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, no matter if his neighbor has no water to drink. Anybody can cut all the trees he wants in the mossy forest to plant coffee or lemon, even if that will mean less water and clean air in the future. 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? Yes, 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. We need laws, even if we say we are a “free” or “democratic” country. This is why since the beginning of time there have been rules. Christians would be familiar with the ten commandments, these are basic rules for human behavior. Here in Igorotland, there are “linteg nan ili” thus we, Igorots, have been and still are living in harmony with each other and with the environment to a certain extent. Sadly, these “linteg di ili” are being eroded and thus we are witnessing some disharmony.
Now imagine the universe. 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 grass. 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there only God knows when and thank goodness, these were not crafted by honorables in airconditioned rooms which can be repealed by the next set of honorables.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. Understanding these laws will help us understand what is happening in us and around us.
Our ancestors, including famous persons like Lao Tsu, Newton and Einstein, have already discovered these laws. Some thinkers say these are principles. Some say there are seven, some say there are 12. No matter, we’ll be discussing 8 laws as a general introduction to what we will be discussing in the coming weeks this 2019. Meaning that we will be referring to these laws every now and then in the coming issues. These laws are as follows:
1. THE LAW OF THE HARVEST – what you plant is what you get. You plant beans, you get beans. Rice = corn? Smile= smile. Love=love. My favorite author, Mr. Bo Sanchez, a Filipino, says be careful what you plant .
2. 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 emcee 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.
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 long-term good diet and a positive attitude. Focus on what you desire and act on it and you will get the effect.
More next issue.
**
“In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments, only consequences.” Robert Green Ingersoll
