Did you really plan to reincarnate during a pandemic? According to Rob Schwartz of Your Souls Plan, “there were three times as many souls who wanted to incarnate in this time period as available bodies. Yes, that’s right, you made a one-in-three cut to be here now.”
I recently had a yoga student ask me about karma. She wanted my perspective on a conversation she had with someone that viewed karma in a negative context. She was upset because this person suggested that her recent health crisis was karma for something bad she did in the past. That good things happen to good people, while bad things happen to bad people. Basically, saying karma is when people get what they deserve. This is part of a popular misconception that karma’s purpose is to punish people for bad things.
Karma is a familiar term for most people but misunderstood. This law is based on the principle that everything is connected – past, present, and future. Many people use the phrase “What goes around comes back around”. However, in Sanskrit, the word karman literally means “action.” Karma is NOT a bitch…it is not a derogatory feminine label. Energy is energy and the karmic process is nothing more than energy. It applies to all deeds and their consequences but more specifically it holds us accountable for our intentions and actions.
According to Dr. Jennifer Rhodes, a licensed psychologist, karma is simply those situations or interactions that help us navigate our path toward our higher purpose. “The journey is not about being perfect, it’s about undoing what is not us and becoming who we really are,” she adds.
Back in 1983 the band Culture Club released a huge hit called Karma Chameleon. Singer frontman Boy George, known for his colorful and androgenous appearance, explained the song as “Basically, if you aren't true, if you don't act like you feel, then you get Karma-justice, that's nature's way of paying you back."
I believe that all of life’s questions can be answered by looking at Nature. Using the song title above, chameleons are known for their distinct range of colors and being able to shift into different hues. The smallest species a mere 0.6 inches long to the largest up to 30 inches. The many different species have adapted to a large variety of ecosystems. Similarly, our past lives are just as colorful, and we have adapted, and shape shifted into the person we are today.
Everything is energy, including your thoughts and emotions, which are energy in motion. Our thoughts and feelings construct our reality (and lifetimes). In fact, Dr. Bruce Lipton says Karma is “a primary principle of the most valid of all the sciences, quantum physics.” It’s the idea that our mental activity, our thoughts, that shape our life experiences. It’s a fact of science.
“Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it.”
~ Ernest Holmes
According to Buddhist beliefs, karma determines our cycle of rebirth (reincarnation). The chain reaction of cause and effect is an opportunity for learning and Soul growth.
Remember in last month’s enews, I mentioned Dolores Cannon’s explanation of the Central Sun burst, or the Big Bang. God/Goddess/Source said, “Learn everything you can my children and bring everything back to me.” Source is like a super-computer, and we are the data. There is no good or bad, it’s all just information, experiences, and learning.
The Bible references the day of judgment and states “The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,” (John 5:22). There is no God waiting to judge us, only love. As infinite divine sparks of Goodness/Source, I believe that our Christ Consciousness judges ourselves. And it’s not just a life review from your perspective, but from the perspective of every person and living creature you interacted with. You get to experience your actions and how your choices affected others. Then, if you have not learned from your experiences, you return to Earth to repeat the same lesson again, only slightly different. In other words, YOU choose your lessons. YOU choose your incarnation. YOU choose your family. YOU even choose your exit plan. Please don’t make the mistake of placing blame on anyone else for your karmic obligation.
We are affected by the energy WE produce. Energy doesn’t judge. It has nothing to do with rewarding or punishing. It’s the law of attraction – like attracts like. We are responsible for our own karma. While it’s based in duality, it’s not black and white, good or evil, or even an eye for an eye.
Let’s say you did something you (or society) would label “bad,” but you did it with the best intentions. How might that manifest? The outcome of your action is determined by your motivation. Did you act out of high vibrations like love and compassion? Or out of lower frequencies such as anger, envy, or greed? And, that result can show up in this life or the next. Maybe it’s not just your lesson; it’s possible you returned to help others with their lesson; or both since we tend to reincarnate in soul groups. We make a contract with those we’ve hurt, and we return in similar situations, or our roles are reversed to experience a different perspective and understand the other side, bringing both halves of duality into balance. Anyway, karma’s main purpose is to guide us on our highest Soul evolution. It’s a way to reunite our infinity spark back to God/Goddess, Source, or Unity Consciousness.
According to Ross Peterson (The new Edgar Cayce), there’s not just individual karma but also group karma, karma of cities, of peoples and nations. He says that under the Law of Grace, all is contentment. It’s how it is used determines whether there is truth or deceit. He encourages us to live under the Law of Love where there is no hate, envy, or desire for revenge. Each person is an extension of Christ Consciousness. Therefore, we all are one and the same force.
The 12 Laws of Karma
The Law of Karma wants us to stop making the same mistakes. Here is a roadmap to navigate the world. In doing so, you can change your life.
1. The Law of Cause & Effect – what you reap, you sow.
2. The Law of Creation – you are a co-creator, so create Goodness.
3. The Law of Humility – you must be humble enough to accept your reality is a result of your past actions.
4. The Law of Growth – begins with personal growth, not trying to control the people or environment around you. Be the change you want to see.
5. The Law of Responsibility – your reality is a result of your choices. Own it.
6. The Law of Connection – everything is connected, we are ONE YOUniverse.
7. The Law of Focus – focus on high vibrations and frequencies as in Dr. Hawkins’ Scale of Consciousness
8. The Law of Giving – if you want love, give love; if you want peace, be peace, etc. Be selfless.
9. The Law of Here & Now – depression is reliving the past, anxiety is worrying about the future; BREATHE now. Yoga roots you in your senses, it’s to be embodied.
10. The Law of Change – history will repeat itself until we stop the cycle.
11. The Law of Patience – be patient and persistent.
12. The Law of Inspiration - you have a special mission and unique purpose to offer; share your gifts. Contribute no matter what happens.
Tejal Patel, a meditation and mindfulness expert, says we can change the path of our life by the choices, thoughts, and deeds we choose right now. “Simply, everything you do creates either a positive or negative consequences,” she says.
Karma Yoga
Karma Yoga is the path of selfless action. You’ve probably heard the phrase “yoga off the mat.” Well, this is one of the four main branches of yoga that doesn’t require much of a physical challenge. The root word Kru translates as “work, deed or action.” Karma yoga is a conscious path through unselfish, kind, and generous actions. Sounds easy enough, right? This path, however, requires letting go of attachment to the results of our actions and surrendering the fruits of our labor/efforts. Your intentions and motivations must be pure with no expectation of receiving anything for yourself. It’s not easy letting go of ego’s need for reward and recognition. It’s where actions become spiritual offerings and blessings to the Divine. Karma yoga is said to purify the mind and cleanse the heart. (I’d love to hear how you are spreading your love and kindness out into the world!)
“How people treat you is their karma: how you react is yours”.
~ Wayne Dyer
Liberation & Ascension
In Buddhism, karma is the product of decisions made in this and previous lifetimes. By practicing wholesome actions, Buddhists say you can purify the mind which leads to liberation. And those who are liberated by this karma achieve Nirvana and do not generate any more karma. They have broken free of the wheel of Samsara and there is no need for rebirth in the human form.
This is why you reincarnated during a pandemic. To end the hamster-wheel of reincarnation. This is the ascension process we are all experiencing right now. It is telling us what we need to do to weather the shi(f)t as gently as possible. The light is revealing the Dark Night of the Soul, stirring up our shadows. Shadow work is the name of the game. This lifetime is about releasing karma, including ancestral karma and breaking free of our genetic baggage, emotional wounds, and old limiting patterns and belief systems (BS). We are working at the level of the Soul in order to align with higher frequencies and our Higher Self.
The outside will always reflect the inside. As within, so without. The future is often just an updated past. All those fears, wounds, and traumas are coming to the surface, to be integrated, healed, and transmuted. Astrologer Alethea Hunt says, “Let’s not squeeze our Third Eye shut through fear.” Ego keeps us making karma and keeps us stuck. As El Morya says, “It is in letting go that liberation is obtained.” And our greatest limitation is our ego. Be willing to face your own shadow shit.
The key is to evolve “from” the lessons, and time can teach us where/how we need to adapt and advance for this ascension process. There is a huge spiritual lesson for humanity occurring right now. But we must rise to the occasion and engage in wholesome work in order to embody these new frequencies. Using karma can be a powerful tool to be more mindful of your thoughts, actions, and deeds before you make decisions. The universe recognizes your sincerity if you demonstrate it. The only way out is within. Inner work is imperative. So, choose your karma wisely.
“Karma moves in two directions. If we act virtuously, the seed we plant will result in happiness. If we act non-virtuously, suffering results.”
– Sakyong Mipham