Neale Donald Walsh states in his weekly newsletters that: "Human beings, CwG says, are not motivated to behave well because of fear of what will happen if they don't. Human beings are motivated to behave well because they hold a particular image of themselves --- that is, because they see themselves as a certain kind of person. "Every act," the text (Conversations with God) tells us, "is an act of self-definition." Once people understand this, their behaviors are affected forever.
This seems like a reasonable enough statement that anyone with a modicum of common sense would agree with.  However, I am constantly reminded that the majority of those walking the earth today are in denial about their role in their reality.  Recently, someone close to me shared a story  about someone  we both know.  It seems that the person's previous spouse is having a difficult time digesting the basic premise of cause and effect.  This individual, it seems, has had a history of exhibiting disinterest in the lives of their immediate family members.  Now, the family has decided to exclude the individual from from being invited to various family functions.  The behaviors in the past (the cause if you will) were such that they pointed to a lack of interest in the family events in general by the individual.  If the individual was not directly benefited, they opted out of participation.  Given that dynamic, it should have come as no surprise that eventually the lackadaisical disinterest paid to the affected family members would translate as all out exclusion in the long run (the effect).  Well, lo and behold, the distracted party has all of a sudden come to realize that their presence was no longer an issue for the key family members, that in effect, they have "moved on" without the disinterested member.  Why is this important?  Because, a basic lack of understanding, and implementation, of the Golden Rule, coupled with the law of cause and effect has resulted in a lot of heartache for the individual that heretofore was uninterested in these kinds of events.  Now, they are scratching their head in confusion.  Puzzled, they present the family with, "What happened??!!" instead of, "Oh! I see that my previous behaviors have resulted in my being ultimately excluded form activities."  It is unfortunate that the individual never got a grasp on such a basic law as cause and effect.  This shows me that the importance of teaching our children that every action has an equal and opposite reaction is not just an equation used in physics class, but an idea that pencils out in real life on a day to day basis.   Once we become awakened to this realization, we cannot go back to the irresponsible state of mind that ignorance of this basic law previously afforded.  Neale Donald Walsh's statement of decisions and behaviors working to define who we are,  really is an example "the mind as parachute" metaphor, that once a mind has been opened, it cannot snap back to being closed.  And with greater awareness, greater freedom is found.  If it is true that I am responsible for my life (and I am a major supporter of this premise!) then it is true that my life can be just as wonderful as I want it to be!  That is to say, that once a person is awakened to their own power, they become FREE to live a better life.  By being aware of the law of cause and effect, the actions, intentions, decisions, and ultimately the thought processes generated by this now-aware-person will work in such a way that everything they put into the pipeline will come out in the way that is most beneficial to them.  Oh happy day!  By knowing this simple truth,  we can turn our lives around in the areas that need turning.  And this is a freeing notion.  So what of the individual that is dumbfounded by their shunning?  They can certainly turn around the negative effects that their negative causation has created.  But they have to start now...what is done is done.  They cannot change the past.  They can, however, take responsibility today and work on new effects by making new causation in this moment.  Placing blame for one's failures on others, perpetuates the negative effects they are experiencing.  So carpe diem! Seize today and take responsibility for life.  Change your thinking and you truly will change your life.