From the blog series, Unlocking Your Karmic Potential
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First off, let’s get clear on what Karma is all about.
The root Sanskrit word karma means “action.” Contrary to what many of us may assume (and hey, that’s not your fault, we’re inundated with messages like this all the time, right?), karma’s not something done to you, but rather something that is generated by you – and everyone else around you (you may want to write that down, or circle it with a highlighter – this is really important to remember! We’ll talk more about this when we explore co-creating later in the series).
Fate, Destiny and Karma
Just like breathing is an inherent function of being human, karma is an inherent function of the soul, and therefore the universe. It’s not a belief system or spiritual virtue; it just is. To be alive is to breathe, to be living is to experience karma.
I see a lot of people make the assumption that karma is fate, that these two qualities are interchangeable. This is also how we start thinking of luck, too: these are all just strange mystical forces that happen to us, and we have no ability to direct these forces in our lives.
Let’s be clear: Karma is not fate. Fate, by definition, is something that is not in your control. And karma is; in fact, it’s the opposite of some unseen mystical force messing with you, or ruining your game.
Karma is actually what provides the experience of free will for you, or really your ego. But from your soul’s perspective from where it sits there in Other Side — what some may think of as Heaven — they know how karma informs and shapes your experience of free will.
It just doesn’t feel that way from your ego’s perspective, because the ego doesn’t do well with what I call the Eagle Eye perspective.
Fate: The development of events beyond a person’s control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power. “Fate decided his course for him”: a power that is believed to control what happens in the future.
I talk with clients often about this, the Eagle Eye perspective – the eagle is high above in the sky and is able to see far and wide. The mouse or ant down there on the ground has a very limited perspective in comparison.
And the soul, much like the eagle, from its perspective on the Other Side (‘up there’), has a vast awareness and greater view than the ego does down in the trenches, here on Earth.
With such an expansive insight, the soul can see this greater perspective of how karma plays out in your life – not just the karma you are generating now, but also the karma that your soul has generated over many lifetimes, because this is a crucial influencing factor.
Like the mouse, your ego sees only what is right in front of it, potentially threatening it’s next meal or livelihood (as it should, this is it’s job, after all!)… and without the full view from on high, wants to attribute it to merely “fate,” as it doesn’t see the many threads of events, exchanges, actions and decisions that lead up to this very moment when a choice has to be made.
The ego says “let’s blame fate,” so that it in many ways can be off the hook; it doesn’t have to take responsibility for its actions – because karma, as we now know, is all about action.
The danger here with just blaming fate, is that the ego also then does not look for other possibilities or actions to take – to utilize free will in the face of karmic patterns, that may serve a better outcome. Instead of choosing a conscious response, a mindless reaction is chosen.
Karma also is about cause and effect. Which means it’s about consequences: and not just bad, but good ones, too – we must never lose sight of this. It has really wonderful qualities to it as well.
This is why I’m saying that karma, much like ego, gets a bad rap – we all have heard the saying karma’s gonna get you. But karma is also going to HELP you if you let it.
Because we often tend to forget this, we focus on what feels like the negative, ‘fateful’ or unlucky aspects of karma. How we choose to respond or react, the actions that we choose to take, is what further develops our karma, whether negative or positive.
I don’t know about you, but I’d like to make the positive kind, yes?
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How karma gets carried over from lifetime to lifetime
Much of what influences how you will respond to events in your life may be coming through from past karmic influence – generated during other lifetimes your soul has lived – but in this very moment how you choose to RESPOND to that karma that is ripening or that is being triggered, has everything to do with how you are creating additional karma right now for yourself – and your Soul.
That gives you a lot of control and is where free will is at play; you have many possible choices in every moment, with every action that you make. And this works both individually and collectively.
Because it’s an inherent aspect of the universe, the function of karma is nothing personal. If there’s anything you take away from this book, let me repeat that: karma is not personal. Remember, it’s just like breathing.
It is a function of being alive and in this way a force of nature. It becomes a personalized experience when we generate it, based on our actions (much like I can sit here and choose to change the pace or depth of my breath, thereby personalizing how I breath).
So that’s when we start to feel as if, Hey this is really getting personal! If the amount of ‘good or bad’ karma that happens in this lifetime is up to you, the amount that is influencing you is up to your soul. This is one reason it is so important to be deeply connected with your soul’s wisdom, so you can understand the patterns at play and work together.
You have karma coming through from wholly other lifetimes. While not personally due to the actions of the person you are today, this karmic balance sheet still influences and contributes to making up who you are in this current lifetime.
In this very moment, how you react or respond serves to help your soul learn a multitude of lessons. In this way you are helping not only yourself, but your soul. How amazing are you?!
Our reaction and responses in each lifetime generate events and experiences … and then based on how we take these in both mentally, and energetically, if they crystalize into belief systems they are held as karmic patterns where they get deposited, or held in our etheric body (think of this as your soul’s DNA) and carried into the next life.
It’s important to note that your ego, however, was born with a clean slate. There has never been, nor ever will again, be the You that is your ego in this lifetime.
Whenever you question your amazing, unique self: just look down at your hands, and note the intricate, delicate lines that create divine labyrinth across your hands. This is the map of your life, created by your soul.
No other hands in the world have ever had, nor ever will again, the same maps as yours.
Pretty amazing!
Next, in Chapter Two, we’ll explore how karma follows your through lifetimes – what happens when you die, and how important is love in this equation?
CLICK HERE to read Chapter Two now.
Reader Note: Unlocking Your Karmic Potential is series of articles I’ve created to help you navigate your journey here on Earth with greater soul-awareness. Think of it as a foundation from which to build a deeper understanding of the karmic lessons you are working through within this lifetime, the roles your spirit guides play, and why understanding things like energy, dreams, shadow work and chakras can make a profound difference in your life – a life lived with clarity, confidence and purpose.
