The path of light is not always clearly marked, and even when it may be, there are motivations of fear, greed, and delusion that can cause one to turn away from the light-filled path toward one that is darker.  Even in the presence of such choices, however, the soul is being perpetually guided both from within itself and from higher realms to understand the effect of its own choices.  There is never a time in the soul's history when mistaken directions are taken without instruction and guidance coming to the soul regarding the choices it has made and what their limitations or risks may be.  The choice to pay attention or not to pay attention to this inner guidance always remains with the embodied self, however.

Even in the presence of grave mistakes in judgment, and even in the presence of rejection of inner guidance concerning the consequences of action, the result of the Law of Cause and Effect will, nevertheless, sooner or later bring to the attention of the embodied self the consequences of its own choices. This blessed function of life-as-teacher is never absent, not even for souls that have veered strongly in the direction of a darker path. Nevertheless, the guidance that comes from the light can become increasingly obscured by the energies of darkness surrounding and infiltrating the consciousness of an individual, and so they may increasingly have difficulty penetrating that consciousness in order to make themselves seen and felt. 

It is for this reason that events that are external to the self may repeatedly need to configure themselves in such a way that one's attention is gained so that a new direction may finally be chosen. This sacred Law of Cause and Effect is continually shaping life to create a path of return to light.  Working with a stage that is infinitely malleable, events, circumstances, and people are continually being repositioned within the sphere of probability as further actions are taken by an individual.  This repositioning within the context of the Law of Cause and Effect is part of the essential nature of life and life-circumstances as these respond to the slightest gesture of the self, whether for good or for evil.  And though in the past it may have taken longer to witness this reshaping phenomenon in a clear and manifest way, today, the action of the Law of Cause and Effect is speeded up due to changes in matter and  consciousness.  As a result, events that would have taken much longer to manifest in response to choices in thought, word, and deed, are now displaying themselves much more rapidly.  In the world of tomorrow, this speed will increase still further, so that the consciousness illuminated by light will know immediately which direction that it contemplates has less or more light in it, and will be able to make adjustments accordingly.

When mistakes are made and the realization finally occurs that a wrong direction has been taken, it is important that the Law of Cause and Effect be accompanied by efforts at self-forgiveness, applied to the situation in which mistakes occurred so that the self can free itself from all tendencies to repeat the same behavior.

Though forgiveness is always needed toward others so that one does not carry the burden of anger and judgment around, preventing further movement into healing and wholeness, in relation to past mistakes, forgiveness needs to be applied to the self as well.  Only in this way can the original motives that led away from a choice for light and truth become detached from the psyche and given away, to be dissolved in the greater light of God.  Through self-forgiveness, one affirms a new identity minus the previous motives and actions, and within this new identity claims responsibility for what was not held responsibly before.  In so doing, what was once attached to the self becomes loosened, to be replaced by a new attachment to the force of light which can, in the future, hold the light more securely for the observing consciousness so that further errors in the same direction no longer occur.  All prayers for healing move the self in this essential direction.

In the absence of self-forgiveness, one tends to acknowledge the continued identity of one's deeper self with past motivations and actions.  This belief that one is what one was binds the previous issues to oneself that were motivating forces in the past, and so one is essentially held in chains by one's own self-judgment and self-hatred.

Forgiveness, however, is not just a matter of saying "I am different," but of being different, and of continually turning toward the light to uphold and maintain that separation with a sense of humility and trust.

There will come a time in the life of humanity when embodied souls upon the earth will have sufficiently aligned with light and God so that the Law of Cause and Effect will no longer be needed, though it will still be valid. At that time, Divine will, will govern human action rather than personal desire, and the light of individual consciousness will have learned to align with the light of the greater Consciousness so that the oneness and harmony of universal life can be maintained in this way, rather than through the Law of Cause and Effect. In that world, only light will guide one's actions, and only light will blend each individual consciousness within the greater Whole to which each belongs, and from which there is no longer any separation.

Article Section -  Individual