RTFR Magazine

We all choose to walk through life aware or unaware of our strengths and limitations.

Awareness in spirituality means being consciously present.

Characteristics of Spiritual Awareness:

• Presence: Living in the now, rather than being lost in the past or future.
• Self-observation: Watching your thoughts and emotions without being controlled by them.
• Discernment: Seeing beyond illusion—recognizing ego, fear, projection, and patterns for what they are.
• Compassion: Recognizing the shared essence in all beings and acting from love rather than judgment.
• Responsibility: Taking ownership of your inner life without blame or victimhood.
• Connection: Feeling a sense of unity with others, nature, the universe, or the divine.

Spiritual awareness doesn’t mean being perfect. It means being conscious and willing to grow.

Characteristics of Spiritual Unawareness:

Unawareness is the state of being disconnected from the deeper truth of who you are and the nature of reality. It’s a kind of spiritual sleep.

• Reactivity: Acting from triggered emotions, ego, or conditioning without self-reflection.
• Identification with the Mind: Believing you are your thoughts, roles, or past.
• Blame and Projection: Seeing the cause of your suffering only outside yourself.
• Separation: Living from a sense of isolation, competition, or fear.
• Autopilot Living: Repeating unconscious patterns and habits without question.
• Lack of Presence: Being caught in distraction, anxiety, or mind chatter.

In this state, people often seek fulfillment externally and may feel spiritually empty, anxious, or trapped.

Awareness vs. Unawareness at a Glance:

Aspect	Awareness	Unawareness
Consciousness	Present, observing	Distracted, reactive
Identity	Soul/Essence	Ego/Mind/Body
Responsibility	Owns inner experience	Blames external world
Emotions	Observes and processes them consciously	Suppresses or acts out emotions
Relationships	Seeks connection and healing	Projects, judges, or avoids vulnerability
Life Approach	Curious, reflective, expansive	Defensive, fearful, rigid
Growth	Seeks truth and transformation	Avoids discomfort or self-examination

“Awareness is the greatest agent for change.” – Eckhart Tolle

Spiritual awareness is less about “knowing more” and more about seeing clearly. It’s not a destination—it’s a practice. Every moment offers the chance to shift from unawareness to awareness just by pausing and becoming present.

Being aware transcends politics, race, religion, and even social order. The mirror principle, I feel, carries a huge misnomer. This principle is part of the Universal Laws, specifically the Law of Correspondence and the Law of Relationships.

20 Universal Laws of the Universe

1. Law of Divine Oneness

Everything in the universe is connected. Every thought, action, and event affects everything else—there is no true separation.

2. Law of Vibration

Everything is energy and vibrates at its own frequency. Thoughts, emotions, and objects all emit vibrations that influence reality.

3. Law of Attraction (Greatly Mismarketed)

Like attracts like. You draw into your life experiences, people, and outcomes that match your dominant thoughts and emotional frequency.

4. Law of Correspondence

“As above, so below; as within, so without.” Your outer reality reflects your inner state and vice versa.

5. Law of Cause and Effect (Karma)

Every action, thought, and feeling creates a corresponding reaction—what you put out comes back.

6. Law of Compensation

You are compensated in direct proportion to the energy, intention, and value you put into the world—whether positively or negatively.

7. Law of Perpetual Transmutation of Energy

Energy is always moving and transforming. You can change your life by shifting your energy and thoughts.

8. Law of Polarity

Everything has its opposite: hot/cold, joy/sorrow, light/dark. Recognizing both helps you find balance and transcend extremes.

9. Law of Rhythm

Life operates in cycles—seasons, tides, emotional highs and lows. Understanding rhythm helps you flow with life, not fight it.

10. Law of Gender

Masculine and feminine energies exist in all things. Creation and balance require harmony between these forces.

11. Law of Inspired Action

Manifestation requires more than thought—it requires action taken from alignment with your highest self.

12. Law of Detachment

Letting go of attachment to specific outcomes opens you to receive what’s best, rather than forcing what you think you want.

13. Law of Forgiveness

True spiritual growth requires releasing resentment. Holding on to past pain keeps you energetically bound.

14. Law of Growth

You are here to grow. The only thing you can truly change is yourself. External changes follow inner transformation.

15. Law of Relationships (Mirrors)

People in your life reflect back aspects of yourself—both shadow and light. Relationships are teachers.

16. Law of Faith

Belief and trust in unseen forces (God, Source, Universe) activate your ability to manifest and receive.

17. Law of Abundance

The universe is naturally abundant. Scarcity is an illusion created by fear and limited thinking.

18. Law of Divine Timing

Everything unfolds in the right time. Trying to force or rush life creates resistance.

19. Law of Balance

Spiritual alignment comes from balancing mind, body, and spirit—doing and being, giving and receiving.

20. Law of Free Will

You always have the power to choose your thoughts, actions, and responses—your will can influence how laws affect your life.

These laws are meant to serve as a spiritual map—guiding you toward deeper self-awareness, intentional living, and alignment with the flow of life. They remind us that while we may not control everything, we can influence a great deal through how we think, act, feel, and grow.

Everything reflects what you need to see to grow, even if it’s not always comfortable.

Why does this situation bother me so much?

• What part of me is reacting to this, and why?
• Is there a part of me that is also self-critical or dismissive of others?

This inquiry could lead to deeper self-awareness, and by healing or shifting that part of yourself, the external situations you encounter may also shift.

Here’s where the double-edged sword aspect steps in:

1. Overemphasis on Self-Blame: If someone interprets the Mirror Principle as suggesting that everything in their external world is a direct reflection of their inner state, they may end up blaming themselves for every negative situation, relationship, or challenge, even if those situations are beyond their control or rooted in trauma that has little to do with their current emotional state. For someone healing from trauma, this could feel like “blaming the victim” in a way that is harmful.
2. Misunderstanding of the Principle: The Mirror Principle isn’t meant to say that every negative interaction or experience is a result of something wrong inside you, but rather to point out that how you respond to those situations, or how they trigger you, can reveal something about unresolved wounds, limiting beliefs, or patterns within yourself. If it’s understood in a more compassionate way—where the focus is on understanding and healing rather than assigning blame—it becomes a tool for empowerment, not disempowerment.
3. Reinforcement of a Victim Mindset: If the reflection that the Mirror Principle offers is seen solely as a way to blame the self or feel responsible for everything around you, it can deepen feelings of victimhood. For example, someone who has experienced abuse or deep trauma may feel like they’re being told, “Well, you attracted this situation,” which can lead to feelings of guilt, shame, or a sense of being trapped in their pain, rather than empowered to heal from it.

In a Nutshell:

The Mirror Principle doesn’t mean that you deserve the bad things that happen to you, nor should it keep you in a cycle of self-blame. Instead, it’s meant to encourage reflection on how you respond to the world around you, and what you can learn about yourself in the process. When approached from a place of healing, it can be a tool for empowerment, not victimhood.

It’s definitely important to take care when applying it in situations of trauma or deep emotional wounds. Healing requires compassion and the understanding that some things are simply beyond our control—and that’s okay. You’re allowed to be a victim of circumstances and still heal, grow, and reclaim your power.

The Mirror Principle doesn’t mean that you deserve the bad things that happen to you, nor should it keep you in a cycle of self-blame. Instead, it’s meant to encourage reflection on how you respond to the world around you, and what you can learn about yourself in the process. When approached from a place of healing, it can be a tool for empowerment, not victimhood.

It’s definitely important to take care when applying it in situations of trauma or deep emotional wounds. Healing requires compassion and the understanding that some things are simply beyond our control—and that’s okay. You’re allowed to be a victim of circumstances and still heal, grow, and reclaim your power.

Sometimes, people are just…well, jerks, and that’s on them. Not every challenging situation is a reflection of your inner state.

When you’re aware of how you react, though, it gives you the space to see why you react the way you do, often based on old patterns, past pain, or unresolved issues. That gives you the freedom to shift your response rather than automatically defaulting to those old reactions.

Sometimes an asshole is just an asshole. And recognizing that gives you the freedom to step out of the “blame” cycle. You’re just responding to the world, not creating it, and you have control over how you respond, even if you don’t control other people’s actions.

Answers to encountering “assholes,” observe and don’t react, or walk-away. No amount of words will ever “fix” the situation. Nor is this about always rising above. Think of life like a roller coaster, dipping up and down. Life is a series of good and bad moments and encounters; it’s how you respond to those moments that creates awareness(peace) or unawareness (confusion).

xx gail 12:12