KARMA #1

“Know not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for you.” John Donne

The rules of karma need to be viewed with the back drop of four main factors.

The sensory body and its temptations, combined with the challenges of ego, monkey mind and shadow (evil inclination.) We are here to fully enjoy the senses but responsibly. Being in a sensory body is a gift which we lose when we leave for the 'elsewhere.'

Most are unaware of the wiles of our “Evil Inclination” who is a master of disguises, all appealing to our lesser self. His job is to make the rigors of spiritual growth seem wearisome, dull and drearily repetitive rather than exciting, adventuresome and cherishingly ritualistic.

Everyone will ultimately achieve the spiritual perfection for which we are created, and this may take many lifetimes because of free will. 

Free will. We are fully entitled to do whatever we want. Many believe we come around only once and so why not make the most of it - live for today for tomorrow we die. We may think that we negotiate our desires responsibly but still be karmically liable because we have no awareness of the laws of karma and spirit. Or we may be irresponsible and take a wrecking ball to our karmic profile not realizing there are consequences. God's love is not a test and God is not a test of love. Karma is built as a default into the soul and karma is the test. God does not micromanage. S/He knows our weaknesses and is alway hoping for our redemption. Free will is always a choice which can be an onerous responsibility.

Impermanence. Every thing is in the process of decay and anhow we cannot take our stuff with us into the afterlife. The only things we take are our experiences and our karma. The one who dies with the most toys does not win, s/he loses. Attachments impede not only our crossing the veil between worlds when we die but are an issue when we face a spiritual tribunal and our actions and attachments are taken into account.

" A net is set out for the living, everything is given on loan and all is preparation for a great celebration." Rev Akiva

The net that tests our free will is that of being tied to a sensory body in the face of the hypnosis of materialism and all the other enticing and sometimes toxic temptations. Samsara is the ongoing cycle of death and rebirth, where we come back again and again in an attempt to purify the soul. We have had countless bodily containers, always given on loan. If we play our karmic cards correctly there will be a celebration. However, the cards are stacked against us for many reasons. Steve Jobs said it in a nut shell - Apple is not here to give the public what it needs but to tell it what it wants. Planned obsolescence is back, as is 'fast fashion' with a vengeance playing on our 'desirous attachments' and hampering our spiritual progress. There is nothing wrong with having things but there is, when they have us. Its the want that is the enemy and not the need.

Attend to you needs and not your wants.

The play of light and dark outside of us.

"Shit happens!" Bumper sticker wisdom

The sages teach that without the sacred there is no mundane and without the mundane there is no sacred. They are different sides of the same reality. They are unique but not separate from the whole.

We are meant to coexist with but not assimilate the dark. The only way to overcome evil is with good.

 

The light and the dark each exist. We may choose to go towards either and will always be pursued or lured by the other.
The ambushes, the side paths, the pot holes are all clearly marked and may be guarded against if you choose to read the map, scope the terrain, plot the journey.
The contest is fiercest when the stakes are high and so we may expect to be challenged, tempted and dissuaded in any and all manner of our weaknesses – be they physical, mental or emotional – all of which are attributes of the spirit.

 

The good news is that shadow, monkey mind, and ego are necessary for our growth and survival. We are not here to get rid of them but subordinate them to our higher consciousness.

 

“He who has no Evil Inclination at all cannot give perfect service. What counts is to restrain the blaze in the hours of desire and let it flow into the hours of prayer and service.”  The Talmud

Its not what happens to us that counts but what we do with it. We can accommodate, enjoy for the moment or resign ourselves to what comes our way or rise above it.

With right understanding and action, we can create the conditions for transgressions to become merits.

Everyone is capable of redemption, even those with the bad prognosis of soul loss. The Talmud teaches that someone who has sinned in the worst way but then repents or “returns" to his or her Higher Self gains tremendous karmic merit in the spirit world. Jesus' parable of the prodigal son or daughter returning to the Father/Mother.

 

“… This person stands higher in heaven than a righteous one. Their degree is above the degree of those who have never sinned because it is more difficult for them to subdue their passions than for the others.”

 

Everyone can be redeemed . For those that have reached rock bottom but manage to emerge like a Phoenix out of the ashes, their efforts are particularly worthy. They will be looked on favorably from above and will often be more powerful spiritually - if they choose to be - than those who may have had lesser challenges. This crisis and soul sickness once overcome has the potential to be a powerful Hero's journey where after a dark night of the soul, one comes back with the grail or gift to give back to others, often to those suffering under similar circumstances.

“May the hero awaken from forgetfulness and transcend all anxiety and sorrow.”  The Upanishads

What you touch touches you. What you let touch enhances or diminishes. Be careful of what you touch and where you immerse.

And as for your power, what are you doing in the wrong circle?

The Five Chapters (Portia Nelson, with poetic license)

1. I am walking down a path and fall into a hole. I have no idea how to get out. Its dark, I cannot see, I am afraid. Eventually after many hours of struggle I emerge from the hole.

2. I am walking down the path, again I don't see the hole. I fall in. This time it is still a struggle but it takes less time to get out.

3. I am walking down the path, I see the hole but not in time. I fall in but this time its easy to get out.

4. I am walking down the path. I see the hole and walk around it.

5. I take another path.