Roots of the Echo Principle: A Path to Inner Peace
It took over 40 years for me to learn this universal lesson
Photo by Nico Smit on Unsplash
The world echoes back what we send, reflecting what’s within. Another way to see the universal principle is to look in the mirror.
What do you hear? What do you see?
Echos and reflections welcome the inner game of life: the human mind and consciousness.
Sounds, senses, and light show us the way to be better humans if we’re willing to be better students in the school of life.
You’re trying to prove something
Be honest, what are you trying to prove, and to whom are you trying to prove it?
Maybe you’re on a mission to show the world you’re good enough, smart enough, rich enough. You push harder, grind longer, and try to control everything, hoping it will finally bring you peace.
But the harder you try, the more resistance you face. It’s like the universe is whispering, Chill. Just be yourself.
You grind harder, push more
Instead, you keep pushing, setting impossible goals, and punishing yourself when you fall short. You look in the mirror and think, You failed again. You lost. You’re not good enough.
And that self-talk? It’s like pouring gasoline on a fire. Before you know it, you’re angry at the world when, deep down, you’re just mad at yourself.
If you’re constantly disappointed, you may be setting stupid, unrealistic goals and never stopping to ask why.
Ask yourself: Are you fighting the world, or are you fighting yourself? What would happen if you stopped trying to prove something and started being real?
Ask, listen, take notes. You might find the peace you’ve been chasing all along.
Here comes the Echo Principle
Imagine standing in a canyon and shouting something out. Whatever you yell, I’m awesome! Or I hate this! comes right back at you. Life works the same way. What you put out, you get back.
That echoes back if you send out anger, frustration, and fear. If you send out kindness, acceptance, and love, life returns those, too. Today, the principle is known as the Echo Principle.
But this new concept is old, like, ancient. It goes by different names.
Discover the Law of Correspondence
For thousands of years, people have noticed this echo effect. Ancient Egyptians and Greeks called it the Law of Correspondence: As above, so below; as within, so without.
They believed the universe acted like a giant mirror, reflecting what was happening inside us. That was thousands of years ago, but it’s the same today.
In India, teachers of Buddhism and Hinduism taught that the world is a projection of one's thoughts and feelings. To change one's outside world, one must change one’s inside mind.
Taoism (Daoism) in ancient China believed that harmony with nature created peace, but fighting against nature led to frustration and struggle.
Even modern psychologists like Carl Jung pointed out that the parts of ourselves we try to hide, our shadow, often show up in our experiences with other people.
What you try hardest to push away is often what you see the most in the world around you. Some call it the Mirror Principle, the Law of Reflection in Physics, or even the Law of Attraction.
My father’s last words
One of my loudest wake-up calls came from my dad shortly before he died. We often talked on the phone, even though we lived thousands of miles apart.
I was bragging about my business growth, rambling on about my goals. It was always about me. My stress levels were excessively high, running the digital marketing agency at the time. In retrospect, I was trying to please too many different types of customers.
Even though my sales were growing and I was making a lot of money, the stress was taking its toll, and I was in denial once again, trying to prove to the world that I was something I was not.
My father listened patiently until I took a breath. Then he said, “Clifford, when will you learn to stop pushing so hard, trying to control everything, and just appreciate what you have? Your family, your life. Be present and be grateful.”
Those words hit me like a punch to the gut. I knew he was right. But I was stubborn, stuck in the habit of forcing the world to be how I thought it should be.
When life didn’t match my expectations, I got angry. I dug in, pushed harder, and worked more, and the universe resisted with indescribable resistance in the form of stress and aggravation.
It’s a power versus force thing
Trying to control everything feels like swimming against a raging river. It’s exhausting. When you can’t keep up, you start blaming yourself, judging yourself, and tearing yourself apart.
Most people confuse force with power. But real power doesn’t shout, push, or control. Power is quiet strength. It comes from truth, clarity, and alignment with something bigger than ego.
Force, on the other hand, is all about effort and domination. It’s reactive, short-lived, and eventually breaks down. If you’re trying to build a life or business that lasts, stop forcing things.
Start standing in your power. That’s where your real influence and peace come from.
Peace more than anger
My anger came from fear of not being good enough, failing, and never measuring up. That fear made me harsh, especially toward myself. Nobody was more critical of me than I was.
As with anything that holds us back, there’s a benefit. We can learn where the resistance is and shift around it. When you judge yourself harshly, you start judging everyone else similarly.
It’s like I was standing in front of a mirror, shouting at myself, then getting mad when the mirror shouted back. I kicked and punched a lot of walls.
There had to be a better way to live.
I discovered and practiced radical acceptance
It took years to understand what my dad was trying to tell me: Stop pushing so hard, stop trying to control everything, and, most importantly, be kinder to yourself.
Accepting all that is and learning to love what we despise is the path to unconditional love and gliding through life with minimal resistance. What a concept!
The solution wasn’t about working harder or being more successful. It was about learning radical acceptance. How? Just like everything else, daily practice is essential. Living a better life requires changing how we look at ourselves and the world around us.
We stop fighting reality
Radical acceptance means accepting things as they are, not as you wish. It’s not about giving up; it’s about realizing some things are out of your control.
And that’s okay. Something amazing happened when I finally started to accept myself, flaws and all. The anger started to fade. I began to feel peace where frustration used to be. I stopped chasing something better and appreciated what I had.
I discovered what serenity feels like: blissful. It’s Heaven on Earth, starkly contrasting the living hell I created in my mind.
Compassion and unconditional love
But acceptance wasn’t enough for me. Although it was the gateway to serenity, I had to learn compassion and unconditional love, which also requires daily practice.
For years, I’d been way too hard on myself. I’d say things to myself I’d never say to a friend. Things like, You’re not good enough or should be doing better.
Should isn’t part of my vocabulary today. No more arguing with reality. Go with the flow. Stop sweating the small stuff. Let go, let the Director run the show.
I had to start talking to myself like I would to someone I cared about, with kindness, patience, and understanding. When I finally did that, my world changed, too.
Over time, people seemed kinder. Life felt less like a struggle. Most importantly, I started to feel good about who I was, not just what I accomplished.
What my dad was trying to tell me
Looking back, I finally understand what my dad meant. His words weren’t about giving up or being lazy. They were about learning to be present, appreciating what I had, and letting go of the need to control everything.
We can learn to practice being instead of always doing. Being still and knowing who you are, why you are here, where you are from, and where you will go, nobody knows.
We can believe and trust a power greater than ourselves. That relieves a lot of pressure, and we can stop verbally and emotionally abusing ourselves and those we love and work with.
Look in the mirror, smile at yourself, and mean it. Talk nicely to yourself. Watch others do the same. As a daughter-in-law of ours wisely says, “Just be nice.”
I help hungry founders, thought leaders, and trusted advisors get “unstuck.” Build brand equity, simplify marketing, and accelerate sales. Get your free Brand Equity Playbook™ Quick-Start Guide at www.CliffordJones.com.