Free Thought: The Law of Transformation

In season seven episode one of Buffy The Vampire Slayer Willow is in England with Giles undergoing rehabilitation for over use of magic. With her thoughts she is able to summon a flower that according to Giles is native to South America and should not be able to thrive in London. When Giles asks Willow why it is present her answer is “The Earth is all connected.” When discussing the Law of Transformation from The Seven Spiritual Laws of Superheroes this is the scene I thought of to help me understand the concept. I believe it is a perfect example.

            According to Chopra’s the Law of Transformation superheroes know they are connected to all things in the universe. The superhero Chopra uses to explain this idea is Storm and how her powers come from a connection to the universal Self. The Self that is aware of its relationship to the source of all things in the universe. If she ever feels she is her individual self and only her individual self her powers will cease to perform at their full potential. It is difficult as a human to understand how we connect to the universe. For a normal human, Chopra gives the example of when someone looks at a tree and sees their lungs. Like our lungs provide oxygen to our bodies trees provide oxygen to the planet. If one ceases to perform the other does as well. It is still a little too complex to understand completely.

            When we think of ourselves we do not automatically think “I am the light, the darkness, the rivers, and the desert.” That type of thinking, for some, is too philosophical to apply to every aspect of our lives. So I believe we can start by taking a look at Aristotle’s phrase “The whole is better than the sum of its parts” specifically the “sum of its parts.” The person we are today is the result of all things we have said, done, experienced, and even the people we are related to. How often has the phrase “learn from the mistakes I have made” been said? We learn from all things.

            Very often I have heard people say I wish I could go back in time and not have said that or I should have done this. I am guilty of wishing this as well. What I have learned is it is those actions in the past that make us who we are now and connect us to who we will be. They are the different parts that make up the whole of who we are. Without the lessons we have learned by saying the wrong statement, not double checking a test, or trusting the wrong person with our secrets we would not be who we are now, but because we did make them we learned from them and became the people we are today. In addition to making us who we are at this moment those lessons will continue to follow us as we get older and connect us to our future selves. By rationalizing that we are ourselves connected by the past, present, and futures surrounding us we can start applying the Law of Transformation to our lives.

            So in the following episodes of season seven when Willow becomes more powerful and stable with her powers it is because she has realized her connection with the earth and all things in it. She accomplished the Law of Transformation by coming to terms with the amount of magic she possesses. We can act on the Law of Transformation by coming to terms with how our pasts make us who we are now and who we will be in the future. It is all inside of us.