It is said that your environment is a reflection of the inner you. This points to the base of existence of all phenomena, in that everything is dependently arising. From this, the notion of everything being interconnected or interdependent arose, stating that all phenomena relate to each other in one way or another.
What is it that is reflected?
Depending on philosophical or religious views, the inner you is often labeled as soul, higher self, consciousness or mind. In the Buddhist tradition, this knowing entity that has the nature of mere experience is denoted as the mind. An explanation of the mind from a Buddhist perspective can be found in a previous post “Seeing the mind like a mirror“.
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About Karma
The Sanskrit word “Karma” means “action”. The basic principles of causality (cause and effect) lies at the base of karma: every thought you think, every word you speak and every action you take, will lead to a result. That result may be instant, or it may playout at a later stage, be it in this life or a next life, when the circumstances are right. This basic principle is also called The Great Law or the Law of Cause and Effect. All other aspects of karma, sometimes called Laws of Karma, are based on the principle of causality.
Karma and the Law of Mirrors
If they can see it in you and label it, but you can’t see it, it’s not in you.
If you can see it in them and label it, but they can’t see it, it’s not in them.
If you both can see and label it, it’s in both of you…good or bad”
The Law of Mirrors, also called the Law of Reflection or Law of Personal Responsibility, is a contemporary explanation of aspects of Karma. It basically states that, what is in you, you will see reflected outside of you.
From the more traditional Buddhist perspective, this contemporary explanation is somewhat limited. In the traditional view, the Law of Responsibility is aimed at pointing out that you are the source of what happens throughout your journey. What is happening around you is a mirror for what is happening inside of you. In that sense you are responsible for all of your life experiences. Like the Law of Growth, this karmic law aims to point out that you should be taking ownership of the things you create, rather than constantly looking outside yourself to find excuses. The Law of Growth also points out that you need to expect a change of yourself before you expect it of the world around you (or the people around you). In the end, you only have control over yourself. Therefore, it is how you use this control that shapes how the universe mirrors to you.
A scientific view: mirror neurons
The discovery of mirror neurons has added a scientific view on “as within, so without”. A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both when an person acts and when the person observes the same action performed by another. Thus, the neuron “mirrors” the behavior of the other, as though the observer were itself acting. This mechanism has two sides:
- you can be influenced by the observed behavior of others
- you can influence an observer by your behavior
This ultimately implies that it is our responsibility and within our span of control to consciously choose what behavior we expose to our environment and what behavior we allow us to be exposed to. Choosing a helpful over a harmful behavior is key here. This also can include the friends we hang out with, the movies we watch, the books we read and the music we listen to.
Bottom line
Take responsibility for your life experiences and take ownership of the things you create; stop looking outside yourself to blame circumstances or put the blame on others. Focus on your own development instead of trying to control or change others. Let everyone walk their own paths and let karma do its job.
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