8 Laws of Nature

It’s a sad fact that many people disrespect Nature. They pollute it, or else treat plants and animals as generally “stupid” or less intelligent than us.

They fail to grasp one important truth: we are a part of Nature, not separate from it. To show contempt or disregard Nature is to show contempt and disregard reality.

I’m going to offer a different perspective on the matter.

Nature is brilliant. More so than we can ever comprehend. It’s called the “miracle of life” for a reason: it’s an incomprehensible feat that we will probably never grasp.

Here are 8 ways nature is brilliant. These 8 Laws of Nature may allow us to honor it a little bit more than we do. These are also crucial concepts to understand for your personal growth.

The important thing is to understand that WE ARE A PART OF NATURE. We are subject to these same laws. So to understand these laws will permit you to understand your life, your psyche, and will aid you in your personal development journey.

 

1. The Law of Polarity

“The nature of nature is polarity.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

For every man there is a woman. Yin and Yang. Summer and winter. Predator and prey. Hot and Cold. Life and death. Sweet ‘n’ sour ;). You get the idea.

This is an important concept, especially in understanding the opposite sex. We NEED polarity to exist, or else no difference WOULD exist. To deny your masculine or feminine side is to deny part of your being, the part that separates you from the other. There can be no “good” without “bad” (more on this later).

Once you can appreciate the power in this concept, you can start to appreciate different aspects of reality. Everything is just one side of a coin. This contrast makes up the beauty of the world.

 

2. The Law of Growth

This one’s pretty straightforward.

Here’s the truth: everything in nature grows. It is either growing or dying. Guess what? The same applies to you, too!

If you’re not growing yourself cognitively, physically, emotionally, spiritually, well, I got news for you: you’re dying. At least on the inside.

Everything needs to grow to live. And no, standing still doesn’t count. A tree, no matter how slow, is still ALWAYS growing, and that’s all that matters.

Growth is essential to life.

 

3. The Law of Impermanence

“This too shall pass.”

Nothing is permanent. At least in the physical world. Your money will eventually be spent, your marriage will end (at least when one of you dies), your pet will die, and your computer will crash eventually.

This sounds like kind of a downer, doesn’t it?

Well, look at it this way. If everything is temporary, it gives you a strong incentive to enjoy it while it lasts.

This fact also introduces an important concept in personal development: detachment.

If you are detached from things, you can enjoy them fully, without having to worry about them being taken away or clinging onto them.

But don’t underestimate the work this will take. It will take years.

Despite what you might think, this detachment puts you in a place of power: without attachments to anything, you are free. Free to do whatever you want, free to take risks, free to embrace change, and free to express yourself.

 

4. The Laws of Non-Linearity

Think of anything in nature. A rock. A tree stump. A stream, a dune, a bird, anything. And notice that there are no straight lines.

Straight paths don’t exist in nature, only in what Man has created. Architecture, a piece of paper, the sides of the device you’re reading this on.

So going with the same theme here: we are a part of nature. So if we take this law and apply it to your life, here’s what we get:

There is no straight path to success.

There is no straight path to self-actualization.

There is no smooth relationship.

There is no straight path to anything. Anything you strive for will require many twists, turns, and dead-ends. So be prepared for them, embrace them, don’t fight them.

 

5. The Law of Nature’s Cyclical Nature

Along the same lines as the previous two laws, this one deals with cycles. Cycles in Nature may refer to the seasons, life and death, orbits of the planets, the water cycle, reproduction, or any number of other cycles.

This laws states that everything has a cyclical nature. The good times will inevitably lead to bad times, then to good again. The good emotions come and are replaced by bad ones, then good ones again.

The Hindus understood this. They believe time to be cyclical rather than linear, unlike in the West. As they say, it “begins to end and ends to begin.”

So if you’re going through a depressive time right now, have no fear. Know that this is part of a cycle. This is your winter. Have faith that spring will soon be upon you.

This goes for anyone reading this: life is a cyclical flow. Learn to surf it. Know the bad times will come and pass, and appreciate the good ones while they last.

 

 

6. The Law of Contribution

Everything in Nature plays its part. And when the time comes for it to pass, it gives back to the system that gave it life. When a plant dies, it’s trunk becomes the home for colonies of insects. When an animal dies, it feeds all the others that make up the ecosystem that it lived in.

Contribution is a part of Nature. Whether intentionally or not, this fact is basic to Nature.

So what are you doing to contribute? Here are some suggestions:
Do some community service.

Volunteer.

Donate to charity.

Start a conscious business whose main goal is to better the world in some way, not accumulate as much money as possible.

My version of contribution was to start this blog and spread the knowledge I’ve gained from doing personal development.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not about what we can get for ourselves, it’s about what can we do for others?  How can we leave this world a little better than how we found it?

 

7. The Law of Holistic Positivity

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” – William Shakespeare

What the heck is “holistic positivity?”

It’s the way the world is. Nothing is “good” or “bad” in Nature. Everything just is. And this state of “just is” we call holistically positive.

Here’s the truth: Existence doesn’t have any notion of good or bad. Everything that happens or exists is exactly the way it’s supposed to be. By the simple fact that it is that way.

Labels of “good” and “bad” are human labels. And they get us into a lot of trouble.

Do you know the story of Adam and Eve? They resided in Heaven, until they ate the apple of Good and Evil, at which point they were kicked out of Heaven.

That’s an analogy for what most peoples’ realities are. They are in heaven until they are introduced to the concepts of good and evil at a very young age. Not knowing any better, they grow up labelling things as either “good” or “evil,” which shapes their lives and goals, and colors their whole world view.

But to get rid of your notions of good and evil will liberate you. From guilt, shame, fear, and any other “negative” emotions.

This is another very important concept to understand for personal development, especially for the practice of self-acceptance, understanding judgements, and generally not beating yourself up. Ultimately it will get rid of your guilt, shame, and negative feelings towards yourself and others.

 

8. The Law of Unity

Caution: very advanced law!

This is the most advanced thing that humanity has discovered. First by mystics and sages thousands of years ago, and is now just being proven by modern science.

Everything in Nature is One. The opposite create a whole. Quantum physics is now proving this phenomenon: we know that if we separate two atoms to opposite poles of the Earth and switch the polarity on one, the other will switch as well.

Everything is interrelated.

More than that, we are all one thing. You could say we are all part of this one thing called existence. I don’t want to get too deep into this topic because it is getting into advanced spiritual work, which I am by no means a master at (yet).

Not a very actionable laws for the newbies in PD, but for those of you doing the advanced work, it is a very real law. And it’s comforting to keep in mind.

 

So there they are. The 8 Laws of Nature that we all abide to as well. Hopefully this article helped give you a more holistic view of the world.