I've had a particularly large amount of feedback from last month's article about the serious consequences of not realizing that in the "spiritual" order, the law of cause and effect works in reverse; in short, that the effect has to come before the cause. This was powerfully expressed by Jesus in the heart of his teaching on prayer in Mark 11.34: When you pray for something believe it is already yours and it shall be so..."

A lot of disappointed hopes, shattered dreams and human tragedy hover around the failure to realize this basic dynamic. Many years ago in Ireland I knew a beautiful woman, happily married with a wonderful husband and young family. In any scheme of assessment this lady would certainly have qualified as a "spiritual" person of a very high order, conscientious in passing on the highest ideals and behavior that she knew. Yet, at the age of thirty-three she developed breast cancer and died, leaving behind a desolate family.

Some weeks after her case had been pronounced hopeless she said to me, "I can't believe I ever got cancer. My mother died of cancer when I was eight, and every morning and night since then I have asked God, fervently, to protect me from ever getting that horrible disease. Now I have an inoperable condition. What did I do wrong? What was it that I did that was not pleasing to God?"

Faced with the grief of soon having to leave behind her two beautiful children and husband, she was not the least interested in the standard platitudes of comfort we all utter in times when the shallowness of our own spiritual understanding has left us with nothing helpful to say. And her grief was overshadowed by something even more tragic: the fear that she had lived her entire life in a way that was displeasing to God. She needed to understand why this had happened so she could set her soul at peace for her transition.

As gently as I could I told her that unfortunately, by following the practice she had, there really was no way she could have avoided getting cancer. Why? The thought of cancer was before her, in fear, every morning and night in her prayer every day for over a quarter of a century. And what we focus on – the thoughts we place out into the quantum field - makes no distinction between what we love or what we fear.

All great spiritual masters who ever walked this earth insisted upon the vital importance of getting rid of fears, for fear is a powerful magnet in the quantum field. Fear terrifies us and chills us to the core of our being. We find it enormously easy to become absorbed and caught up in fear - more so than with most other emotions, including love. Whatever we are focused on manifests.  When we are focused on something and surround it with powerful emotions, like fear, it manifests all the more quickly. The quantum field is impartial. Whether an idea, a hope, or a dream is feared or loved is irrelevant. Whether it is couched in terms of "please give me ___," or "please don't give me___," is irrelevant. What is focused upon manifests.

The tragically early death of this beautiful wife and mother is a classic case of what can happen when we are not informed about the true nature of God, the form of true prayer and how what we profoundly accept manifests, infallibly, out of the quantum field. She modeled her prayer to God over all those days and nights as if it were a plea to a sultan or potentate for something she did not want. And what she focused on manifested perfectly. She just did not realize the form of prayer she was expressing.

If we understand the nature of cause and effect are related in reverse into the quantum field, then we have to watch every thought like a hawk intent on its prey, until we have made the change habitual. I have to absolutely become what it is I want to manifest. If I am intent on manifesting radiant health and long life, I should focus on feeling radiantly healthy always.

If I am terrified at the prospect of contracting a terrible disease from which I saw my own mother die, then assuredly that thing that I fear has taken possession of me to such a degree that I am in acute danger of manifesting it into my life. The effect is already in place and has preceded the cause.

Moving away from the personal level, it is equally true when we campaign against something – whether I am against war, or for the dignity of women or whatever. When we fight against something there is a grave danger that we have already become one with what it is we protest against. And when we fight in this way we almost always end up only further empowering what it is we oppose.

Miceal Ledwith, L.Ph., L.D., D.D., LL.D. (h.c.) has been a Professor of Theology and University President of MaynoothCollege in Ireland, a member of the Vatican’s International Theological Commission, and has lectured extensively throughout Europe and North America. He has been a long-time member of the Ramtha School of Ancient Wisdom, and was featured in the movie What the BLEEP Do We Know!? He has released two DVDs. For an extended version of this article, please visit Miceal's website: www.hamburgeruniverse.com