How does The Opportunity Principle Work?

The Opportunity Principle can be defined as:

1. The fundamental truth that everything that happens in life is a set of circumstances that makes it possible for us to advance and evolve.
2. The basic truth that life is a favorable combination of circumstances, time, and place.

Why the Opportunity Principle:

1. Understanding the Opportunity Principle entails understanding the Mirror Principle and the Reflection Principle
2. According to the Mirror Principle, life is but a mirror[1]. A mirror shows nothing different from who is looking. Whatever it is that we are looking at and whenever we are looking at it, it is Life. And as we are looking at Life, we are looking at ourselves.
3. According to the Reflection Principle, everything on the outside is but a reflection of the inside[2]. Everything we perceive on the outside is simply telling us about ourselves, about the inside, about our mind, our mental activities, and our cognitive functions or processes[3]
4. This is the mechanism, whether we are aware of it or not. The Opportunity Principle helps us become aware of it. Once we understand it, we can learn how to use it
5. How it works then, is that as things are happening, some of us may feel victimized[4], while others may say “life gives me lemons and I am going to make lemonade.” If, on the other hand, we understand and learn to apply the Opportunity Principle, we no longer get or need to interpret things either through the lens of victimization or through the lens of stoicism.
6. The Opportunity Principle is not a philosophical ideology, not a religious, spiritual, or metaphysical concept. Yet, if you look at the root of all these four systems of thought formulation, you’ll find the Opportunity Principle is their foundation, just as we now know it in Science.

Interestingly enough, the best scientists – those who have changed the face of science and the world, have all understood and operated from the Opportunity Principle. The best scientists know that when they have a hypothesis, it will be neither good nor bad to find their hypothesis is either proven or refuted. All there is, is an opportunity to either move along with the hypothesis or reconsider. Of course, most scientists are trying to get published and get grants, and everything is black or white, and to them, it’s either success or failure; and their ego is more important than establishing what is true. In fact, many scientists misrepresent their data – a fact well-known in the academic world, and proven in Metascience.  On the other hand, the scientists whose sole concern is to establish the truth go by the principles of Truth, and use the Opportunity Principle, as one of these Principles of Truth.

What are the opportunities?

They are endless and unlimited. Here are 10 of the Most Common Forms of the Opportunity Principle:

Everything around me is an opportunity for me to:

1. Notice
2. Become aware (Bringing awareness to it)
3. Acknowledge
4. Embrace
5. Neutralize
6. Correct (Undo if interfering, through conscious denial, through conscious splitting and dissociation)
7. Enhance (Intensify, if promoting, by making more conscious and increasing conscious-unconscious alignment)
8. Realize
9. Shift (Move to an Inside-out Paradigm)
10. Transcend (Operating from an Inside-out Paradigm, live in the paradox, being steadily in Reality, while acknowledging perception for what it is, without denying, and acknowledging it as an opportunity, knowing that there is only what is Real: Health, abundance, etc.)

How do we go about using the Opportunity Principle?

1. Notice (A thought, a feeling, a behavior, or an event)
2. Acknowledge (Acknowledge how everything is an opportunity, and this is no exception)
3. Use Opportunity Scanning (Using the Opportunity Inquiry: What is this an opportunity for? Followed by 6-10 second Breath Awareness)
4. Use the opportunity (It may be: A. strengthening your ability to just notice without the need to do anything; or B. Practicing Neutralizing; or C. Practicing Instant Correction; or D. Shifting)
5. Look forward to the next opportunity

To note: Anything happening at any time is always an opportunity. This is regardless of it being considered to be “good,” or “bad,” since we know that nothing is either good or bad, but simply an opportunity. While our human psychology will naturally have us gravitate toward using the Opportunity Principle for only things that we do not like, this is only a start. Ultimately, we will highly benefit from making use of the Opportunity Principle as often as possible for anything that we may be experiencing. For, this is how we get to real experiential understanding, which is required for our brain to truly unlearn, relearn, learn again, and then fully consolidate.

Are you ready to truly live within the Opportunity Principle?

We look forward to hearing from you.

[1] Steenbarger, Brett. “The Mirror Principle: Shaping Your Experience, Shaping Your Self.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 30 June 2015, https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettsteenbarger/2015/06/30/the-mirror-principle-shaping-your-experience-shaping-your-self/?sh=713bc91f3ec0.

[2] Pavuka, Olga. “How the Outside World Is a Reflection of Our Internal State of Mind.” DeepH, 6 July 2021, https://www.deeph.io/how-the-outside-world-is-a-reflection-of-our-internal-state-of-mind/.

[3] Ibrahim, Mike. “Your Best Self: What It Means to Evolve as a Person.” LinkedIn, 31 Mar. 2021, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/your-best-self-what-means-evolve-person-mike-ibrahim/.

[4] “Victim Mentality: Causes, Symptoms, and More.” WebMD, WebMD, https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-a-victim-mentality#:~:text=People%20who%20have%20a%20victim,over%20what%20happens%20to%20them.