside itself. It relies entirely on what is already contained within it. In a closed system, entropy will either remain the same or increase; it never naturally decreases on its own. An open system, by contrast, is one that can receive energy and information from beyond itself, and because of this, greater organization and order become possible within it.
A garden offers a simple picture of the difference. A garden left entirely to itself is like a closed system. Nothing tends it, and over time weeds take over, and it grows wild and unpredictable. A garden that is cared for is like an open system. The gardener brings in energy and effort from outside, pulling weeds, planting, and watering, and the garden flourishes in an ordered and fruitful way. What determines whether the garden moves toward order or disorder is whether something is being brought to it from beyond itself.
Our lives follow the same principle. The mortal consciousness functions as a closed system, for it relies almost entirely upon sensory input and its own conditioned habits and limited understanding. It can only work with what the five senses deliver and what past experience has taught it. Confined to those narrow boundaries, it remains ensconced within what it already knows, and the disorder in our lives tends to remain the same or increase. Life feels unpredictable and out of control because the mortal consciousness by default does not access the greater source from which order flows.
Yet that source is closer than we imagine. Within every one of us lies the soul, and within the soul, the infinite God consciousness. It is a powerhouse of wisdom and understanding, and it has been there all along. The disorder in our lives is neither punishment nor accident; it is what happens when an unlimited source of knowledge and wisdom remains untapped. That knowledge and intelligence does not need to be created or acquired; it waits only to be received. And the way we come to receive it is through surrender. When we surrender the mortal consciousness to that higher consciousness of the soul, everything changes. The system opens. We are no longer confined to what the senses report and what habit dictates. We become receptive to guidance and understanding flowing in from beyond the boundaries of the mortal self. With practice and over time, the disorder in our lives gradually begins to decrease.
Surrender opens the way, but how do we then hear what the soul is saying? We begin by learning its language. The consciousness of the soul communicates through a language of symbology and intuition. Like any language, it can seem unintelligible at first. But as you learn the language, patterns become recognizable and meaning emerges, and what once seemed confusing reveals itself as something intelligible and orderly. So it is with the soul. We learn to recognize its language through awareness of our surroundings and our feelings, as well as through introspection and practice. As we become more familiar with the way the soul speaks, experiences that once appeared random begin to carry meaning and direction.
The consciousness of the soul also speaks through the Universal Laws of Cause and Effect and Karma, which work together with our free agency to establish a deeper order governing both individual growth and direction. As we come to understand these principles, it brings a measure of genuine control into our lives. When we know that our thoughts, choices, and actions are causes that will produce effects, we are no longer bystanders in our own existence. We can choose our causes with care and wisdom, and in doing so we begin to shape what returns to us.
It is also possible that the cause behind an effect we are experiencing today may have been set in motion from a previous embodiment. The relationship between cause and effect can therefore be difficult to trace. Yet when we understand the nature of the soul and the Universal Laws, we know there is a reason, and that nothing is happenstance. This understanding alone can shift our attitude when facing a difficult experience, moving us from confusion or resentment toward discernment and a willingness to meet the moment with greater wisdom. And though the past is written, the future is not; through the causes we set in motion today, we shape what is yet to come.
The infinite has been within reach the entire time, waiting only to be recognized. What limits us is not the boundary of our potential, but the boundary of our belief. For our potential is not necessarily that that we believe it to be, but that that we limit ourselves to believe.
When we understand cause and effect, learn the language of the soul, and surrender unto that higher consciousness within us, the disorder in our lives slowly begins to fall away. Life does not necessarily become easier, but we discover that what we once experienced as random happenstance was an effect of a cause we did not yet understand. And this deepening realization, this gradual recognition of the order beneath all things, is the process of coming into rapport with the consciousness of the soul.
Grow in light and grow in peace.
