In reality there is no such thing as a free lunch. This is the essence of the Principle of Cause and Effect. This is by far the most liberating of the principles. An understanding of how to use this principle will propel you to greatness while living on the edge.

The Principle of Cause and Effect echoes that all is a series of connected actions and reactions. We have all heard this principle expressed in many different ways. "You reap what you sow." "What you put out comes back." "What goes around comes around." "To think is to create." "The great circle of life." "Karma." "You are what you eat." "Givers gain." Ultimately, you have a choice to make every moment. You may choose to be the cause of your experience or choose to be the effect of your experience. The universe is impartial in this matter. It is important to note that from either perspective, "at cause" or "at effect", you are the perfect expression of this principle in action. Do you feel at cause in your life right now?

Operating at "Cause"

When you are operating as though you are the cause of your experience, life will appear as one flowing and gigantic opportunity. It has been said that most people are asleep to their causality and those who aren't are in a constant and total state of amazement. Amazed to see that all is connected and as such, no thing goes unnoticed, no action goes unbalanced without reaction, no thought unconnected to another, no feeling unexpressed - ultimately. Amazed at what they create, they create an experience of personal freedom. The freedom is generated from the notion that they need not be victim to fleeting thoughts of doubt or fear. There is liberty in knowing they will reap what they sow.

These are the daring few who step out from the crowded majority to think for themselves. These are the few who scrutinize their thinking, looking for the predominant thoughts that wing through their minds. Knowing that the thoughts they dwell on today are the "seeds" of tomorrow's "harvest", they are mindful of what they choose to think.

Say this to yourself before you read on any further, "I choose my thoughts, they do not choose me."

"Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well."
- Ecclesiastes 11:6

To operate as the cause in your life is to understand that in every moment you are creating an experience for yourself from a realm of infinite possibilities. Being at cause says nothing about blame or fault - do not confuse it with these concepts of assessment and judgment. Being at cause embodies the concept that each moment is a single point of infinite possibility.

With this awareness you can see the opportunity of creating the seemingly impossible in your life. All is possible right now. This is a way of operating in the world, that all is possible right now. When you operate from this perspective life will appear as an amazing and gigantic opportunity, literally, you see what you believe in. With certainty, you can then declare the impossible as a possibility in your life. You can feel, see, witness or experience anything, right now. As cause in your life, you are the context for your life. You become the context for the infinite possibilities available to everyone at every moment. Operating as the context for your life you become the source that generates all of your experiences.

Essentially, being at cause means you recognize that everything is a choice. If not a choice in what events you experience, at least a choice in how you experience the events in your life. My Grandma explained it this way, "Every hand's a winner!" Stop here for a moment and let that sink in. You are experiencing a realm of infinite possibilities right now. What are you causing right now? What do you choose to cause right now?

Operating at "Effect"

Another aspect of the Principle of Cause and Effect is, "what goes around, comes around". We are not separate. Operating from the "effect" side of the principle has life appear as something to brace yourself against. We appear separate. Life appears as a struggle to survive in, not an experience to thrive in. Unwilling to see your connection with the world and people, you plot and plan your life's tactics based on loneliness. Feeling unconnected, you buy an illusion, an illusion that you can "get away with something", if you're shrewd enough. The goal becomes to get that "free lunch" out there. From this point of view - disconnection - everything becomes a contest, a contest where the reward for winning is to feel "good" and the price for losing is to feel "bad". From this point of view you "sow" the "seeds" of contesting. Some take root and return to you the corresponding "harvest" - a bountiful "harvest" of defensiveness and turmoil. Obviously, if you want to "reap" happiness and peace you must "sow" happiness and peace. You can start with your thinking. Scrutinize your thoughts for your real underlying motivations. What are the underlying thoughts or feelings that are generating your experience?

"An unexamined life is not worth living."
- Socrates

Quite often we respond to life from deep seated beliefs that are based in past subjective interpretations, which we believe to be reality or facts. For example, maybe you were taught to believe that for you to win someone had to lose. This is not a fact of life, but a learned frame of reference. We begin to frame life from this point of view, as though it was reality. In doing so we create "contests" in our relationships.

Look for the "contests" in your relationships, at work and home, where it appears for you to "win" you need to be right. This viewpoint, that life is a "contest" to see who is right, starts early in our life and supports us in justifying living as the "effect" of our circumstances. This is a self-perpetuating viewpoint; Life is a contest, where being right equals winning. Winning equals surviving. Life is something to survive.

Living from the framework of surviving - being right - life will appear to us a something to survive. We will cause it to be this way. Since it appears this way, we will have to respond that way, or seemly die! You are then "hooked" into proving that you are "right" about what you believe or die. This is a self-perpetuating belief system, and can be called living at the "effect" of life.

Only the Mediocre Are at Their "Best"

Constantly battered by life's "contests", you shudder when you "lose" and only rejoice when you "win". Caught up in a raging sea of your own reactions, addictions and judgments, you float back and forth between these two polarities of "good and bad", "right and wrong" and "win or lose". You cling to the life preserver of your mediocre "best". Always, you proclaim you are doing the "best that you can". You fail to see that only the mediocre are at their "best". For the person who has discovered the personal power available to those who live on the edge, you know you are never at your "best". Your best compared to what? Is this moment better than the last, not better than the next. The realm of "being at your best" is best left to the mediocre. There is no place for "being at your best" when going about the work of creating the impossible in your life. To learn, understand and apply this principle will greatly benefit you while living on the edge.

Those who learn the transformational nature of living on the edge, know their personal power is generated from declaring and designing their life - being the cause of their experience. They know there are prices to pay for every action in their life. They know, as well, that there is a payoff for every action.

You Get to Choose

The universe, in its simplest terms, can be seen as a series of choices and consequences, a series of prices and payoffs. Many of the choices you make are unconscious, yet still they are choices that you will pay a price for. This news is neither good nor bad. The price you pay for your choice is also neither good nor bad. You choose your response, there is no inherent quality of "good or bad" in the prices we pay for the choices we make.

For example, somebody pays you a compliment, so you feel "good". Then somebody insults you, so you feel "bad". Essentially, you choose the response you experience, unconsciously or not, it is still a choice. There is nothing inherently "good" about a compliment, nor is there anything inherently bad about an "insult".

Be aware that every communication from our world must get through our filter system of past beliefs. You choose the action and the reaction. You choose the price and the payoff. You choose the response, which is neither good nor bad, then you pay a price for that response, which is neither good nor bad, for that is a choice as well. Granted, many of our responses and choices are unconscious, preconditioned and based in past learned behaviors, still, we pay the price.

Life could then be seen as a constant process of choosing and choosing again. In this principle is a gigantic wake-up call. Waking up to the realization that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Waking up to the choices you are making and the prices you'll be paying. The sooner you get that, the better off you are going to be. To live in harmony with this principle of Cause and Effect is to be willing to pay the prices for what you want. This is essential for effectively living on the edge. "There ain't no free lunch."

Listen to your Heart

Learning to make effective choices means choosing from more than our conscious mind and less from an unconscious state of mind. It means to wake up and notice more of what and why we are choosing. It means to learn to listen to our heart. Your "heart" is not some romantic place you feel those mushy feelings. Your "heart" is the part of you that is connected in complete harmony with the universe. It is the opening to your spiritual nature. We are more than just a physical body with a mind. We are also emotional and spiritual beings. Our emotional and spiritual self are essential ingredients to effective choices. You can learn to tap into these aspects of your beingness. In fact it is through our spiritual and emotional natures that the most effective choices can be made, for the emotional and spiritual parts of you are the gateways to the intuitive. Choices that are made from this connected and intuitive place serve all concerned and distress no one involved in the outcome.

Connection is reality, separation is an illusion. Since connection is reality, all choices made from our heart will serve to express our true nature. This is our true nature; connected with all things, expressing the love of God and ourselves through the complete expression of love for all things. Choices made from our intuitive nature are always accurate and will ultimately serve everyone concerned. This is an awakened state of mind - connection is reality. It is through our willingness to connect that we become present in the moment. Learning to choose from this connected nature is essential to effectively living on the edge.

Perfection is practice.

To more effectively choose from your heart you can begin by asking a few questions regarding your conscious choices.

"What are the consequences of this choice I am making?"

"Does the outcome of this choice I am making serve everyone involved?"

"Does this choice enhance my connection with others?"

This is a beginning and can be seen as a moment by moment practice, not perfection. Perfection enters our life when we no longer operate as though perfection is necessary to effectively live on the edge. Practice doesn't make perfect, while living effectively on the edge. Perfection is practice.

For creating the impossible while living on the edge:

1. Learn to listen to your "heart".

2. Experience your connection to all things.

3. Cultivate the willingness to pay the prices for what you want.

4. Never operate from your "best", operate from the impossible.

5. Cultivate the experience of everyone winning in your everyday personal and professional interactions.