How do you live & learn from the Law of Karma?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 12:38PM I recently met a woman named Maureen. I sensed the subject of her public presentation would make a thought-provoking guest post. The author has no website, but shares her views freely because she encourages each person to find a way back to the soul.
The third spiritual law of success is the Law of Karma (both action and the consequence of the action). It is cause and effect simultaneously because every action generates a force of energy that returns to us in like kind. There is nothing unfamiliar about the Law of Karma. Most everyone has heard the expression, “What you sow is what you will reap.” Obviously, if we want to create happiness in our lives, we must learn to sow the seeds of happiness. Therefore, Karma applies the action of conscious choice-making.
You and I are essentially infinite choice-makers. In every moment of existence, we are in the field of all possibilities where we have access to an infinity of choices. Some of these choices are made consciously, while others are made unconsciously. But the best way to understand and maximise the use of karmic law is to become consciously aware of all the choices we make in every moment.
Whether you like it or not, everything that is happening at this moment is the result of choices you have made in the past. Unfortunately, a lot of us make choices unconsciously, and yet we don’ think they are choices...and yet, they are.
If I were to insult you, you would most likely make the choice of being offended. If I were to pay you a compliment, you would most likely make the choice of being pleased or flattered. But think about it: it’s still a choice.
I could offend you and I could insult you, and you could make the choice of not being offended. I could pay you a compliment and you could make the choice of not letting that flatter you either.
In other words, most of us...even though we are infinite choice-makers...have become bundles of conditioned reflexes that are constantly being triggered by people and circumstances into predictable outcomes of behaviour. These conditioned reflexes are like Pavlovian conditioning. Pavlov is famous for demonstrating that if you give a dog something to eat every time you ring a bell, soon the dog starts to salivate when you just ring the bell, because it has associated one stimulus with the other.
Most of us, as the result of conditioning, have repetitious and predictable responses to the stimuli in our environment. Our reactions seem to be automatically triggered by people and circumstances, and we forget that these are still choices we are making at every moment of our existence. We are simply making choices unconsciously. If you step back for a moment and witness the choices you are making as you make these choices, then in just this act of witnessing, you take the whole process from the unconscious realm into the conscious realm. This procedure of conscious choice-making and witnessing is very empowering.
When you make any choice, you can ask yourself two things:
1) What are the consequences of the choice I am making?
2) Will this choice I’m making now bring happiness to me and those around me?
There is only one choice, out of the infinity of choices available to you in every second, that will create happiness for you as well as those around you. And when you make that one choice, it will result in a form of behaviour that is called, ‘spontaneous right action.’ This is the right action at the right moment. You feel it. It’s the right response to every situation as it happens. It’s the action that nourishes you and everyone else who is influenced by that action.
The universe has a mechanism to help you make spontaneously correct choices. This mechanism has to do with sensations in your body. Your body experiences comfort and discomfort. At the moment you consciously make a choice, pay attention to your body. If your body sends a message of comfort, that’s the right choice. If your body sends a message of discomfort, then its not the appropriate choice.
You must become consciously aware that your future is generated by the choices you are making every moment of your life. If you do this on a regular basis, then you are making full use of the Law of Karma.
Reader Comments (4)
Though we have four types of karma that I am aware of, there are certain things more in our control than others.
Karma is a Sanskrit word springing from the root “Kri” - “to do” or “to make” or more simply, “action.”
I believe that you are speaking of Kriyamana Karma which is daily karma created in this lifetime because of our free actions. I often wonder why people don't seem to pay heed to karma at all. They seem to intentionally harm others, themselves and generally make a mess out of their lives and loves.
It all comes down to being aware of choices. We should all stop and listen to our Soul before we make any choice. If we are aligned with our spirit and our destiny, then we are more likely to make the right choice.