# The 12 Laws of Karma

These are not rules imposed from outside. They are descriptions of how the universe already works — always, everywhere, for everyone.

1. **The Great Law — Cause & Effect.** Whatever we put out into the universe returns to us. If you want happiness, peace, love, and friendship, be happy, peaceful, loving, and a true friend.
2. **The Law of Creation — Participation.** Life doesn't happen to us — it happens through us. We must actively participate in making our desires manifest. The world around us is co-created by our inner state.
3. **The Law of Humility — Acceptance.** We must accept something in order to change it. Refusing to see a negative quality in ourselves means we are stuck with it. What we resist, persists.
4. **The Law of Growth — Change from Within.** Wherever you go, there you are. The only thing we have control over is ourselves. When we change who and what we are, our lives change too.
5. **The Law of Responsibility — Ownership.** Our lives are a mirror of ourselves. If something is wrong in our lives, there is something wrong in us. We must take ownership of what is ours.
6. **The Law of Connection — Past, Present, Future.** Everything in the universe is connected. The smallest step counts. The first step and the last step are equally important — the past, present, and future are all linked.
7. **The Law of Focus — One Thing at a Time.** We cannot think of two things at once. When our focus is on spiritual values, we cannot have lower thoughts such as greed or anger. Focus is sacred energy.
8. **The Law of Giving & Hospitality — Walk Your Talk.** Our behavior should match our thoughts and actions. The universe demands we demonstrate our spiritual growth through living it — not merely thinking or speaking it.
9. **The Law of Here & Now — Present Moment.** We cannot be in the present if we are looking backward to examine what was or forward to worry about the future. Looking back prevents us from being totally in the here and now.
10. **The Law of Change — History Repeats.** History repeats itself until we learn the lessons that change our path. Patterns return until something within us shifts to meet them differently.
11. **The Law of Patience & Reward — True Joy.** All rewards require initial toil. The most important work deserves the most patient labor. True joy follows doing what we are supposed to be doing, waiting for the reward to come on its own time.
12. **The Law of Significance & Inspiration — Value of Contribution.** The value of something is the direct result of the energy and intent put into it. Every personal contribution also affects the whole. Loveless work has no true power.

Continue with [Karmic Cycles](https://karma.monster/cycles/).