(according to Pierre Pradervand)
The words for this blog by Fabrice Pinel, which we share in full, are transcribed from a video he created in French. It’s a long but inspiring read! You can see the video here https://gentleartofblessing.org/fr/les-5-lois-spirituelles-de-lunivers-bienveillant/
The practice of blessing is based on the vision of a profoundly benevolent, loving universe that guides and supports us at every moment of our journey. The purpose of this article is to explain how this works and where such a model of the universe comes from.
Introduction
Let’s start by citing our sources…
This short essay is based on the small book “Vivre ma spiritualité au quotidien” (Living My Spirituality Every Day) published by Pierre Pradervand at Jouvence. English speakers will also find a significantly longer and more detailed presentation in his book The Gentle Art of Blessing.
In both books, Pierre describes in great detail the worldview that forms the basis of his spirituality. Although he talks about spiritual laws -just as one would talk about physical laws – he does not intend to demonstrate or establish their scientific validity. Rather, his aim is to share with us the fruits of his experience and his own practice. His message is clear: “Don’t take these laws at face value, but as “working hypotheses.” Adopt “a truly experimental attitude rather than a mystical one or one based on blind faith.” In other words, he invites us to experience them and verify their validity for ourselves.
If he talks about “laws,” it is because he is nevertheless convinced that the process he presents to us applies universally and therefore allows for no exceptions, just as is the case with physical laws, such as gravity, for example.
So, obviously, in Pierre’s case, it is his daily and assiduous practice of blessing and the host of surprises, reversals, and miracles that it has produced both in his own life and in his environment, that have undoubtedly reinforced his own convictions and provided such a solid and well-founded basis for his vision.
But we should also note several powerful spiritual experiences of opening of the heart: these glimpses of awakening undoubtedly gave him a sense of the reality of the love that sustains and animates the entire universe.
In other words, what we are about to describe here is not a figment of the imagination, a utopian ideal, a fantasy, or a projection, but rather a reality that has been lived and felt, as indisputable as the sensation of the ground beneath our feet.
For my part, I would not share this vision with you if it did not also reflect my own life experience and if I did not believe in the countless, converging accounts left to us throughout the ages by enlightened beings of all traditions.
On this subject, I refer you to the masterful work of reflection and compilation carried out by José Le Roy on L’éveil spirituel (Spiritual Awakening) published by Almora
Law 1 / The Law of Positive Expectations
The first of these laws: EXPECTING GOOD THINGS OPENS US UP TO RECEIVING THEM.
Pierre explains it this way: “The more we expect good things and affirm them as a law that governs our lives, the more they will manifest themselves in our existence.”
It is therefore, as he himself says, “a law of attraction of good.” We are all familiar with the most trivial aspect of this: if we get off on the wrong foot in the morning, if we wake up stressed or grumpy, there is a greater chance that the clouds will thicken and obstacles will quickly accumulate around us.
On the contrary, smiling, gratitude, and enthusiasm will put us in a state of openness and relaxation that will make it easier for us to approach the actions we need to take and the challenges we may face.
In other words, our initial state of mind can either complicate or facilitate our task, reinforce our negativity, or, on the contrary, lighten our load.
However, the law of positive expectations goes further: it states that anything good that we hope for and know how to ask for correctly can actually come true.
Just as in Jesus’ statement in Mark 11:24, which I quote here: “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” “
So why didn’t I get the red car of my dreams? Why haven’t I gotten the promotion I wanted yet? Why didn’t I win the last Euromillions? Why isn’t my YouTube channel more successful? I did ask for it, after all!
Well, because this law is based on the principle that the universe wants what is best for us, our true and profound good, and not superficial, limited, and fleeting happiness. The universe is certainly not there to give in to our every little whim.
(Just imagine the catastrophic consequences for our environment or our societies if that were the case…)
Our well-being on Earth certainly depends on certain material needs being met (food and shelter in particular), but the ultimate nature of the well-being we seek is not limited to this domain; it is in fact spiritual in essence.
However, a proper appreciation of this requires certain understandings and significant questioning, a whole journey in short, and consequently its share of experiences, trials, learning, and even deprivation.
The famous abundance that the personal development world keeps harping on about all day long is not, contrary to what many of its proponents claim, an exclusively material or emotional abundance.
And the good that Jesus refers to in the verse quoted above probably points to our divine nature. Ask, call upon your true nature, which is that of love, and you will realize it! How could anyone think, even for a second, that Jesus cared about your SUV or the latest iPhone you dream of owning? Seriously…
It is essential to emphasize that this divine nature cannot be taken away from you because it is what you already are by nature, even if your little ego is unaware of it and its obscuring veils hide it from you.
The law of positive expectations therefore invites us to turn freely and of our own accord toward this Good that is already present, to seek it out, to cultivate it, so that it gradually emerges in our every action and thought.
Law 2 / The Law of Just Return
Second Law: EVERYONE REAPS WHAT THEY SOW
This wording probably reminds you of the Bible, and indeed, in Galatians 6:7, we find: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
In another cultural context, this is also known as the law of karma, or the law of cause and effect, and is found in one form or another in all major spiritual teachings, whether Jewish, Muslim, Confucian… or even secular.
Common sense tells us that our actions and thoughts generally have consequences.
Maintaining good relations with our neighbors, colleagues, or other countries around the world is obviously not the same as making their lives miserable, speaking ill of them, or declaring war on them!
We all know that a gesture of love or a word of comfort does not have the same consequences as indifference, rejection, a taunt, or a hurtful remark.
However, the passage from the Bible quoted above actually goes much further. Here is the lesser-known continuation:
“He who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but he who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit…” “
This implies that there are two ways of reaping: one that stops at the material level, and another that gives full credit to the spiritual nature of what we undertake.
If you invest yourself solely in the material side of things, that is what you will constantly be confronted with, and it is therefore its impermanence, its corruptibility, and the endless frustrations it engenders that you will have to deal with.
If, on the contrary, you focus on your deepest nature, which in its simplest expression is LOVE and JOY, it is in this field that you will reap your harvest. It is this love and joy that will form the foundation of your life. They will be the driving forces behind the reality you experience.
Your decision to bless and wish the greatest good for each and every one will then enable you to express and be, more and more and in all circumstances, the GOOD that you desire.
Law 3 / The Golden Rule
Third law: WHATEVER YOU DO TO OTHERS, YOU ALSO DO TO YOURSELF.
This rule seems to be fundamental to many cultures and societies and often constitutes their central moral pivot. It is fascinating to find it formulated in most major religious traditions. Peter takes pleasure in listing them, and I invite you to check for yourself how consistent they are.
This law, which I have formulated here as a principle, is generally expressed in the form of a prohibition or recommendation, as for example in Galatians 5:14:”All the law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. “
Or as in Matthew 7:12:”Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, for this is the law and the prophets. “
This law, which we might find coercive or demanding, actually reflects our deep unity. WE ARE ONE, and the harm done to one of us necessarily affects us all in return.
Let’s take the metaphor of the body. If one of its organs is affected, the whole body suffers.
Similarly, if a category of the population is exploited, relegated, impoverished, it is the entire group that bears the consequences and difficulties of this situation: violence, frustration, drugs, alcoholism, crime…
Everyone wants to be treated equally: with love, respect, and justice. Everyone wants to be listened to, recognized, and heard.
This golden rule, when understood in its full implications, is in fact the best safeguard we have against violence, the most powerful tool we have for developing peace.
It is this rule, for example, that allows us to understand that when we harm nature and our environment, we are in fact, through solidarity and ricochet, the very first victims.
Because it is formulated in the form of a prohibition, this rule unfortunately still seems very distant, even inaccessible, to us at times. Ultimately, however, there is only ONE PLANET, only ONE HUMANITY.
And that is precisely the law of Love: our total interdependence, our inalienable unity.
Law 4 / The Law of Unconditional Love
Fourth Law: THE CORE OF OUR MOST AUTHENTIC BEING IS TOTALLY LOVE
Yes, you heard right! What this law says is that you and I, and every individual, are, at our deepest core and in our very essence, LOVE.
The person who yells at you and just honked their horn wildly at you is LOVE.
The person who fires you overnight from the company you’ve invested so much in is LOVE.
The person who kills, steals, desecrates, lies, destroys, and exploits is still LOVE.
What could be more scandalous to common sense, right?!
Yet we know how to recognize, sometimes, even if it is not necessarily easy, that in the end, despite everything that others reproach us for or would be entitled to reproach us for, with regard to our own faults, mistakes, or shortcomings, that in the end we simply did our best.
Yes, in hindsight, we may regret it and glimpse what other outcome we could have chosen, but the deed is done, the words have been spoken, and in the end, we handled the situation as best we could, even if it was sometimes in the most disastrous way.
Pierre Pradervand gives us this valuable insight into understanding our own abilities and those of our neighbors with love: “At every moment, every human being is at their highest level of consciousness.”
This means that if we play badly, whether against others or ourselves, it is simply because we do not know how to play well and are not yet capable of doing so.
We all know that over time, experience can enable us to correct and improve ourselves, but we also know that learning can be a long, tortuous process, with difficult realizations, painful experiences, and endless back-and-forths…
It often takes us a long time and a lot of trial and error to understand where our true good lies…
We have to lift many veils before we realize that deep within every human being is the same seal of divine love that has been placed there.
It takes a great deal of maturity and wisdom to realize that the only true path is to refine a little more each day our ability to open ourselves to what is, and to love, regardless of our initial limitations in doing so.
Law 5 / The Law of Universal Harmony
Fifth and final law: A PRINCIPLE OF LOVE WORKS TO GUIDE AND ADJUST ALL THINGS FOR OUR GOOD
This law, which posits that “a fundamental harmony governs all beings,” is undoubtedly the most directly comforting.
It affirms, as Pierre Pradervand says, that “every challenge, every difficulty, or every trial contains within it a secret gift, a hidden blessing that can contribute to our growth toward greater fulfillment, even those that may seem totally destructive.”
From this point of view, there is no such thing as a gratuitous or futile trial. No life is delivered into the cruel or blind hands of fate.
This type of perception is in reality based solely on man’s erroneous assumptions about the difficulties he faces.
On the other hand, we all obviously have examples in mind where the cup seems too full, the situation unfair, unacceptable, unjustifiable, absurd, absolutely indefensible in the eyes of a loving God.
Yet there are regularly moving and inspiring testimonies that reveal what these trials have forged in the hearts of those who have endured them.
There are constant reminders that even in the deepest abyss, a light still shone and that, despite everything, a hand was holding them.
There are always people who embrace what seems impossible for others to bear or go through, and who come back with armfuls of treasures and light.
There are always those who remind us that shipwrecks and suffering do not prevent love, and that everyone is equally the beloved child of this world.
That no one is abandoned, that no one is left behind.
Simply because there would be no reason to do so.
You are no doubt familiar with this passage from Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”
Well, the law of universal harmony considers that, neither in matter nor in spirit, would a Father or Mother worthy of the name ever think, even for a single second, of turning their eyes away from you. Much less of causing you to suffer knowingly.
I give Pierre Pradervand the last word with this very inspiring thought: “Each of us has the same value as all beings on this planet. Each of us is absolutely unique in time, space, and eternity. The infinite Love that governs the universe needs you to be complete, perfect, infinite—because an Infinity that lacked even a single particle, a single atom, would be neither infinite nor perfect.”
Conclusion
It’s time to wrap up…
Once again: the ideas presented in this podcast should not be taken at face value. They are shared out of conviction, but the only thing that matters is to try them out.
Don’t condemn them if you haven’t investigated them. Explore them! Put them into action!
Culturally, we are emerging from a rather paradoxical situation where we are coming out of a religion that was based on Christ’s message of love, while at the same time often portraying his God as vengeful and unkind, the very opposite of this supposed love. We know very well how Christianity has been able to sharpen in us a certain feeling of guilt, if not unworthiness…
So much so that I would dare to say that we have not yet experienced this religion of love. It certainly existed in the very being of certain saints. But for the rest, everything remains to be done, in the heart of each one of us.
The practice and art of blessing therefore await us impatiently if we want to put these laws of the benevolent universe to the test.
The emergence of this relationship of love for ourselves and others is still in its infancy. We are very far from enjoying all its rewards..
