Dear Wealthy Soul,
In my newsletter 2 weekends ago, "Do You Have Bad Karma?," I
talked about the difference between people who have Good
Karma and those who have Bad Karma. (If you sometimes feel
you may have Bad Karma, you don’t want to miss reading this
at:
http://snipurl.com/b0e5.
and my responses to your responses at:
http://wealthysoul.typepad.com/wealthysoul
Few among us don’t occasionally go through bouts of
wondering if we have Bad Karma.
I actually began writing the "Do You Have Bad Karma?"
newsletter about 2 months ago after almost missing making it
for my Christmas season book promotions, which began in mid
September.
I was at a point of incredible frustration after:
1) My shopping cart of last year caused me thousands
of dollars of losses because of glitches in the
system (one of the most popular shopping carts on
the internet, mind you).
2) My new shopping cart – which was supposed to be
up and ready for functioning in early June as
contracted with the programmer I hired last March –
still wasn’t ready the week my promotions began.
3) My latest reprinting of books, which were also
supposed to arrive in June, still hadn’t arrived the
day my promotions began in September due to an
unheard-of three-in-a-row mis-printings of one of
the covers.
4) Two computers simultaneously doing the computer
thing, and crashing on me during the summer. This
wouldn’t have been so disastrous had the external
hard drive I had done my most recent back-up on
hadn’t chosen to make a perfect trio with its two
computer cousins. This put me about 4-5 additional
weeks behind in work.
5) The week before my promotions started, the
company who I had contracted with (also in that
magical month of June) to do fulfillment of orders
for me called me up to tell me that due to internal
problems, they couldn’t handle any new clients.
What this all meant was that:
a) I had no books to sell.
b) I had no shopping cart to sell them on if I had
had them
c) I had no way to fulfill the orders if I indeed
had the books and had the means for selling them!
And this all occurred the week my promotions were beginning
in September!
(Oh, did I fail to mention not having any electricity or
running water for 6 days after the first of 3
hurricanes hit where I’ve been staying in Florida?)
Now you have to know, I am a person who in business can only
be described as "a planner." I like everything ready and
tested and functioning months in advance of anything major.
And I’ve been very successful most of my life because of
this quality.
My philosophy is that there are enough things that happen in
business and in life where you need to be spontaneous, that
you are best off having a firm foundation beneath you to
springboard from.
So I thought I was in pretty good shape when last January I
decided to forego creating any of the audio series I had
planned, and to take the first half of the year to firm up
my business foundation. I felt this was necessary given the
ever-changing landscape of the internet, as well as the
wondrous but so far quite unperfected technology of it.
(Thus the reason those of us who make a good part our living
through the internet affectionately refer to it as "The
Wild, Wild Web").
So, indeed, reaching that point in September where
everything that could go wrong did (and a number of other
things I haven’t mentioned here), I was really pondering
this question:
"Do I just have bad karma, or something?"
And, I’m sure you have occasionally asked
yourself the same question with all you sometimes are faced.
Well, it really is kind of funny that the week I finally
sent you that newsletter (two weekends ago) happened to be
the most phenomenal week of book sales I have ever had!
Had I been selling my books through Amazon.com or
BarnesandNoble.com as opposed to on my own website, I would
have hit the bestseller list easily, and very likely been in
the Number One spot.
Besides the extraordinary response, the wonderful thing was
that other than my telephone lines being swamped, everything
worked with barely a hitch! This is something to be amazed
at on the internet.
So, do I have Bad Karma?
Or, perhaps, did I just have Bad Karma for the ten months
prior to September?
And are you really having Bad Karma with whatever you
yourself might be going through?
Now, I know there are many worse problems in the world than
a few temporary business-related ones. Several of you posted
beautiful responses on my web blog
( http://wealthysoul.typepad.com/wealthysoul ) sharing just
how difficult things can really get, and just how resilient
the human spirit can be.
I myself grew up with a sister who was slowly dying for 6
years of my childhood.
Was that bad Karma?
In addition to that, I’ve spent 7 more years of my 45 years
as an in-home caregiver for an ill or dying loved one.
Is that bad Karma, too?
Or is it that . . . the transformation of seemingly Bad
Karma into life’s greatest gifts and wealth the insight
people who truly have good Good Karma secretly share?
What do you think?
A big hug to you! (For instant Good Karma, pass it
on!)
Yours for the greatest wealth,
Michael
** Share and publish your response with thousands of people around the world in the response form at the bottom of this page.
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responding on this blog allows you to help someone
else out there who very likely needs to hear exactly
what you have to say.
I really have no idea about the “final truth” or the shape of reality. But, my personal experience has always hinted at some kind of balance between my actions, intentions, and thought processes…. and what the universe dished out to me.
There has been an immense enjoyment to see all these posts here, with all the different points of view.
I really hope all of you who posted here come back and write again, I know I will.
Michael… thanks for starting out a conversation about this fascinating set of ideas.
I have a dear friend who is an orthodox Jewish Rabbi. He has, on occasion, said to me…. “Jim, G_d is not cruel, but HE is subtle.”
I think that’s a very interesting way to think about Karma.
Jim
In my youth, I would have thought being confined to a wheelchair for 14 years was as bad as I could imagine. Last Feb when I put my back out and dealt with constant pain for months on end, I realized that the previous 13 years had been fairly comfortable, compared to where I now was. But, and I’ve heard similar stories from others, the pain led me to finally surrender and give up trying to be in control of my life, instead now I follow the Creator’s lead, which really takes all the worries out of life. I have come to love my wierd life. Friends have lamented,”Why you?” I say, “I’m in The University of Life and I’m going for a PHD this time around”, doing all the stuff that is hardest for me. If it’s bad karma I’m dealing with, I know it’s going to be a lot better karma ahead!
Connie
read your newsletter and am posting rather than emailing per your request. good or bad karma? in terms of karma, you and your parents ‘owed’ a karmic debt to your sister and a similar debt was owed to your father. how you responded, from your heart, was up to you. i did read your book, so I know how you responded. you have created positive karma for yourself with your response and efforts to bring something positive to people. if life, the universe…god?…continues to give us a chance to repay a karmic debt, is it a bad thing? seems to be a matter of perspective whether something is good or bad, of course. nothing new there.
many things can be explained in terms of other areas of knowledge, if done properly. for example, astrology…i’m not an astrologer by the way, universal energies can affect non-animate processes such as machines..technology..business processes in a person’s particular chart. so it’s entirely possible that your business problems and delays, things that went ‘seemingly’ wrong, were things affected by where your particular energy existed this past year. it’s nothing good or bad, but the most important thing is whether you responded in a positive or negative manner.
Dear Michael, I’m glad your business trials and frustrations (the seemingly bad) meandered into success (the seemingly good).But enough about you! Let’s talk about me me me for awhile!… … It all began in the womb…it was very dark as I recall…fast forward…I’m 62,an ‘ol hippie, many mistakes,…gratitude for God’s Love overrides most of any regrets. Topping my gratitude list is my (so called)near death experience. Our bodies ain’t forever…but…we are. Few things I know…but this knowing is my greatest blessing… …Most things I don’t know… some things I believe…like reincarnation…like karma is not “the boogey man”…yin yang there’s good karma too…I’ll try not to cash in good karma as if it’s a get out of jail free card… … Closing thoughts [thank God;I thought I’d never finish!]:…did Jesus have bad karma ?…He sure went through rough times. Mother Theresa must’ve done some awfull stuff to get stuck with all them there low life….Ghandi?…and don’t forget whatsisname who was kind back in 19?? We can take on the bad karma of others for Love of God…and I probably would;If it weren’t for those !/#**!// dinglebutts who make illegal turns while playing loud,lousy music.. … PEACE…Mike
Hi Michael: As I had said previously, when bad things happen there is always a reason. The only thing is, that at the time we are going through so much pain/anxiety/frustration/anger or whatever, we can not always think positively. Later on, when things fall into place, we can see why. Had everything worked out as planned for you, you would surely have had great results, but look at what happened! Yes, it was a lot for you to go through, but WOW, what a reward – and I am sure that you have learned many lessons, are thankful for many things and have grown because of your trials. The realization of these gifts of growth and knowledge will carry you through for many years to come (I hope) until the next challenge presents itself. I know that for me, this is how it works. I must admit, though, I sometimes also ask, “Did my learning process have to be quite this challenging!!”. Nothing is ever wasted if we learn from it and turn it into something good and positive. I enjoyed reading all the responses and my heart went out to many of the brave souls that wrote in. I send blessings to all of you and to you, Michael and hope that this upcoming festive season will be special for all. Love and Peace, Ilona
Hello Michael,
We spoke almost one year ago on the phone regarding your Wealthy Soul series which I purchased not only for myself but for all of my children. A wonderful investment! At the time we spoke I was bemoaning my situation. I had had a terrible fall which left me with nerve damage, torn meniscus, cronic pain and in a wheelchair at the age of 45. Bad Karma? There were times when I truley felt, as well as my husband, that we had bad karma. We are still stuggling to say the least, especially financially and at times we are very “Concerned”! This is a word I choose instead of “afraid or fearful”! I believe what you put out there comes back ten fold including but not limited to Words. This event (fall) in our lives has changed things around immensely. We have railed against the fates, tried to figure out what we have done wrong to deserve this and yes gone down the Bad Karma Road, must have been a huge debt?!?! But I have to tell you that the changes that have come about and continue to come about due to this event are amazing. There is no way we would be where we are or having the things happen that are happening if it were not for this event. I believe sometimes we think that the path we are on is the right one or we are too “concerned” about the unknown to make the necessary changes in our lives so here come events, bad karma and any other name you can think to call “it”. “It” comes along and makes us change course so that we have the experiences we need to grow and change as well as the affect that it has on others around us. Wether it is loss, accidents, or mishaps they all happen for a reason, sometimes it is for us, sometimes for others and most times for both.
I read a beautiful plaque the other day regarding the loss of a loved one, it stated, “The loss of a loved one means there is an Angel you Know!” Now that is turning it around!!
Take off the Bad and just leave it at Karma, in the end it really is all good!!
Melody
It feels rotten when things don’t turn out well and life seems to be serving you more misses than bulls-eye. Maybe especially worse for those of us with perfectionistic tendencies, or when we see how well things seemingly go for others but not ourselves.
So though this time I did not even have time to scan through the newsletter, it was encouraging on a Monday work morning to read again Michael’s sharing of his consecutive tough spots, and realise that even with these, it’s not reason enough to throw in the towel or say “I give up”. *Let’s press on!* I pray for God’s presence and blessing to be with you all!:-)
When things don’t go as planned, we tend to think something bad is happening. In fact, when anything does not go as we prefer, we usually think something bad is happening. Isn’t this so?
For instance, when the car breaks down, or we get laid off or fired, or someone leaves us, or we get sick, etc., etc., etc., the usual response is to feel bad because we think something bad is happening.
But I (have come to) believe that everything that occurs is somehow good. I believe the Universe is ALWAYS on our side, doing everything to make our lives better. But in order for the Universe to do this most effectively, we have to be willing to ‘go along’ and the way we do this is by monitoring our feelings and whenever we feel anything less than we want, to do our best to get ourselves into some better mood.
We need to understand that situations, events or conditions do not determine our emotional condition. Although we have little control of how we may initially respond to events, we can have great control over how we modify that response and get ourselves into better moods. Certainly, this is a skill, and comes better with practice, but it is available to practically anyone.
Shakespeare has written, “Nothing is good or bad but that thinking makes it so.”
There is a long story going around that helps illustrate this. A part of it goes: There was a man in ancient China who had a son, and the son loved horses, and so the father got his son a horse. But the son fell from the horse and the father was sad and went to a local wise men, grieving that he bought his son a horse and that caused his son to fall and break his leg, and now he felt badly about it. But the wise man simply asked, “Is it bad?”
At the time there was a war going on, and men came to the village of the man and his son, but since his son had a broken leg he was not taken off to war. At this, the man went back to the wise man and said something to the effect, “You were right. My son breaking his leg was a blessing in disguise.” But at this, the wise man only said, “Oh?”
You tell of so many things apparently going wrong with your computer and such, but then you say you later had the most remarkable sales. Maybe the great sales would not have happened had things simply gone as planned without a hitch. So, who’s to say what is good or bad?
I have had many such kinds of strings of events, where what seemed unwanted allowed something else preferred to happen. For example, we wanted to get our son a car, but didn’t have the money. At first I felt bad about this, but then, on recalling this philosophy I decided to believe that ‘all is well’ and everything is working out. I purposely got myself back into a good mood about it (as I have been taught to do). As it happened, someone we don’t know, someone who is not related, but simply one of my son’s friend’s relatives GAVE my son a car. AND,.. before giving it to him, they paid over $500 to make repairs, so that the car was in good condition.
Well, that certainly seems an easier solution to our ‘problem’, and I am fairly grateful for it. But I also understand, everything has two sides, so I tend to take even this kind of remarkable good fortune in stride.
Dustin Hoffman has a story where, early in his acting career, after years of typical struggling for an actor, he landed what seemed to be a dream-come-true job, acting a lead role in a fully financed Broadway play. But two weeks into rehearsals, an accident happened on the set that injured Dustin, enough so that he had to be taken out of the play.
As it turned out, the director for the movie ‘The Graduate’ had had his eye on Dustin for the part, but thought he was committed to the Broadway play. When he got wind of Dustin’s accident, he had Dustin audition for and get the lead part in this movie. And this movie was the one that launched Dustin’s successful movie career.
So, who’s to say what is Bad Karma?
I believe, the best approach is to assume that EVERYTHING that occurs is good somehow, and this allows it to evolve accordingly, most easily. Whereas, judging an experience or event as bad seems to create a string of occurrences that seem to verify our negative judgment.
This reminds me of a saying, “Would you rather be right, or be happy?”
Oprah says, “Everything happens for a reason, even if we can’t see it at the time.”
I’m fairly sure she means that everything happens for a good reason, and I agree with her (although they often don’t appear good at all).
When we make negative judgments, we tend to get very self-righteous about them, as if we are God somehow, and know that such things are as we judge them to be. To me, this is common but arrogant.
Phil
No you do not have bad karma, you had lessons to learn and some challenges that I hope you turned into opportunities. Were you getting messages that you were to pre-occupied with to listen to? Richard
After half a lifetime of way more than average challenges, and intensive research into philosophy and Universal Law, I’ve decided I don’t believe in bad karma, except in very specific circumstances. But in general, we get what we pay for in life.
I believe that what you focus on increases, and when you focus on your fears or what can go wrong, that’s what is manifested into your experience through Universal Law. One thing I have learned is when you think about what you want, the Universe allows you to want it. If you think about what you HAVE (even if you don’t – yet), the Universe will allow you to have it.
The other interesting thing I’ve just recently discovered is that Universal Law can’t hear negatives. If you focus on something NOT happening, that thing WILL happen, because the Universe doesn’t do negatives: don’t, no, none, never. There are more, but knowing about that no-negatives rule has been a biggie for me.
We’ve all made a commitment to what this life would be about for us before we even entered it. We chose our parents, our body, our path in life in order to fulfill that commitment. Some of us have a very easy path, and others walk through hell every day, but we all get out of it what we’ve put into it, and we all must fulfil our commitments.
I do believe we can consciously choose, at any moment, to improve the way in which we fulfill whatever we committed to learning in this life through action, thought and belief, and that we can walk a less rocky path than the one that Universal Law may have thrown us onto to start with. By working toward understanding why we’re here, we can find better and more productive roads to that fulfillment. And, by moving toward our inner direction, we can do and be more in this life than if we just wait for life to take us where it will.
I think part of the key, for me at least, was releasing attachment to outcome, releasing my attachment to perfectionism – (no one can live up to that, so it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy), releasing fear and any need to control things, and just relax into the journey. My personal path now is much more peaceful and productive, and I don’t waste so much time and energy railing against my lot in life. I look at my path in life with the perspective of Aikido: I feel where the energy is taking me, merge with it in the flow, then exert the tiniest pressure at certain moments to make it flow along the path I have chosen. And now I am a happy, balanced person committed to growth instead of a victim.
Hello Everyone,
I really do think I have bad Karma. I have nothing good to talk about. I am not exagerating when I say I have no friends. I am very ill and take a lot of medicine so although I have a decent job my money goes to medicine. My children 24,17, and 15 are pretty much all a mess. As a single mother I did the best I could. But I am trying to turn my life around now and I bought the Wealthy Soul books hoping to begin to heal myself. I think I have been sad my whole life because I was abused as a child and who wants to be around someone that is sad all the time. So that is my Christmas gift to myself this year to work on healing my broken soul.
It seems that everything that could go wrong has gone wrong beginning the first of December.
While I could get depressed, I decided that it is just spirit cleaning up the old trash to make room for some wonderful new stuff.
Some of that new stuff is that both my daughter and my son are expecting in the coming year.
Yahoo!!!!!