Your Life. Bruce McArthur
each case the same act occurred, but two different seeds were planted. One will return a loving fruit; the other selfish acts. The law is impartial. It works equally to multiply negative or positive seeds. Witness the abundance of weeds in our gardens. If we express (plant) in a spirit of hatred, envy, doubt, or fear, we eventually will have to face these things—in abundance! Seeds of discord and malice will eventually return a harvest of contention and despair.9 On the other hand, as we feel or express in a spirit of gratitude, kindness, joy, or other positives, we are sowing seeds in that spirit, which—by law—will bring even more of it to us. The law does not judge what should or should not be done. It produces from the seeds sown, just as in your garden the weeds and flowers grow without partiality. The words “as you sow” are simple, clear, and deeply significant without any qualifications and without ifs, ands, or buts. The law will reproduce exactly as you sow.
WHERE DO WE SOW THE SEEDS?
Are we, by the spirit of our thoughts, words, and deeds, sowing the seeds in the other person? That is possible, depending on their interest and perception of us. More important is the fact that the seed—the spirit—in which we think or speak or act is sown in our own inner self; there it grows. The more often we think or act in a particular spirit, the greater the energy given to that seed, and the stronger it becomes in us. Eventually, that energy creates in us the results of that particular seed. There is one point we need to recognize, to repeat, and to emphasize: It is through our attitudes toward others that we sow the seed in ourselves. Consider this example:
Assume that you lack self-confidence and wish to develop it. The way to create it in yourself is to find and have confidence in others. As you think and act in that spirit and with that purpose toward others, the seed will gradually grow in you. As it does, by the operation of the law “like begets like,” others will come to have confidence in you. This, in turn, will add to your self-confidence.10
This procedure works for the development of any attitude. It offers great potential for developing positive, constructive attitudes in ourselves. But be careful; it will also build negative and destructive attitudes when we hold those same attitudes toward others.
TIME AND PATIENCE
Let’s assume you have planted a loving spiritual seed. You do something for someone—maybe it’s a prayer or a loving thought or you look for and praise the good you see in the other person. Once you’ve planted the good seed, like a farmer, you wait. Don’t dig it up to see if it’s growing. These readings explain why:
… man may only sow the seed of life—God alone can give it life! He gives the increase! (1152-4)AR
For it is the law that as you sow, so shall you reap. And you are the sower; but leave what may be the results to your Father! (1529-1)AR
These readings set out a requirement for patience. It is during this time—as you are patient—that the Creative Forces do their work. We need to acknowledge that it is not up to us alone, but that we are co-workers with the Creator. Once we have done our part in planting the seeds, the Creative Forces do their part in providing the growth. In whatever we do, there is both a time for action (the sowing) and a time for nonaction (patience or rest and waiting), while the Creator carries out the growth. This, too, can be a time for our own growth in spirit through prayer and meditation, to attune ourselves to the coming changes which we have initiated.
Our only requirement during the time of growth is to be sure that our spirit, our purpose, is right, that it does not change, and to check it each day or each hour, if necessary. If we have planted seeds of love, keep loving; if seeds of peace, stay peaceful. Beyond that, it is up to the Creator. Our worry or anxiety only causes difficulties for us. Knowing that we have put the Creative Forces to work, there is no need for worry or anxiety, and we can wait patiently for the results.
Charles Fillmore, a contemporary of Cayce’s, was a prolific writer, a modern mystic, a great spiritual teacher, and a co-founder of Unity. He expresses similar concepts:
Thoughts are seeds that, when dropped or planted in the subconscious mind, germinate, grow, and bring forth their fruit in due season. The more clearly we understand this truth the greater will be our ability to plant the seeds that bring forth desirable fruits. After sowing, the plants must be tended. After using the law, we must hold to its fulfillment. This is our part. God gives the increase. You must work in divine order and not expect the harvest before the soil has been prepared or the seed sown. You have now the fruits of previous sowings. Change your thought seeds and reap what you desire. Some bring forth very quickly, others more slowly, but all in divine order.11
We have planted seeds, and we patiently wait. When the plants appear—possibly some weeds also—the farmer goes to work again to cultivate and care for the plants and to pull the weeds. So should we. Weeds come from the seeds planted with negative thoughts—like “It won’t grow,” ”I didn’t do it right,” “It wasn’t the right seed,” or “I should have done more.”
Every negative word, such as one of criticism or of doubt, is a weed seed. In some way it is based on fear or distrust or other destructive attitude. Pull those weeds and throw them out! Better still, don’t plant those seeds!
THE SECOND LAW OF INCREASE
There is another reason why the spirit in which you plant the seeds is so important. It is expressed in this second law of increase:
THE SPIRIT OF YOUR ACTIONS MULTIPLIES THE RESULT.
This is a sublaw of “as you sow so shall you reap” as shown in Figure 3.
FIGURE 3
That may need some explanation:
The Universal Laws, in many instances, seem similar; yet each contributes uniquely to our life. Some of them, master laws, define an overall principle. Others are subsets of the master and define specific aspects of that principle. For example, the master law we are studying is “like begets like,” which deals with a like condition begetting a like condition. The first law of increase—“as you sow so shall you reap”—defines a specific aspect of “like begets like” and is, therefore, a sublaw of it.
The law we will study in the next chapter—the law of attraction—defines another aspect of “like begets like,” so it, too, is a sublaw.
The second law of increase—“the spirit of your actions multiplies the result”—defines a specific aspect of the first law of increase and is, therefore, a sublaw of it.
THE AMOUNT OF INCREASE
The following reading gives the keys that determine the “spirit of your actions.” These set the amount of increase that occurs after you plant the seed.
Use then that you have in hand [plant the seed]. For He will multiply it, some to ten, some to twenty, to some sixty, to some an hundredfold; dependent upon that purpose and that sincerity to which you may use that in hand. (1397-2)AR
Thus, there are three areas on which you need to check yourself to insure multiplication by the law of increase. They are:
1) Your purpose. How clear is your purpose? How definite? Is it in accord with the Creative Forces?
2) Your sincerity. Are you lukewarm or really intent and committed to your purpose? Are you free of hypocrisy, deceit, or duplicity regarding your purpose? Is your dedication to it as pure as you can make it?
3) Your willingness. Are you using that which you now have available to you? If you are not willing to use what you have (your talents, gifts, ideas, mind, materials), your purpose and sincerity are questionable. Pie-in-the-sky predictions of what you would do “if” are just that.
Reviewing these requirements, we can see why results