By Penelope A. Domogo, MD
Can you imagine an “ili” or city where there is no law? Any person can do whatever takes his fancy. Anybody can tap water from the mainline and use all the water he likes. Anybody can cut all the trees he wants to expand his building. Anybody can drive the car on the right or left depending on which lane is free. People can turn on their radio to full volume and shout their happiness to the world even at night. May sound familiar but wouldn’t that community be chaotic? And unhealthy. And unhappy too! There has to be laws or rules, whether they are written or not, so that there will be peace and order.
Now imagine the universe, rather the earth in particular. Imagine that the sun comes out anytime it wants to and anywhere possible- north to south, south to north or west to east. Sunrise at 4 in the morning and next day could be at 10 o’clock. Imagine that you plant a bean seed and what sprouts is kalunay. Magic! But chaotic! We’d go crazy.
Well, take heart. There are laws of the universe that govern…. the universe. So there will be order and harmony. These laws were there only God knows when and thank goodness, these were not crafted by honorables in airconditioned rooms which can be repealed by the next set of honorables. These were made by the Creator himself and for our sake, they are permanent and consistent. Unlike manmade laws which have the tendency to be applied selectively, these universal laws work whether you are moneyed or not, black or white, smart or not and whether you believe them or not. They are also called natural laws of the universe.
Our ancestors, including famous persons like Lao Tsu, Newton and Einstein, have already discovered these laws and various thinkers have differing names for these laws. Some say these are principles. Some say there are seven, some say there are 12. For this issue, we will call them laws and attempt an overview of 7 natural laws of the universe.
1. The Law of Vibration and Attraction says everything in the universe vibrates and nothing rests. We live in an ocean of motion. Vibrations of the same frequency resonate with each other and so like attracts like energy. Remember the saying “Birds of the same feather flock together.” Everything is energy – even our thoughts are energy. Thought is the most potent vibration because they penetrate time and space. Your thought controls the vibration that your physical body is in. So focus on good thoughts- focus on what you want. Disease means the body is not at ease. Health is a body at ease.
The law of attraction is articulated so well in the book “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne.
2. The Law of Relativity
Everything is relative. Examples, there is day because there is night, light because there is dark. Small because there is big. Well because there is unwell. Rich because there is poor. How we see things depends on what perspective we are looking at that thing. The nature, value or quality of something depends on its relationship with another thing. What is “big” to me might be seen as “small” to you. What is “poor” to an American could be “rich” to an Igorot. And when the world says “standard”, we need to look at the reference. For you to feel good about where you are, relate to something worse than where you are.
3. The law of Cause and Effect
Every cause has its effect and every effect has a cause. Nothing in the universe happens by chance. There is a reaction for every action. Like we don’t have global warming today if we didn’t burn all those things we have been burning all the centuries. There is no disease without a cause. You don’t get high blood pressure if you take care of your diet. Conversely, you are healthy because of good diet and a positive attitude. Focus on what you desire and act on it and you will get the effect.
4. The Law of Rhythm
Everything changes. Life is a natural cycle. Life is like a wheel. Night follows day, there is high tide and low tide, sunrise-sunset, health follows disease, life regenerates itself, seasons come and go. Kingdoms come and go. Popularity comes and goes. As Erap says “weather weather lang yan.” And the Igorot would say, “kasiyana.”
5. The law of Gestation
Everything takes time to manifest. We take this law in relation to the law of cause and effect. We have the tendency to attribute an effect to the event that immediately preceded it this is why we have difficulty in making people understand the value of a healthy lifestyle starting from pregnancy or as early as we can. An example of this law is a baby- naturally, it takes 9 months gestation in the womb before it is born. Another example, we attribute our cough to the sudden change in weather. But what happened is that we have been eating mucus-forming foods way before and so when the weather suddenly changed, these became manifest. A successful event does not just happen because the plan is very good but because of the many other events that preceded it. Thoughts or dreams (as we like to call them) are like seeds planted in the universe that grow into the physical world if we nourish them. Focus on your goals and they will become a reality when the time is right.
Natural law “is the uniform and orderly method of the omnipotent God. Unlike any other form of animal life that has been created, we were given the power of choice or free will; along with this power came certain responsibilities. The capacity to choose does not involve freedom from the consequence of our choice. The laws or rules which govern every individual… are as exact as the laws which govern the material universe. You can act in accordance with these laws or you can disregard them, but you cannot in any way alter them. The law forever operates and holds you to strict accountability, and there is not the slightest allowance made for ignorance.”
These natural laws are working for our good. The more I think about these, the more I am awed at the love that the Creator of the Universe has for all of us- from the invisible bacteria to all people. Wala siyang favorite. As some wise person stated, “In nature, there are no punishments, only consequences.” **
