We naturally recognize intelligence as beautiful. As you witness how elegantly the principles of truth, love, and power operate in your life, you may even consider it a spiritual experience. It’s almost like discovering a new law of mathematics or physics. Suddenly you start seeing it everywhere as part of the underlying structure of reality.
When you see an object fall to the ground, you may not understand the laws of physics. When you insert a battery into a child’s toy, you may not know how electricity works. And when you pet a dog, you may not understand biology. Whether you’re aware of them or not, ever-present laws still operate at all times. Similarly, when you successfully achieve a goal you’ve set, fall in love with someone, or learn a new skill, you’re following the underlying laws of personal growth. You’re aligning yourself with the principles of truth, love, and power, whether you realize it or not.
Beneath the surface chaos of reality, there are many governing patterns to be found. As you become aware of these patterns, life becomes incredibly fascinating. A rich diversity of emergent behavior often arises from seemingly simple rules. Truth, love, and power are not terribly complicated concepts. You probably had a good intuitive grasp of them before you even read this book, although I (Steve Pavlina) hope that I’ve helped enrich your understanding. You might even consider these ideas to be common sense at first glance, but what you may not have understood is the incredible richness that can be derived from these concepts and how elegantly they interact with each other.
It’s common sense to predict that an apple will fall if you drop it. The real trick is figuring out how and why it falls. Once you learn that, seeing an object fall to the ground is no longer such a routine experience. Now it becomes a thing of beauty. Similarly, you’ll begin to observe the beauty of all personal growth challenges when you see them through the lenses of truth, love, and power.
Notice that every principle governs both thought and action. You can think accurate thoughts and speak truthful words. You can think loving thoughts and also express love outwardly. You can focus your mind on the inside and take external aspects; the principles apply to your private thoughts as well as to your public actions.
Begin to see reality through the lenses of truth, love, and power, starting with your own life. Notice how these principles govern your career, your health, your relationships, and more. Observe how a lack of truth creates problems for you, how a lack of power makes you feel helpless and victimized. Discover how much easier your life becomes and how much happier you feel when you align yourself with truth, love, and power. Use the principles to make your life a thing of beauty.
* Source: Personal Development for Smart People by Steve Pavlina