Karma

We are free to choose, however we are not free from the consequences of our choices.

This universal paradox none of us can escape.

KARMA in the Western world is too often confused with the concept of punishment. When in actuality it is simply the universal principle of cause and effect. Our actions, both wise and not so wise, come back to us in the future, helping us to learn from life’s lessons and become better people.

KARMA is basically energy. One person pushes out energy through thoughts, words and actions, and it comes back, in time, through other people. KARMA is a fair teacher, presenting people with multiple opportunities to finally face the consequences of their actions and thus improve and refine their behavior, or repeat the life lesson at a later date, if they do not.

At the centre of all religions is the idea of KARMA. Encouraging us to become better versions of ourselves as we learn the universal law that what we put out comes back to us; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics – in physical laws – every action is met by an equal or opposite one. It seems clear that KARMA is at the very heart of the universe.

If you are anything like me, I felt sure I had a shit life ahead of me for in the first three decades of my life. You see the bulk of the energy I put out into the world was negative. I was ruled by chronic trauma, addiction and pure fear. Fear of myself, fear of love and life itself. I felt sure I had large bank accounts of bad KARMA just waiting to knock me down anytime I tried anything good. I felt undeserving of love and abundance long term. Because relationships in my formative years had not been anything I could rely upon for safety, love, respect and joy. This is a truth for too many of us. Good newsflash though. We can change, thus the type of KARMA that boomerangs back to us changes too!

One of the most misunderstood notions in Eastern thought is that of KARMA. In the West, we often think about good KARMA and bad KARMA, which is where I became stuck. I thought it was all about if we do something good, good will come back to us; we do something bad, and bad will come back. But I have come to understand that it is not that black and white nor really even about what is good and bad. In fact, it seems when it comes to understanding how KARMA operates; nothing could be further from the truth. KARMA is about action, non-action, responsibility, accountability and consequence. As a teacher its lessons focus fully on total accountability, responsibility, and consequences for our choices, for we all have free will.

So then, how does this translate into our everyday lives, without being some kind of esoteric Zen-based philosophically confusing matrix? It translates into this simply yet not easy to digest truth …

There are no bad decisions. There are only consequences to all of our decisions.

Our will and the energy we fuel it with as we push out our energy into the world is the pivotal point of our KARMA. We are either fuelled with love, or fuelled with fear. Working out our KARMA means we accept then take full, adult responsibility for the choices that we make and being accountable to those choices because every choice has a consequence.

What intercepted my fear driven KARMA back in 1995 when I got clean and sober and started healing was love. I experienced what is often called a rock bottom or the gift of desperation when we drop to our knees and surrender. As we let go of our ego and become teachable, only then can love enter. Whenever love replaces fear it is called an act of grace. An act of grace can reverse our fear driven KARMA. It feels like a miracle, that’s because it is.

Grace disconnects our self fulfilling prophecies that only bad shit happens to people like us i.e. “As you reap, so will you sow” stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, the consequences of our actions, which in my life is a bloody godsend, because I had done a lot of angry, resentful stuff towards myself and others.

KARMA in its simplest form is a very just law which, like gravity, treats everyone the same. The law of KARMA puts us at the center of responsibility for everything we do and everything that is done to us. Understanding the way KARMA works, Hindus try to live a virtuous life. This is called dharma. They believe that just as God created gravity to bring order to the physical world, God created KARMA as a divine system of justice that is self-governing and infinitely fair. It automatically creates the appropriate future experience in response to the current action.

So as we review the wise philosophy behind this beautiful word KARMA lets also review the energy we push ourselves through the world with. What percentage of your communications is fear driven? Over 50%?

I had to do a major review in 1995 when I first dropped to my knees at the commencement of my clean and sober life in recovery. It felt like over 90% of my life was all about fear. I still drop to my knees several times a day to short circuit and also intercept any fear taking hold in my daily life. Whenever we feel anger, resentment or any negativity building the act of surrendering our ego short circuits our negative KARMA from building momentum. If we allow our fears, anger and resentments to snowball they will eventually hijack our ability to love, laugh and feel at peace.

So how Emotionally Fit are you at short-circuiting your fear?

For most of us it is a daily necessity we need to work on and weed out fear, anger and resentment so it doesn’t overtake the beauty in our lives. Confucius wisely reminds us …

“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”

Lotsa love Cynthia xxx