Dear Wealthy Soul,
All right, I admit it.
Recently I had begun wondering if I’ve got Bad Karma.
After a year of two shopping cart failures costing me thousands of dollars of lost revenues, 3 major computer breakdowns putting me months behind in my work, 3 hurricanes (lucky me has been in Florida) I took refuge from putting me additional weeks behind, a 3+ month inexplicable delay by my printer in the reprinting of my books (and this is one of the largest printers in North America used by almost every major book publishers), I’m beginning to think it may be true.
Maybe I do have Bad Karma.
And, after all, you yourself may be starting to wonder about me, too.
After all, haven’t I had to make repeated apologies about not yet getting all of you who have obtained The Wealthy Soul book series your bonuses of the last 18 of The 30 Gifts of Life?
So maybe, you believe I have Bad Karma, too!
And if I start thinking long enough along those lines, I begin to really think you – and the pessimistic "I" – may be right!
But then I start thinking about some other things – mainly all the blessings in my life:
* Living in a free country where there’s always
enough food and a heated home
(I’ve spent a lot oftime in countries where there’s not.)* I do work that I love.
* I know the great joy of helping people.
* I’ve been given a precious Vision of what I’m
supposed to be doing with my life.* Despite daily headaches with a technology I
never quite seem to master, I see I am moving step-
by-tiny-step toward my goals and toward the
unfolding of my Vision.* I have the love of very special people in my life.
* Though I’ve had an incredible number of failures,
setbacks, mistakes and delays, step by step,
I have the pleasure of looking back,
seeing the long road I’ve traveled,
seeing I have persevered,
and seeing myself slowly succeeding
despite everthing.
The list goes on . . . as does yours.
So, you tell me . . . do I have Bad Karma?
With all the obstacles I’ve come up against in this last year, I’ve done quite a lot of soul searching, particularly with my own One Minute Miracle technique (which I will be talking more about in the future).
And what I come up with every time is . . .
that I’m right where I’m supposed to be.
That my problems – though indeed incredibly frustrating – are only truly problems rather than challenges when I create resistance to them. And I do this when I don’t simply accept these challenges as stepping stones to where I’m going and instead begin thinking of myself as having Bad Karma.
So, do you still think I might have Bad Karma?
Do you think YOU might have Bad Karma, too?
Have you, like me, had a lot of doggy-doo you’ve had to deal with lately?
I’ve got an interesting theory I’m beginning to develop about Good and Bad Karma – and it’s come about because the more people I speak to, the more I see that WE ALL may have Bad Karma . . .
And here’s the theory:
That Bad Karma doesn’t come from the events that occur to us . . . but perhaps – are you ready for this? – it’s more a product of us thinking that these events mean we have "Bad Karma."
Wooh! Back up, there a second, Michael. Explain.
In other words, Bad Karma is more a result of our reaction to our supposed Bad Karma – our challenges – rather than the challenges themselves!
Thus, when we create Resistance to these challenges by thinking "What did I do to deserve this?" THAT’S the Bad Karma.
So, this begs the question, what is "Good Karma?"
Isn’t Good Karma simply our ability to flow with and be proactive to these challenges?
Yes, but maybe not entirely so. (Listen closely . . . this is BIG).
Maybe that is not enough.
Personally, I am – just as you may be – always proactive toward what I face . . . even though I may complain about it!
And please do not tell me not to complain! (occasional complaining is allowed. In my book it’s called being authentic!).
But there is a second essential thing that you and I really need to embrace besides being proactive to have Good Karma. And here it is:
To have Good Karma, we have to shift from Resistance to Appreciation.
Now, that does not mean I should be thankful for the challenge. And telling me to be thankful DOES NOT make me FEEL any better, thank you. (Especially when it may make me feel like THROTTLING YOU for telling me that! – the attitude which, only, of course, goes to make more Bad Karma. . . )
What I do find easy and very self-empowering to do is to acknowledge the fact that I have the persistence that people with truly "Bad Karma" do not have.
So, indeed, "Good Karma" by definition is simply . . .
"The self-empowering appreciation of your own persistence in the face of your personal challenges."
So now, you tell me:
Do you indeed have "Bad Karma?"
Do I?
Can it be that the true answer is simply a matter of how we answer the question?
Yours for the greatest wealth,
Michael
* In my next newsletter, I will share with you the
best technique I know for creating "Good Karma."
* GREAT NEWS!: If you have already received The
Gifts of Life 1-12 and have obtained the Wealthy
Soul book series ( http://snipurl.com/9i0o ), you
will be receiving Gift 13 of Humor just after Thanksgiving
weekend (appropriate, huh?)
These new Gifts are complete with
beautiful music and special effects.
One new exquisite Gift of Life will follow
each week for 18 weeks – the end product
of 3 years of work.I thank you for your
patience! Please continue emailing
me your wonderful comments on how these
new Gifts affect your life and make
you feel. I will soon publish a web
page with all your lovely comments.
Dear Michael,
I think I might have figured out
why I like your books so much!
They just seem to show up synchronistically
at the right time to illuminate what’s
really going on in my life,
and to point the way forward.
Thank you for pointing me in the direction of gratitude!
A long time fan….
Jim Van Wyck
Dear Michael,
I am just so glad you have a blog!
I have wanted a place where I could
read more and more of what you write.
It’s extra-good that you encourage us
to share our experiences with you,
and with the other people who read
your books and newsletters.
Thank you so much
HelenMarie
I TRY TO LOOK AT EVERY “PROBLEM” AS AN “OPPORTUNITY” TO LEARN, GROW, GET BETTER, ETC.
IT DOES WORK WHEN YOU DO IT.
I always lean to the major premise of Quantum Physics and its universal law of nature. All equations have an expected result. Therefore that result is a positive result as it is expected. That positive result is a good thing in reponse to our universal equations. God made everything good and our past experiences create our emotions of demise, merely an interpretation by ourselves. When in order with all things happening in this world it is really a good, expected result. I burn my emotional hangup and regroup to enjoy the break in routine and circumstances knowing that this too is a good thing. I know no bad karma as you know no bad karma. You are doing a greaqt hing for humanity and it will come to fruition in His time.
Hi Michael, I’m new to your writings and to this blog. I just got home from a discouraging morning to find your email on bad karma v. good karma. VERY TIMELY! It put a smile on my face and some much needed encouragement in my soul. I have a tendency to freak out about challenges in my life…fear I suppose of not surviving through them. Perspective is a much needed tool in pressing through and persisting to the point of reaching ones goals in life. Thanks again, and I look forward to getting those books I ordered soon! Encouragement was the way my perceived “bad” karma, turned into “good”!
Michael,
Your take on karma is encouraging but denies a reality – bad things happen to people who do bad things. This has been recognized for thousands of years. The Torah and the Talmud are replete with examples and admonitions about karmic acts as are the sacred Buddhist texts and the writings of wise people from most ages and religions. The Christian bible teaches that you reap what you sow.
Certainly, how we react to bad events is important to how we deal with them in the current monent, but the fact that those events occur in the first place is where karma manifests. Karma is cause and effect – past life (or lives) intentional acts effecting current events. Karma is not the result of how we think about those prior acts but of the intentional acts themselves. Homicide bombers, and those who motivate them, “think” that their acts are meritorious but do you really believe that just thinking so makes them so? I’d bet aginst it. I think there is some very bad karma created by such actions. Conversely, do you believe that the acts of a Mother Teresa generate anything but good karma?
Becoming aware of our prior acts and their impact on others leads us to a greater appreciation of what effect our current acts have on the world, the “others” in our immediate relationships and our God – whoever s/he may be. In the sense that we can affect our current behavior we can affect our future karma. That’s why Buddhists and other mystical traditions rely heavily on meditation practice and developing awareness.
This does not mean that random events which effect us are karmic. Hurricanes and earthquakes may have a karmic component that is related to the acts of many (and even that is doutful) but they are certainly not directed at anyone personally. In that sense, how one reacts to the results of such events is more important to that individual than the event itself. A bad reaction might create future bad karma and, conversely, a compassionate and non-self centered reaction might create future good karma.
I could go on for longer but let me end with this. “No good act goes Unpunished” is a political axiom that is countered by another – “What goes around comes around.” There’s something about karma in both of them.
You write books. it does not mean you control absolute thruth, same as a “pope” does not.
I just read the 9 Insights of the whealthy soul, and I like them very much.
For my humble opinion, karma does not exist. It is all in the imagination of the reacting person in front of obstacles or uncontrollable events.
If you accept the 9 insignts, as a way of transforming life, you will probably agree that the most difficult insight is to spiritually surrender, to be able to be patient with life
I have had my BIG share of badluck in my 70 years of life, but I really feel that the events were the consequences of decisions I have made, one after the other, to put myself into trouble for being “not patient” with my wishes and for following bad advice concerning possible gains that were not timely and kosher. Not Karma.
I have accepted the situation long ago, on certain aspects of my life, but always search for “the solution” for a better life.
I have not surrendered spiritually and I hope the book I just ordered will help have a better insight, with patience.
Thank you, and Better daily future to you, Mike.
As a Christian I do not believe in bad karma or good karma. I believe God has placed me in a circumstance to be taught something or to be used by Him for a purpose I may not recognize. But I know God uses His children for the glory of His Son Jesus, because of Calvary. Each situation must be bathed in prayer and obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We never know where God is leading and using us in His service. Sometimes the situation is to increase our faith in Him. Sometimes He is using us to reach others. That how we bring honor and glory to God. To be obedient and willing to serve and do His will and not our own. We must learn to die to self and live for God. Jesus was obedient and died for me on the Cross of Calvary. I must take up my cross dailey and die to self and live for Jesus to glorify Almighty God the Father. Be blessed … Brother Martin
Bad Karma for me is always when I let my thinking go its own way. And, I can always counteract it by saying something that may sound crazy. I simply say to myself,
“Devil, get away from me.” God always wants us to enjoy life and have contentment. He gave us control over our thinking, but we must use that control. Just think about what we sometimes allow to happen in our thinking and what we say to ourselves. Imagine this: “If you had a friend who talked to you like you sometimes talk to yourself, would you continue to hang around with that person?”
I believe as you Michael that life presents learning opportunities so we just keep on keeping on.
Michael, I have often wondered the origin of karma, it’s existance and what did i do so terribly wrong in the past to be continually bombarded by very hurtful things–is it my attitude? I tried to be a good loving person but lost family and health no matter what i chose—HOW DOES IT TURN AROUND? BROKEN ANKLES , CHEATING HUSBAND, CANCER, BLOOD CLODDING CONDITION–WHEN DOES IT STOP? I WAS SO POSITIVE TO CHANGE MY LIFE AROUND –AT 52 I AM STILL WAITING….IS IT MY IMPATIENCE?
Hi Michael,
Since I acquired your books, I have not written to you although I do enjoy reading your emails. Your books were enlightening and I enjoyed reading them. Re your email about bad Karma, I really don’t think that anyone has bad Karma and that goes for you too. However, I do believe that when things go wrong in our lives, it is for a reason. And when things do go bad, I try to find the good and lesson in it.
Hi Michael,
I ordered your Wealthy Soul a few days ago… Have to wait for them.
I read your email about Bad Karma vs. Good Karma and had to smile. Yes – I am such a person that “suffers” bad karma all her life – it started as a 1yr-old with hearingproblems and continuing middle-ear-inflammations (with lots of pain). Had learning problems, 11 big surgeries, problems with getting pregnant and several miscarriages. My son turned to be an authistic boy with lots of problems (its going better right now, he is 22)and 10 yrs ago I myself got ME/CFS and turned disabled for several years. I am a lot better now, but still not strong enough to work again. Financially we live in a complete mess and my husband is a chronic depressed person (authistic too).
In short: bad karma? Sometimes I think so, but every time I climbed out – started over. And still do. I “know” people get just as much as they can handle, so I am a very strong woman that can handle so much. And I’m a fighter, I will survive. I don’t like to see all this what happened as bad karma, but as challenges for growth, for developing strength and – my favorite – for trying to develop our abilities to help other people. I still want to help and I still do. In my own way.
Hi Michael: I read your email with interest and it made me smile. It made me think of all the times I have said, “why me, what have I done to deserve this?” Looking back, however, I realized that the things that have happened have taught me invaluable lessons about life and have made me a better person. Due to these bad/unhappy times I have learned patience, tolerance towards others and have come to firmly believe that nothing happens without a reason. If you can get through the difficult time, you will at some point look back and an understanding will come and you will say, “so that’s why!” I believe that if you do bad things and live in negativity, you create your own bad karma. If you live to the best of your abilities,have a positive attitude and show kindness and compassion towards your fellow creatures of all kinds, good karma will be there. We all make mistakes, we all have bad times/days, we all do things that we feel bad about, but if we learn from these things and do better – that is what counts. Take care and don’t be discouraged. Your “bad karma” gave us an opportunity to write to you today.
We all have challenges and it is how we act or react to them. If we first look to God and look for the answers He gives us the strength to cope with those challenges. It is through God where we get our strength.
As I look back at different times in my life and when those challenges were there and I looked to God for support He was always there. He gave me the strength to deal with those challenges. It was those times that I grew and became stronger. It was in those times that I shared with others that I was able to help someone else and we grow togheter.
“If God be for us who can be against us?”
Your books came at the right time and I am part way through the 9 Insights of the Wealthy Soul. What a blessing at the right time in my life!
Bad Karma who’s that?
never heard of him.
the dragon
The answer to your (rhetorical?) question – Do I have bad Karma?, Do you have bad Karma? Answer = YES
Bad can’t exist without good – Bad defines Good as Good defines Bad.
Everything that ever is was or will be must have the exact opposite of itself in order for itself to exist – it is all part of IS – this (in part) helps us to deine the indefineable, because everything that ever is was or will be is infinite in its scope – ever collapsing ever expanding with no end in sight always getting better yet can always be worse.
This is defining God in simplest terms – GOD = IS
The Beauty and Love of God rests in the truest freedom of choice (in particular choice as it relates how we view things), just as you suggest – it’s not what happens to us, moreover, it’s how we respond (our view – our choice) to those happenings that allow us to really determine our own Karma.
When things appear to going wrong, or life is imposing a series of difficult issues upon us – the answer to that is – Thank You – Thank You GOD for the opportunities and challenges you have provided me this day for without this difficulty I might not be so aware of how good things can be. One can’t exist without the other!
Your article on “bad karma” was very timely Michael. I have been wrestling with several work related issues lately and the inner turmoil was beginning to take a toll on me mentally and emotionally. It concers an issue that I am very passionate about but am feeling that my suggestions to address an issue are falling on deaf ears. I decided to seclude myself to my closet so that I would have no interruptions while I sat quietly, rested my mind and waited for an answer. And then it came…surrender. In this situation the “bad Karma” was the result of me responding at all. Sometimes we need to recognize that the best thing we can do is not respond at all and as my favorite verse from the bible says…be anxious for nothing but in everything through prayer and supplication let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding will guide your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
I’m impressed with the depth of thought and wisdom in some of the emails regarding Karma. I’m also saddened by the difficulties some of you have suffered.
I’ve given Karma a lot of thought over the years and I have to agree with Dragonfly who mentions the Talmud, the Torah and Buddhist and Christian writings. For every action there’s a re-action.
I’ve had many difficulties over the past 3 years and like many, I was asking myself why me? When I finally admitted to myself and to God that there’s someone I hurt deeply, my life started changing for the better again. I will be apologizing personally soon and put that past behind me.
Many blessings to all,
Linda
I hope when you mention “good kharma” you are open to God’s presence and the working of the Holy Spirit. When faced with these “challenges” I think knowing how little we can do on our own and how much we can do with God’s help is crucial.
I face the challenge of manic-depression. Through more than forty years of cycling up and down I’ve learned that I can’t pull myself up by my own bootstraps. One lesson that I’m still slowly learning is how weak I am by myself and how dependent I am on the Holy Spirit.
Viktor Frankel said that in the end we may have no control over our situation, but we do control how we respond to it. Even in the depths of a concentration camp as he found himself there were some who did not give in to despair and evil. I think that power comes not just from within, but also through reliance on God.
I have no control over my mood swings, but I DO have control over what I do about them.
I think without belief in God and his working in my life I couldn’t make sense of why I have this condition. It makes me sensitive to others with mental disorders and others considered “weak” in our society. I want to use my gifts of writing and cartooning and singing about my condition to help others realize they’re not alone and promote a greater understanding by the public.
It’s not an “Us vs. Them” situation. We are your sons and daughters, your brothers and sisters and husbands and wives, your co-workers and friends. We have something to offer society, a different perspective from outside the culture of winners and losers. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Peace and Love,
Pete Nelson (BipolarBear)
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
Psalm 34:19
God does not give anyone a problem free life.
However He does make provision for the ability to live in victory!
What you focus on grows. I focus on the positive. Yetserday is ashes, tomorrow is not guaranteed, life is too short to worry about bad “karma” Live a purpose driven life and the present will take of itself, therefore creating your well designed thought out future. Life is too short to worry about bad “Karma”
–Steven, Silver Spring MD
Easier said than done…There is a place of higher knowing where questions fade away….if my attitude improves so will the circumstance;they are intertwined…until I can arrive and stay on a higher plane,I’ll continue swearing at the */#!*// ignorant dinglebutts who make a right turn from the left lane with no signal!!… …Peace.Mike
You can take most any situation and make it positive. I get excited at wakes. That person in the casket is an example of how I want to live my life or he’s not. Either way, I get excited and learn from it.
It’s not what happens to you, but your reaction to what happens to you. I know people who are always saying, “poor me.” And I know other people with more challenges saying, “lucky me.” Go figure.
The only people who have bad karma are those who think they do. If you know about karma, you should also know that there is no such thing as bad karma.
Thank you for your writings Michael!
Well to put it succinctly, I dont believe in “Karma”. I do believe that every issue that comes into my life needs to be looked at throught the eyes of logic and Love. If you can balance those two then in my experience you’ll come out OK and I only say OK because it doesnt always work out in the best possible manner and thats OK!!
I think “karma” puts the issue of issues in “something” elses hand and takes away the power we all have to make changes or just accept the fact that things happen…
While my belief system tells me there is such a thing as bad karma, I’m more inclined to believe in planetary alignment or gremlins when things like that happen. I have recently had to replace a dishwasher, have my computer system rebuilt and now have a nail in my tire that I have to have fixed.
Meanwhile, my business is growing,I have found the love of my life, I have a new grandchild on the way and life is very, very good.
I look at all setbacks as a challenge, embrace it and look for the lesson. Perhaps someday I can share the lesson with someone else and make their load a little ligher.
Thanks for all you do. Meghan
Michael,
A lot of times I do feel like its “bad karma”, but, what I believe it really is, is a new experience presented to us, usually something we do not care for nor are we prepared for, to learn and grow in ways that we may not have ever thought to go. I believe these “unexpected bad happenings or “karma” are put forth for us to learn and build on for, sorry, other new experiences to be presented to us, Without the previous experience we would be totally lost and confused (not to say that doesn’t happen anyway) but more so. There is a reason for everything, but, we are not meant to know at that time what the lesson is for. If you pay attention in life, people, places, things, experiences may “click” from something you have already gone through and perhaps it is to teach you something, or, it may very well be that you were meant to help someone else. “It” is not always about self.
Hi Michael,
Last weekend was one of the most wonderful ones.
Saturday read you books from the Wealthy Soul and was really impressed with all the love that pours from you family and your words.
Regarding karma completed understand that is how we react to our challenges we can always learn with joy or with struggle the choice is ours that is free will.
Thank you for all your love and teachings
Hi Michael:
I started responding to you after the first paragraph – You do NOT have Bad Karma – All is as it should in life!
I believe you are a spiritual being having a human experience and since you are made by the Source – who is perfect, you are not a mistake and neither is your life and what occurs… one may not always know why but one can always be sure that its exactly as it should be!
You may not have sent the info in the time frame you had planned but when I get emails from you – its soooo timely that its perfect! So the timing is as it should, dictated by the Source of all good!
And after finishing to read the rest of your email… I can only say that my belief has changed greatly over the year in regards to the existence of Karma… in fact I truly believe that we are perfect beings living a human experience to learn to be on purpose and all that occurs, occurs to put me on purpose and its all good, great, necessary and exactly as it should – really beautiful – my attitude towards all that I experience is definitely how I influence many outcomes! You may want to call it good Karma, I call it being on purpose.
Lise
Great topic Michael!
Whether you were raised Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Doiast, or what-have you, there’s a fundamental belief in all spiritual walks of life – life’s challenges are put before us so that we can learn and grow from them.
I beleive, that the idea of bad or good karma is simply the view you take towards events in your life.
If you believe you’re a victim, you will feel victimized (bad karma) throughout your life — as if life is happening outside of your control.
However, if you accept that where you are in life (poor, rich, stressed out, bored, depressed, etc.) **is exactly where you should be**, you begin to feel the power in your life return. God DOES have a plan for you.
When you feel the power and beauty of life, of being on this Earth at this time in history to live your destiny, any “setback” simply becomes a minor stop on your path to greatness.
Cheers,
Kevin Mahoney
Dear Michael,
I’m not sure I believe in bad (or good) Karma, but I do think we’re given the exact experiences we need in order to learn the lessons we were put here to learn. And ultimately, to pass those lessons on to those we come in contact with during this lifetime.
Take me, for example; when I was 18 in 1991 and on top of the world, having just graduated from high school and feeling invincible as all teenagers do, my niece was diagnosed with cancer. She was 8. And she was the joy of my life! Her and I had a very special bond and the news hit me like a freight train.
Now, I know you went through a similar experience in your young life and understand the depth of what I was feeling. Boy, some days I just wanted to give in to those depressive thoughts I had. But, I knew for the sake of my niece – and my sister, who was her mother – that I had to be strong for both of them. I knew there was some reason, as all things have a reason, even if we can’t quite grasp what it is in the midst of the situation. So, I kept myself grounded.
At one point, just before the end – I had a realization and I just *knew* without a doubt that she would be gone later that day. And just hours before she passed away she came to and said to me “Annie, it’s ok. I know where we are.” And I know that she did. She knew exactly where we were. She knew exactly the lesson we all needed to learn, the reason we were all experiencing this situation.
Years later, as a mother and a wife myself, I’ve finally caught on. And I know that even though the experiences we have can make or break us, if we allow them to, they will, indeed make us stronger. There is a reason. A lesson.
And that is, to share LIFE with those around us. To help eacother. To love. To laugh and to smile. We must stop and see the beauty God created all around us. For beauty is in the wind, in the trees, the mountains and valleys. It is in the rainbow, the ocean. In a kiss. A hug.
And in every dream.
Take care,
Annie
When I think I can, I can. When I think I can’t, I can’t. It can be as simple as that. For instance, If I doubt I can be successful at achieving a goal, chances are I won’t. I have to believe with all my might that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Sometimes, it can be fear of success or fear of failure. Or both, In any event, thinking right thoughts produces right actions. Thinking bad thoughts, produces bad actions. What I have to do is constantly be aware of what I am doing so that I am not hurting anyone or causing any problems. I am here to help people, and to make this world a better place. Wouldn’t you agree?
After reading all the comments on Karma – good or bad it all boils down to one thing, “We are all exactly where we are supposed to be at this given point in time”. The only thing that is certain in life is “change”, and just when you get used to that change (or become complacent) you get more change.
The universe has a way to keep us on our toe’s. Love for one another is the driving force, if we as humans forget to love unconditionally. This is the nature of some of us, to get wraped up in ourselves. The universe has a way to bring us to our knees, some people learn to be grateful, other’s never do. Life is a mystery, if we knew the end of our story, would we read the book? I think not. In our society of instant gratification we often want the end of the story before we have had a chance to learn and grow (which is the story). What would we have learned then? Not very much, I think. Our great learning experiences are often associated with pain and hurt, that is unfortunate but, most do not learn from the “good times” it takes a force knocking us to our knees to make some pay attention. A lot of things that are necessary “life” things, such as death are
often misunderstood as a bad thing or bad karma, hey! it will happen to us all, no matter what good or bad we have been delt.
We need to “get over it”. So we can get on with the gratutide of being able to have a life such as ours here in a free country.
So many are not so blessed.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, minds like yours are special Michael, as you have the ability to make other people “think” which is at a premium now days.
Leo
A wiser head than mine , said it well , “thorns have roses”
Bad Karma…or just part of Living?? Everyone is subject to “nasty stuff” in one form or another….I really believe as I have been learning that how we percieve it ot think about it has a great impact on how we feel about those challenges we face….I’ve had my share and somehow I still manage to put a smile on my face and believe that it won’t always be like this…I’ve had good years and bad years….I could use a break….but each of these challenges has made me a stronger person….and more compassionate which is very important in this world…now more than ever…love each day and love yourself and others, even those that you want to scream at when they rub you the wrong way…because no one is perfect and we are all trying to figure this thing out called life!
Hm-m-m… true these.
The following quote came in an email about the same time as your question and reminds me to see “both side of the coin”. The more I practice this, the more I can experience an inner calm.
“Would you like something to challenge and strengthen your mental forces? At the next disappointing event, reflect, ‘This is also just as much a part of life as what I label a favorable event. As a whole person, I see both sides equally; I do not split events into good and bad. Being whole, I see the whole.’ Do this, even if you don’t understand it, for it contains a tremendous secret.” from Esoteric Mind Power, by Vernon Howard.
KARMA?? what is it.IT is a belief from Hinduism and Buddhism. Translated means. The force generated by a person’s actions to perpetuate transmigration and its ethical consequences to determine the nature of the persons next existence.
Now you tell what Karma is. The word itself takes your mind away from where it should be. We only have two choices to live or die, their is no next existence, there is now, and then there is nothing. Of the two choices live or die there is only one to make. ( if you wan’t the abundance of the Universe. You must first die, by that I mean Die to the Christ of the cross, so you also in Him we arose.
Jesus said “He that drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but he that drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst. He that believeth on Me, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” “I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.” “I am the Bread of life, he that cometh to Me shall never hunger and he that believeth on Me shall never thrist.”
Now what do these statements mean?
Hunger and Thrist. Don’t they really imply the same thing. What ever you deire, hope, need, and on and on. “He that believeth on me shall never hunger nor thrist.
You want happiness, abundance, Love, what ever it is, is your’s. When you believe.
Right here lies the answers to all of your questions, of how do we, I find ?????????.
it’s all right here in front of you, and this is really how simple it is.
It took me 40 plus years of looking for answers, because of churches / religion its been made to be harder then this. The SERMON on THE MOUNT read it. Read it as many times as you need. What it is saying is put me (Christ) above all else and believeth in me, and all can be your’s.
God Bless, and may all of you and your’s have the greatest in life. Thank you Harold
The best advice I ever received was also the simplest. It was to “Let it be”.
I didn’t get it from the Beatles song, either, although now I understand what their words meant. It was something I was told by a number of very wise people who were trying to help me through a terribly troubled time in my life.
It was a time when I was living in constant, horrific physical and emotional pain. I had been diagnosed with a rare, painful, incurable neurological illness, and I was suffering horribly. I could see no way that I could live with such severe and constant pain. What made it worse was that I believed I was losing everything I had to my disease. I could not-and still don’t-“work”. I went bankrupt. My so-called “friends” deserted me. Even my family didn’t want to be around me. I was like one screaming mass of pain and fear and I was literally tearing myself and all of my relationships apart trying to escape what was happening to me.
Then, all of a sudden, I heard what so many people were telling me…and I understood. It was not the pain that was driving me insane, nor the lonliness or the fear or the isolation I was in. It was my resistance to it all that was tearing me apart. My crazed, screaming, tortured attempts to escape my life were sending me into the depths of despair. I was like a rabbit in a trap, chewing off one foot and then the other in my desperation to get away. And just like the rabbit, I was the cause of much of my own pain.
Since then my life has still not been exactly pretty. It’s still been very hard, very painful, and I’ve had many set-backs in my attempts to grow as a person and realize my dreams. But once I took that first step towards enlightenment…once I stopped fighting and let myself experience the utter peace of giving it up to God, of trusting Him to lead me and protect me, I knew I was going to be OK.
Now, I still cry alot more than the average person, I suppose. My life is a lot harder than that of the “average” person. But it is so much easier than it was! I almost can’t remember what it felt like to be fighting so desperately for release.
I guess what this means in terms of “karma” is that I don’t really believe in it any more-not the way I used to, anyway. I did nothing to deserve the life I have, any more than the people I know who live what most would call a “charmed” life have done anything much to deserve what they have. I made some bad decisions-but people don’t generally develop a chronic illness because of one or two bad decisions. It’s fate-the luck of the draw, that’s all. Look at Indonesia, Thailand and Somalia. Were all those people “bad”-were the tsunami’s some massive karmic “pay-back” to 150,000 or more people? Ridiculous.
Life is what we make it. That’s all there is to it. If we continually fight againt what we have we are quite literally wasting our one and only guaranteed time on this earth.But if we accept it and move on in whatever direction God’s path leads us-letting Him do the worrying and following His lead, then we will have time to think and dream and wonder, and, eventually, to find and fulfill our purpose in the universe.
(BTW-I’m using the commonly used pronoun for “God” although I am not yet sure if it is appropriate. Although I believe in a higher power, I am not at all sure in what form, or even if it has a form. It is simply easiest to express myself this way.)
Someone said something in the beginning of these comments about God making everything good. I agree-everything is exactly as it should be, and that is good. It is only when people engage in the sin of pride, or hubris, thinking we know better than the glory that made us by labeling what is “good” as “evil”-even to ourselves- that we suffer.
I hope this makes sense to you all,because it makes perfect sense to me
Take good care,
Kathleen Clohessy
Very much needed during a time like this. Thank you for the perspective shift.