“Action and reaction are equal and opposite.” We find this phrase three times within a short chapter of Light from Silver Birch.
It describes not only the law relating to the ups and downs of human emotions we experience in our daily lives, these words contain a very essential “spiritual wisdom.” Apparently, many of us spiritualists know this phrase, but unfortunately, we don’t seem to truly understand the meaning of the law behind it. It is evident in the way we are so prone to worry.
In order to correctly understand the relationship between “action and reaction” (the principle of polarity), we must thoroughly read and understand the story around it. Therefore, I will start with a very long quote from the book, Light from Silver Birch.
“We are all human beings. Thus we have the flaws of imperfection (immaturity) within us. If we were perfect, we would not be in your world or in ours.
We would have joined the Great Spirit, the only perfect power in the universe.
We recognise the frailties (immaturity) of human nature. But you must regard every problem as a challenge not only to be met and accepted, but to be overcome so that the indwelling spirit, as a result, is more fortified, grows, develops, unfolds, and you emerge stronger.
It is not possible for you who dwell in earthly surroundings not to be confronted with heights (action) and depths (reaction) and the ups and downs of the varying circumstances which pertain to your world.
It is why you are placed there so that you can, because of the variety of circumstance, enable your spirit, the eternal you, to be able to express latent qualities (spirituality) that can be manifested (expressed) only when confronted with difficulty and adversity (reaction as catalyst).
It is not when the sun shines that the soul finds itself. It is not in a bed of roses that the soul comes into its own. It is in the hazards and challenges, the difficulties, the hurdles and the obstacles. These provide the only means by which the soul can realise its latent divinity.
This is the story of every pilgrim on the road to spiritual knowledge. There have to be heartbreak, sorrow and suffering (reaction as catalyst) to appreciate fully the compensations (action as spiritual compensation) that will follow.
The individuals who will give service must be tried and tested, sometimes to their uttermost strength.
There is a plan for every child of the Great Spirit. There are no accidents, no chances, no coincidences. Everything operates according to natural law (evolutional development) which knows nothing of miracles or necessity for intervention. The natural law is perfect because it is conceived by perfect mind.
There are no exceptions to the natural law, which makes provision for all that exists, not only in the universe but even in the immeasurable cosmos. Wherever you look, the natural law operates. (=> There is a law within a law, and behind that law there is yet another law.) Nothing is too small to be ignored, and nothing too large to be outside the framework of how the natural law operates. And it (evolutional development) operates for you, as it does for me and for everybody.
So you know that action (divine favour of spiritual awakening and growth) and reaction (ordeals and difficulties) are equal and opposite. (They are paired to induce spiritual expression and growth.) You know that you have to plumb the depths (reaction) before you reach the heights (action). And you know that you have plumbed the depths, but have not reached the heights. . . . Every child of the Great Spirit has a part to play in the infinite scheme. There will be difficulties, but these are the challenges that have to be met, accepted and triumphed over. Handicaps and obstacles (reaction as catalyst) are all part of the necessary preparation for an evolving, developing spiritual nature (action as evolutional development).
Yours is a very dense, material world where the vibrations are heavy, slow, sluggish, ponderous. The vibrations of the spirit are delicate, sensitive, subtle, and to be expressed there has to be a catalyst (reaction as difficulty and obstacles, abyss of sorrow) for the individual.
You will not find spiritual truths when the sun is shining, if you are surrounded by riches, and wealth and possessions. You will not find spiritual truths when you have no problems (catalyst as difficulty and obstacles) . The catalyst will work only when you are in trouble.
A storm can often do more to help you to unfold spiritually than the sun. It is in the fire that the steel is forged. It is in the crushing process (ordeals and difficulties) that the gold (spirituality) is refined and purified to emerge in all its glistening colour. And it is similarly for the human spirit to be tried and tested again and again, before it can emerge with a greater divinity being expressed than had happened before.
The gold (divinity, spirituality) is there, but the ore (materialism) has to be crushed before the purity (spiritual mind) of the metal can be made visible. The steel has to be forged into the crucible of fire (Same as the quenching process of sword making). And so it is with all of you.
You would not be interested in the things of the spirit, which are your eternal possessions, the only enduring and abiding realities, until you are ready to receive them. So you have to be tried and tested (reaction as catalyst), just as the steel has to be tried and tested.
You have to suffer. You have to endure privation, perhaps ill-health, some crisis that will touch your soul, that spark of the divine, and begin to fan it into a beauteous flame. There is no other way. It is only in the darkness (catalyst as abyss of sorrow) that you will find the light, only in (spiritual) ignorance that you will gain (spiritual) knowledge. Life must be a polarity, or if you like a duality, in which it is said action and reaction are equal and opposite.
The soul cannot come into its own until it is touched. This usually means when it seems to the individual there is no hope in his world, no light, no guidance to be found. The abyss of despair has been reached, the fear that he or she will be plunged into the depths and not recover. It is at that moment that the soul can be awakened.
Thus we in our world have to wait patiently until your soul is ready. You say in your world that you may lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. You have to be ready.
I have had a longer experience than all of you. It gives me a greater appreciation of the perfection of the natural laws (evolutional development) that encompass us all and ensure that provision is made for everyone.”
(p.17–21 Light from Silver Birch, compiled by Pam Riva. Edition 2009, The Spiritual Truth Press, Surrey. First published in 1983)
“As low as any soul can sink so correspondingly can it rise (in comparison).
That is the law of polarity (the principle of relativity in action and reaction), the law which says action and reaction are equal and opposite.
Hate and love, light and dark, storm and peace, these are opposite sides of the same coin (of the things of the spirit).”
(p.25 Light from Silver Birch, compiled by Pam Riva. Edition 2009, The Spiritual Truth Press, Surrey. First published in 1983)
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We are unable to appreciate things of the spirit, when we are living a rosy life, where the sun is shining, and surrounded by wealths and material possessions. (p.19, 21 Light from Silver Birch)
(Our temporary self, rigid with materialism, dominates the conscious mind,
so that we have no room for accepting nor understanding spiritual things.)
In order for our minds to open up to spiritual things, a catalyst is required;
in this case, we need suffering that touches the soul. Following are some examples of the types of suffering that we must go through. (p.20–21 Light from Silver Birch):
1. An experience that banishes any kind of hope from this world.
2. An experience that makes you feel that there is not a trace of light nor guidance.
3. An experience of being stuck in the abyss of despair.
4. You are down into the abyss, and you fear that there are no possible measures for recovery.
5. Any other experience that touches your heartstrings.
Before we reach the awareness of our “real selves” (true self, the soul), and we begin to understand and accept the spiritual truth, we must go through ordeals (catalyst) that accompany danger and difficulty. These catalysts are the prerequisites. (p.20–21 Light from Silver Birch)
Now then, why must we experience ordeals and difficulties as prerequisites for the things of the spirit?
It is the way of the life on earth that we arrive at the things of the spirit, after going through these following procedures.
[ Procedures towards spiritual growth ]
1. Sufferings, difficulties, and heart-rending experiences push us to the point where we feel there is not even a string of hope in the physical world. (Reaction) (p.21 Light from Silver Birch)
2. Such situation smashes the temporary self of the conscious mind, consolidated with materialism, and we start to release the temporary self.
3. The dominance of the temporary self weakens, and consequently, the rough vibrations of the temporary self become weak. (p.20 Light from Silver Birch)
4. The “real self” (true self, the soul) of the subconscious mind starts readily expressing itself, as the temporary self of the conscious mind ceases to hinder the activity of the true self.
5. We grow more receptive to the delicate wavelengths from the spirit world and the things of the spirit, and in turn, we will begin to comprehend spiritual truth. (p.20–21 Light from Silver Birch)
6. We come to realize our “true self” (the soul), and commence learning the spiritual truth.
7. As a result we will be opening ourselves to the opportunities of receiving the divine favour of spiritual knowledge, wisdom, and enlightenment. (action) (p.18 Light from Silver Birch)
8. After spiritual awakening, we continue further experiences (action and reaction), repeating again and again, the remorse and atonements, under the laws of causality and karma, as we aim for spiritual growth.
9. This way, we learn to shift ourselves away from the dominance of the physical body over the spirit, towards the state where the spirit dominates and controls the physical body. We sway back and forth, as we gradually improve ourselves at shifting our vibrations more quickly; and our true selves will be expressed more and more in our daily lives. (p.18 Light from Silver Birch)
In this physical world, we are able to spiritually grow, because good and evil exist only in the presence of the other (they are the same one coin), and at the same time, they are the opposites (the opposite sides of a coin). (p.167 More Wisdom of Silver Birch, edited by Sylvia Barbanell, 1945. Psychic Press Ltd., London)
Therefore, when we encounter unpleasant experiences (reaction), us spiritualists should welcome it as a golden opportunity for spiritual learning and spiritual growth (action). (p.32 Light from Silver Birch)
“Of course you will have problems. Earth is a place where you are presented with difficulties, frustrations, obstacles and handicaps. The whole purpose of earthly existence is to meet conditions that are a challenge to the evolving spirit so that it can have a chance to express some of its latent qualities that can be called on in times of crisis.
You cannot achieve spiritual mastery without conquering the problems that you encounter; but none is so insuperable that you cannot overcome it. You will have to be patient and pray for guidance that at the right time the door will open and the way will be shown. I always tell my friends in very simple language never to bang against a closed door.”
(p.99 Light from Silver Birch, compiled by Pam Riva. Edition 2009, The Spiritual Truth Press, Surrey. First published in 1983)
