“It is our attitude of mind toward life which determines the experiences with which we are to meet; if we expect nothing, we shall have nothing; if we demand much, we shall receive the greater portion. The world is harsh only as we fail to assert ourselves. The criticism of the world is bitter only to those who cannot compel room for their ideas. It is fear of this criticism that causes many ideas to fail to see the light of day.”

The Master Key System, Charles Haanel, p. 20

Hannel p.20 The Master Key System

Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.”

The world is as we are. Our focus of attention is what we become. What we put our attention on grows stronger in our life. For have no one to blame for the conditions in our life but ourselves.

These are strong realizations to accept for myself who has frequently projected the cause of my problems as someone else’s fault. How easy it is to blame; how hard it is to accept responsibility for everything that happens in our life.

It is often said that ‘Karma is a bitch’. Well, karma is nothing. It is simply a spiritual law of action = reaction. What you put out, you get back, be it good or bad.

Karma is specifically a principle of Hinduism and Buddhism that concerns the idea of “you get what you give.” That is, the energy you put out into the world and into your interactions with others is the same sort of energy that will ultimately return to you. If you are kind and generous, you will be rewarded with kindness and generosity — and if you are cruel and unforgiving, you can expect to be shown cruelty and a lack of forgiveness.

The wider world equates karma with payback, although payback has a darker connotation. It is more revenge-oriented; there isn’t usually such a thing as “positive” payback.

So why is karma a bitch? Not because there’s anything essentially wrong with or evil about karma. The term “bitch” here merely suggests that karma is impartial and equally judgmental in its assessment of all human behavior. It won’t go easy on you if you fill your life with negative energy. In short, it will give you what you deserve, be it bad or good.

In week 4 we are introduced to the idea that we are pure energy. Who is the ‘I’?. Where is the ‘I’? “Who am us anyway?” as Fireside Theater was famous for saying. If we are not our thoughts; we are not our body; we are not our beliefs; we are not our emotions; then what are we?

Are we the grit that makes up the universe and this grit became conscious? Or did consciousness give rise to grit? What came first? The answer to this question is who we really are.

Vedic science tells us we are pure consciousness; that when pure awareness became self aware then consciousness became conscious. We are the silent ocean at the basis of all thought. Thoughts are the waves on the ocean; we are the silent depth of the ocean. That ocean of consciousness is silent, still, pure potential, infinite dynamism, self referral. lt is pure energy. It is eternal, indestructible, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. It is the cause of all causes.

Knowing this truth is one thing; applying it is another. MKE is the science of application, of appropriation, as Hannel states. Appropriation is defined as “the act of taking something for your own use”. What a gift God has given us; what an inheritance! The gift of manifesting from the source of Creation, the ‘I’.

As the Vedic Mahavakya says, “I am That (Brahman). Thou art That. All this is That. All this Is.”

Isness – pure energy – pure potentiality – wholeness – that is who we are – that is the Self – that is the ‘I’.

I am letting that sink in. And so it is.