We often assume the universe is either on our side or against us, dishing out signs, punishments, rewards, or tests like a cosmic schoolteacher with a clipboard. We’re brought up with the idea of a final ‘Day of Judgement’ when we will be judged for all our deeds and deemed either ‘worthy’ and go to Heaven, or unworthy and go to Hell. Well – that’s one idea at least, but it’s one that millions of people have been told through the ages. But what if the universe is neutral?
What if we’ve misunderstood?
What if the idea of a vengeful, judging God is completely wrong? What if the universe (or God, Source Energy or whatever you like to call the Divine) isn’t judging or scoring us at all, but simply responding, neutrally, to the frequency we embody?
It’s a bold idea. One that shifts us from being passive recipients of fate to empowered creators of meaning and ‘reality’. And it may just be the key to our spiritual freedom.
What if our traditional view of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and Heaven and Hell was flawed?
The illusion of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’
From childhood, we’re conditioned to believe that life events fall into two buckets: good or bad. Occasionally, there’s a neutral one that falls somewhere in the middle.
We pass the test – good. We lose the job – bad.
We meet someone new – good. We get rejected – bad.
But WHO teaches us that one is ‘good and one is ‘bad’. Who decides what these events mean?
Much of what we label as “wrong” or “unfortunate” is simply an interpretation – a frame of perception we place around the event. And that frame often changes with time.
There’s a well-known Taoist parable that illustrates this beautifully:
A farmer’s horse runs away, and his neighbour says, “Such bad luck.”
The farmer replies, “Maybe.”
The next day, the horse returns – bringing three wild horses.
The neighbour says, “How wonderful!”
The farmer says, “Maybe.”
Then the farmer’s son breaks his leg trying to ride one of the wild ones.
“How awful!” says the neighbour. “Maybe,” says the farmer.
When the army comes to recruit young men for war, the injured son is spared.
“How lucky!” says the neighbour. The farmer simply says, “Maybe.”
The story invites us to stay open – to see that our perspective is often limited and that what seems unfortunate today may reveal itself as a blessing tomorrow (and vice versa).
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
– William Shakespeare, Hamlet
A story from the Andes – the jaguar and the hummingbird
In the Quechua traditions of the Andes, there’s a teaching story about a jaguar and a hummingbird.
The jaguar watches the hummingbird flit from flower to flower.
“Why do you rush about so nervously?” the jaguar asks.
The hummingbird replies, “I carry the sunlight to the plants. I nourish life.”
The jaguar laughs. “You are frantic and tiny. I am still, powerful, and feared.”
Later, a forest fire sweeps across the valley. The jaguar runs to safety.
But the hummingbird keeps returning to the flames with droplets of water in her beak.
“You’ll never put out the fire,” the jaguar growls.
“I know,” says the hummingbird. “But I do what I can, because this is who I am.”
In this tale, the hummingbird doesn’t assign moral judgment to the fire – she simply is who she is. Her action isn’t about right or wrong. It’s about resonance. Essence. Identity.
And that is what the universe responds to – not the jaguar’s mockery, nor the scale of the fire, but the unwavering frequency of being.
The universe reflects who you are
One of the biggest misunderstandings in spiritual circles is the belief that our thoughts alone create reality.
But it’s not just what you think that the universe reflects back – it’s what you are.
Your beliefs, your feelings, your emotional tone, your habits of focus – all of these make up your vibrational field. That field, not your surface thinking, is what sends out a signal. It’s that which the universe reads and responds to. Think of it like this – there are many ways to say “I love you” but they don’t all mean the same thing. If you say the words with compassion, true feeling and caring for the other person, then it means that you hold them in great esteem, love and cherish them. If you say them in a sarcastic way, the words “I love you” now mean the opposite.
It’s not the WORDS you say that convey your meaning, but the WAY you say them, the intention behind them and the tone of your voice.
Thoughts and words are creative, yes, but they have to be backed up by the very essence of who you are, and you cannot fake that.
“You don’t attract what you want. You attract what you are.”
– Dr. Wayne Dyer
The Law of Attraction is not a vending machine that responds to positive affirmations, but there are many books out there which will tell you that it will. These are not totally wrong, and it may have been the message you needed to hear when you first heard it, but they are only giving you part of the truth.
The universe is a mirror that reflects your core frequency – the energy of your expectations, your embodiment, your inner emotional state. What you see around you is what you are, and that is a hard lesson for many of us to learn. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t true. And if you truly understand that the universe is an unconditional reflection of your very being, then you will not judge these things as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ either. You will just accept them as a signpost along your journey.
When you set out from point A to get to point B, you follow the signposts along the way. If you see a signpost directing you to point C, you don’t call it ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’, you just adjust your route until you see the signposts for point B and carry on.
So when we experience something we don’t like, the invitation is not to blame ourselves, but to become curious:
What frequency am I sitting in most of the time that is reflecting this back to me?
What do I believe is true about me and the world that is keeping me here?
The danger of the “right path” myth
There’s a persistent belief that there is a correct path that we are all meant to follow, and if we miss it, we’ve somehow failed.
But what if there’s no such thing?
“There is no right or wrong way to be spiritual. There is only awareness or unawareness.”
– RJ Spina
This view doesn’t excuse harmful behaviour, but it does remove the pressure of perfection.
Instead of agonising over whether we’ve made a “wrong” turn, we can ask, “Am I present? Am I aware of the energy I’m bringing? Am I choosing consciously in this moment?”
The universe doesn’t demand moral worthiness – that’s a man-made attribute that has kept us ignoring our real power for centuries. The universe only responds to your state of being – who you are, now.
When pain isn’t punishment
A common question that arises with this idea of universal neutrality is:
What about suffering? Injustice? Tragedy?
People point to the terrible things that humans do to other humans, or the environment, or animals, to back up their point that there must be an inherent ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. And there is no shortage of seemingly terrible things that we do to each other for us to include.
These things are not invalidated by the idea of spiritual neutrality, but they are seen and interpreted differently by it.
Instead of seeing pain as punishment or failure, we see it as part of the wider field of experience.
Growth often arises from struggle. Compassion is born from heartbreak. Many people say their darkest seasons led to their greatest awakenings. But it doesn’t seem like that when you’re in them. Only with the wider, more expanded perspective of Source, can you see the growth, purpose and expansion behind the situation.
That doesn’t mean we should seek pain. But it does mean we can stop interpreting every difficulty as a cosmic “bad mark”.
“Events are not inherently good or bad – they are neutral. You give them meaning. You give them power.”
– Neale Donald Walsch
From mirror to meaning-maker
Once we realise the universe is a mirror – not a moralist – we can reclaim our creative role.
We are the ones assigning meaning.
We are the ones choosing how to interpret, how to respond, how to grow. Or not!
And meaning isn’t something to get “right” – it’s something to craft with care, through our experiences, through our knowing of who we are, and through our unconditional love.
This doesn’t make life meaningless – it makes it sacred.
Because if no moment comes pre-labelled… every moment is full of potential.
In closing: the beauty of neutrality
The universe is not cold. Nor is it cruel. It is vast, open, and available.
It doesn’t dictate. It reflects. It waits for your signal and then sends back a match.
That’s not harsh. That’s the most democratic, unconditional form of support there is.
You have the will to choose – everything, every second!
You’re not being tested.
You’re not being punished.
You’re being met – exactly where you are with unconditional support for the choices you make.
And there’s something even deeper here too.
The universe reflects you with such unconditional neutrality because it knows that this life – this Earthly incarnation, is really a kind of spiritual ‘school’ that you chose to come to. It’s a temporary classroom. A playground for learning and remembering. Like an actor in a play who plays the ‘villain’ in one play and the ‘hero’ in the next. He is unharmed by the roles he plays, but he does learn from them.
So it is with the universe. It knows you cannot truly be harmed, because you are not your body or your human story – you are an eternal, sentient being of light, forever connected to Source and a fractal of it. Your ‘death’ in this life is just a transition back home, to reassess, process and choose again. You ARE the universe.
And the more of that true nature you allow in – not by striving, but by softening inwardly and connecting through your own sentience – the more Source Energy you allow to flow through you.
Not because you earned it. You don’t need to earn anything. You are worthy just by being.
But because you finally stopped blocking what was always there.
So breathe. Choose. Reframe. Remember.
The universe is holding you gently and reflecting the truth of what you currently believe. But that can be changed as you remember who you really are and connect fully to your true majesty.
“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.”
– Rumi
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