Scattered

If we do not have a Cause whom we are allegiant to, we will be scattered.

Cause:  an exemplar, provider, teacher, evaluator; examples of Causes:  mentor, parent, coach, counselor, boss, team leader, ecclesiastical leader

Remember:  A Cause can be male of female but for simplicity's sake I use the male pronoun when referring to a Cause in my writing.

What Does It Mean to be Scattered?

Just as we have physical receptor sites in all of our body systems, we also have spiritual receptor sites.  Because we have the inherent need to receive Peace at those receptor sites, we cannot opt out of having a Cause.  But if we do not actively make the choice of who our Cause is, we will just follow what everyone else is doing.  Thus all those different people become our Cause.   

Since everyone has different opinions and ideas of where the pathway to obtaining Joy is, we will be blown about by their varying ideas, movements, and philosophies kind of like the fallen leaves are blown about by the wind (Ephesians 4:14 "Every wind of doctrine...").  And if we look to the same scattered sources for Peace, we will only be able to obtain it while we engage in whatever Process they suggest is the best.  When we switch to another philosophy that conflicts with the first, we stop receiving Peace or confirmation from the first and start receiving it from the second.  And the saga continues.

If we engage in this kind of Process continuously, we will develop Scattered Spiritual Effect Sensors.  The resultant conflict is that we will never be satisfied with just one Cause.  Even if we decided to choose one Cause and stick with him, we will experience major withdrawal symptoms and it will feel like this one Cause is not enough.   

Listen:  "By Your Side" by Tenth Avenue North

We may think the problem is our Cause.  We may believe he is not powerful enough to sustain our need for Peace.  And in fact that may be the case.  But we can’t know that for sure because we are scattered.  (Matt 7:3-5 "Mote and the beam").  The only way to know for sure if a Cause is enough for us—balanced with our need to receive Peace--is if we endure through an extended time period of fidelity to one Cause. 

We can see how this can be scary.  How do we know for sure that this Cause does in fact know the best way to obtain Joy when our Effect Sensors are Scattered?  We can't tell up from down, good from bad, Peace from Pseudo Peace.  And how do we know, upon choosing only him, that he is balanced with us?  We don’t want to commit ourselves to someone who does not have the ability to support us continuously.

Abuse and Neglect

Sometimes it is the case that we have developed Scattered Effect Sensors before we even knew about the need to choose a single Cause.  As children we may have been raised by an abusive and/or negligent parent.  This scatters our Effect Sensors.  A child cannot develop trust in someone who abuses or neglects her continuously.  She cannot look to him for Peace.  So she will unconsciously and necessarily turn to other Causes.  Because she is so young and inexperienced, she most likely will turn to everyone for Peace.  She keeps her Effect Sensors exposed to everyone and their dog because she is so in need of Peace.

Remember:  A Child can be male of female but for simplicity's sake I use the female pronoun when referring to a Child in my writing. 

When she engages in this Scattered Process she will be Spiritually injured by Conflicting Causes that do not have the ability or intentions of taking care of her.   She learns to mistrust Causes.  She puts up walls around her, a fortress with barbed wire and machine gun placements. 

Different people choose different Resolution Processes to manage the pain they experience as a Result of their Scattered Effect Sensors.  Some build these walls and never come out.  They remain lonely in regards to real relationships. 

   

Yet because we all MUST receive from somewhere, they seek Peace from substances.  Food, Alcohol, drugs, etc.  They don’t have to depend on any one person.  They don’t have to establish relationships because they can just buy their Peace.  Yet this is pseudo fulfillment and will leave a person incomplete and unfulfilled in the end.

Others choose to remain scattered.  They go from Cause to Cause and deal with the injuries.  But eventually, if injured enough, a person will become calloused.  And that blocks their ability to feel Peace.  They are numb.  And in some ways, these numb walls do protect but they also prevent us from ever obtaining Sustainable Joy in our relationships.

Spoiler Alert:  Advice Section

And so we need a General Cause who is willing and able to form a Father-type relationship with us.  In so doing he interacts with us at our own level.  This kind of Cause will wait for us as we struggle to “break up” with all of the other Conflicting Causes who have been instrumental in scattering our Effect Sensors.  Breaking up is hard to do. 

Listen:  "Starts With Goodbye" by Carrie Underwood

Great Audio CD:  "Break Up With the World" by  Hank Smith

Luke 18:18-27 "A certain ruler asked him..."

This kind of Cause will not have any selfish motives yet he will require our allegiance to him.  He will require our commitment that we do not go searching for Conflicting Causes and their substances when the going gets tough.  

Read:  Matt 6:31-33  "Seek ye first the kingdom of God..."

There are also Specific Causes who are in alignment with this kind of General Cause.  They do not have any selfish motives either.  They only have our best interest in mind.  They serve as Spiritual Leaders and consistently point us to our General Cause for our needs for Peace.  They exemplify, provide, teach, and evaluate until we can more completely interact with our General Cause.  Once we have balanced our Effect Sensors so that they are sensitive to our General Cause’s Effects of Peace AND we have established boundaries against Conflicting Causes, we are better able to choose a Specific Cause (i.e. Spouse) who is balanced with our own Inherent Balance.

Appropriate Boundaries

Developing relationships with our General Cause and Specific Spiritual Causes who stand in his name AND THEN SUBSEQUENTLY developing a relationship with a Specific Cause who is in alignment with him in regards to us is the best Process to resolve the Conflict of Scattered Effect Sensors.  It is the best way to obtain Sustainable Joy.