Enter the Mandala: The Law of Cause and Effect

Here’s mandala #5 in the Enter the Mandala Project, a series of intuitively sourced paintings to better understand the Twelve Universal Laws.

Welcome to the Law of Cause & Effect.  It teaches that today is the result of your past thoughts and actions. Tomorrow is being shaped through your thoughts and actions of today.

The Law of Cause and Effect has been the most challenging of my Enter the Mandala Project paintings to create so far. I not only connected to Light and Love, as is my usual practice in the studio, but also to Darkness and Fear.

It was a journey into contrasting choices, emotions, thoughts, actions, beliefs, and resulting realities.

At first, I struggled with the idea of including the dark side in my painting. My Divine Helpers explained, however, that this was a necessary element of the teaching tool I was co-creating.

As with all the Universal Law mandalas, I started with an intuitive reading. This is a visual journey that my Spirit Guides and angels take me on in response to my request to explore each law. It’s where I gather my ideas and symbolism.

During this reading, my whole body and energy field was plunged into a state of despair and fear. It was only momentary, but I’ll admit, it was much easier to focus on that yuckiness than to focus on the joy and manifested success of the second part of the journey.  That in itself was part of my lesson.

Listen in if you’d like to hear the stories behind this painting. I was so surprised by the “bad trip”, though, that I didn’t really succeed in expressing the fullness of my experience.

It was only after the reading was done that I understood the full message of the initial Spirit Calling Card spread.

By experiencing contrast (love / fear), we can better appreciate the power of free will – the power of the thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and actions that we choose every moment of every day.

“Man becomes what he thinks about all day long.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

When we can fully appreciate our own creative power, we open ourselves to unconditional love – for ourselves and others.

What else does this reading mean to you? Feel free to comment at the end.

 

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If you believe in karma, you believe in the spiritual principle of cause and effect, not only within this lifetime, but across lifetimes.

Good deeds and intentions lead to happiness and bad deeds and intentions lead to suffering.

The karmic wheel at the center of this mandala represents the cycle of life – our repeated births, rebirths, and opportunities to work out our karma.

“Situations seem to happen to people, but in reality, they unfold from deeper karmic causes. The universe unfolds to itself, bringing to bear any cause that needs to be included. Don’t take this process personally. The working out of cause and effect is eternal. You are part of this rising and falling that never ends, and only by riding the wave can you ensure that the waves don’t drown you. The ego takes everything personally, leaving no room for higher guidance or purpose. If you can, realize that a cosmic plan is unfolding and appreciate the incredibly woven tapestry for what it is, a design of unparalleled marvel.” 
― Deepak Chopra

Everything happens for a reason. In fact, everything in our current reality is linked to what came before it.  

I represented this chain of events / thoughts/ feelings with 2 chains circling inside the mandala.

I love it when this happens.  After seeing a teeter totter in my intuitive journey,  I found one on a cause and effect website, where I was looking for quotes to add to this post.

The teeter totter is a great representation of the physical side of the the Law of Cause and Effect. If one side goes down, the other inevitably goes up.

“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” ~Sir Isaac Newton

In my vision, I saw the teeter-totter transform into both a pendulum and the balancing scales of The Lady of Justice, adding to the relationship between choice and consequence.

This symbol came out of my Internet research, not my intuitive vision.  It’s called the Ishikawa Diagram.  It shows the various causes for a particular event, grouped in various categories.

I used this graphic symbol in the base of the teeter totter to represent how our past has led to our present.  I also used it in 2 of the corners pointing outwards, to reinforce how we are creating our future through our present decisions.

Buddha says it well:

“If you want to understand the causes that existed in the past, look at the results as they are manifested in the present. And if you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present.”

This is the quote I wrote in the outside ring of the mandala.

The dark side of my journey was like being an actor in a horror movie.  I knew it wasn’t my reality, but I witnessed and felt the physical, emotional, and mental consequences of

• addiction
• unhealthy eating and viewing habits
• fear, anger, hate,
• inner and outer violence and the threat of violence
• reactivity,etc.

Needless to say this part my intuitive and creative experience wasn’t fun.

It took conscious effort not to let it affect me… for too long.

I have to admit, though, scrawling all those cartoon swear symbols added a bit of comic relief to the heaviness.

The lighter side of the picture was inspired by the story in my vision.

A little boy wanted to befriend his new neighbour, who spent long periods of time sullenly staring out his window.  The boy followed his inner guidance through a series of inspired actions (having a lemonade stand to raise enough money to buy a baseball and glove). He was then able to draw our his neighbour and they connected through this shared passion, becoming good friends.

Instead of focusing on the separation between them, the boy kept a loving vision in his mind. From there, he followed his inner guidance, leading to growth, fun, and friendship.

I also included the cheering crowds from my vision, standing in front of marquees announcing love, peace, joy, health, and success.

Change your actions, and you change your life… Transform your thoughts, and you will create a brand new destiny.” Adam Sicinski 

Do you notice how the words love and fear are not facing the same direction?

Well, that was a gentle lesson on the law of cause and effect.

I was watching something online when I was painting these words. My spacing was great, but I guess I was too distracted to notice “love” was heading in the wrong direction.

There are no mistakes. I smile now. It’s a perfect “accident”.

Are you currently sitting on the Love or Fear end of the teeter-totter?

What future  are you creating with the thoughts, beliefs, and actions of today?

Please share one choice you’re making in the next hour to pivot more towards Love?