TLC Application 07|06|2011 “Domino Effect”

There is a concept in spiritual growth that is sobering once you truly understand it: you cannot afford one wrong thought. Not because perfection is required, but because of what one wrong thought can set in motion. The ego, self-will, and what is called the malady of the mind are not three separate problems — they are one interconnected system. Touch one of them, and you trigger all three. Understanding this domino effect is what transforms awareness from an abstract concept into a life-saving discipline.

The Three Forces and How They Interconnect

When we look at the elements of dysfunction, we should consider three forces: the Ego, the Power of Self, and the Malady of the Mind. If you act in any one of these elements, you trigger the other two. This is the domino effect.

The Ego is the reactor in terms of our responses. It is the knee-jerk reaction that stimulates snapping at people, misinterpreting their statements, becoming frustrated at any delay. When everyone seems to bother you. When the way people talk annoys you. This describes the thin-skinned element of Ego. It creates moodiness and rapid mood swings. When the tendency is to stay irritable and then, if anyone inquires about your mood or points out that you are being edgy, that is when Self steps in to diagnose and justify the behavior.

That is why we must stop self-authorizing dysfunctional behavior and thinking. It must be unacceptable — because once Self starts to authorize bad behavior, the Malady will come in wanting more dysfunctional behavior in a more destructive way. The Malady will always manifest a physical response. It will spur a physical allergy. Check your chemistry after you get angry.

When Self Acts First

Now suppose Self acts first — we walk around acting in total self-righteousness, believing our position is justified because we have aligned ourselves with something we perceive as positive and good. Religion, for example, is an area where people can formulate a very strong belief in their self-righteousness. Generally speaking, people who attach themselves to these kinds of venues can fall for being very righteous with very little actual psychic change. Most are asking something for nothing. Therefore they believe that everyone around them should participate with the same excitement, because if they can convince others, their own new beliefs will feel more real.

This is the hidden element of the destructive forces of the Ego that does not want to do the work unless other people pass the test it has created. So if anybody questions them, the Ego will step in and throw an instinctual dagger. Obviously, two Egos beginning a great battle will trigger trauma and the Malady Mind will follow.

You Cannot Afford One Wrong Thought

That is why you cannot allow this mechanism to get started. Pain will get out of control before you can get a handle on it. Another way of stating this: your life must become important to you. What that means is that we cannot afford one wrong thought — because of what it can lead to. This is not about perfection. The purpose of explaining it with this kind of depth is to strengthen our awareness and our surrender of how one wrong thought can spin our lives out of control for months, even years.

Too often we minimize our bad thoughts, feelings and actions without realizing how serious this is. How many wrong thoughts do you have before your life has completely gotten out of control? When you touch one, you touch them all. When you touch one trauma, you touch all traumas. When you touch one fear you touch all fears. Ego, Self and the Malady will attach to any one of these opportunities, consciously or subconsciously.

The Antidote: A Power Greater Than Human Power

Knowing that we cannot afford one wrong thought indicates the intense need for a Power-Greater-Than-Any-Human-Power to help us with our thoughts, feelings and actions all throughout the day. To increase the strength of awareness of these disorders, we must constantly invite that Power into our source — the center of our minds — as a way of life.

This is what will help you enter a world where you cannot wait for the next great thing to happen in your life. The minute you think it cannot get any better, you look up and God has brought something into your life that exceeds anything you have ever known. This just keeps happening over and over again. There are infinite sequences strung together in repetitive cycles, representing the energy of God’s endless love for all of creation. All you have to do is choose. Becoming aware of how your mind goes into the gutter gives you choice. If you are not aware, you have no choice. Awareness is built by desiring to have God show you when you go off track. That is it. Once you ask, the rest will happen and your awareness will begin.