By Bethany Theulen

I remember learning about perpetual transmutation back in elementary school science class—though honestly, I don't recall it ever being called that. What I do remember is being fascinated by the idea that Earth’s atmosphere doesn’t create moisture. All the water and precipitation already exist within our atmosphere; it’s just the form that’s constantly changing.

It wasn’t until I was introduced to Rare Faith that I realized how empowering this idea really is: that the form of my outer circumstances is directly tied to my thoughts. Everything I experience is perpetually moving into and out of form according to what’s happening in my mind.

While this is an empowering truth, it has also been the source of a fair amount of self-shaming when my life seemed to be falling apart. I felt this especially deeply when I stumbled upon a Facebook memory of a gratitude post I had written a year earlier. Here’s what it said:

"Today I am grateful for our warm, spacious, and comfortable home. After 3 months of living here, there are still times I look around and wonder if I am just living in a dream. There are still fears attached to all that we have received that it will be taken away….."

Did you catch that? I was writing a sincere gratitude post—but I was still living with an undercurrent of fear that it could all be taken from me. And eventually, it was. What I feared most came to pass: I became homeless, and my family was split up, staying with generous families who opened their homes to us while I tried to get back on my feet.

It was the most humbling, terrifying, and discouraging time of my life.

When I read that Facebook memory, I fell into a deep depression. I realized, painfully, that my own thoughts had played a role in shaping those circumstances. It certainly didn’t feel empowering in that moment. It felt humiliating. For days—and then weeks—I quietly shamed myself inside my own mind.

During that time, I withdrew into deep contemplation. I spent hours each day studying the Laws of Thought, reflecting on my personal faith, searching the Word of God, and leaning heavily on the Atonement of my Savior. I knew self-shaming wasn’t helpful, but those feelings lingered despite everything I knew. I found myself profoundly grateful for my understanding of grace, knowing it was only through Christ’s grace that I could be rescued from the dark spiral of my own thoughts.

One afternoon, while journaling, a small sense of self-empowerment returned. I revisited the Law of Perpetual Transmutation and realized just how powerful my thoughts truly are—not because overwhelming fear had taken over my life, but because small fears, tucked inside my faith-driven actions, had made room for it.

Big faith. Small fears.

I pulled out Leslie’s definition of the Law of Perpetual Transmutation from Hidden Treasures, where she states: “circumstances and things are perpetually coming or going according to [my] thoughts.” Perpetually. Always.

My thoughts turned to Christ’s teachings on faith. He taught that if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed... nothing shall be impossible unto you (Matthew 17:20, KJV). A mustard seed—so tiny, so easily swept away by the wind.

I thought of Peter, stepping out onto the water to meet Jesus, only to become distracted by the storm raging around him. Peter—an Apostle—began to sink because of his fear and doubts. Yet Jesus’s rescue was immediate:

“And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:31, KJV)

Immediate. Perpetual. Always. Circumstances coming and going. Faith. Fear. Doubts. Thoughts.

The shift in our circumstances can be immediate. We saw it in Peter’s story. We see it in nature too. I remembered a science experiment we did with my four-year-old during a bitter cold front. The outdoor temperature was more than 20 degrees below zero. We boiled water, then took the pot outside and threw the water into the air. It transformed instantly into vapor and disappeared before it even hit the ground.

Change—immediate.

As I continued to journal, the feeling of self-empowerment grew stronger. In response to the Facebook memory that had once crushed me, I wrote:

"Only a tiny bit of doubt contained enough power to have left me in the place I feared the most, homeless and my family separated. All it takes is that same tiny bit of belief to bring all I desire back."

_________________

•   To discover how to start choosing more effectively now, read The Jackrabbit Factor (FREE!)  
•   If you want more step-by-step guidance on creating the life you really want, join me in the Mindset Mastery program.
•   If you want my help overcoming that giant obstacle right in front of you, learn more and sign up for Genius Bootcamp.