Cause and effect…
Whatever I think, say, or do causes a ripple effect – it travels onwards. Often times I have no ideas where it ends, if at all. Just imagine how it’s all happening in a perpetual motion – continuously unfolding events based on how we project our thoughts on an individual level and how +9 billion people add up to the flow on a collective level. Can you imagine that?
It works like fractals with endless number of variations and permutations. Mind boggling just trying to imagine.
It’s easy to see actions and how one action leads to another – I smile, you smile back. Or words – I say thanks you, you reply: ‘you’re welcome’.
But what about thoughts? It’s more challenging to see the tireless working of the mind – yet, it’s the busiest area and represents the key to how your fractals dance and how your life unfolds. Tell me how and what you think and I’ll be able to determine the probability of events in your immediate life. But is that all?
What if this is just one of many lives our soul comes wondering through. Surely than there’s a law of cause and effect, so called karma, that spans across more than one lifetime.
The yogic scriptures say karma is universal. They say no-body can ever escape the law of karma, that life unfolds according to our deeds.
Yet sometimes it appears as if that’s not true – seeing some people living a carless, selfish, destructive, damaging life style full of poor habits and they’re still powerful, influential, wealthy, healthy, and look happy.
Could it be that at some point over their lifetimes they have earned a lot of merits? Their account has a great balance and no matter what they do they continue living based on their past life good deeds? If that’s true, I shouldn’t be fooled, because what comes around goes around and the balance keeps on changing. At some point they will probably reach zero sum balance and when that happens, life situation changes – usually suddenly and drastically.
It seems like karmic balance operates according to the most accurate banking principles. None of our balances diminishe or appreciates out of some budgetary interventions, deflation, or inflation. No one can take anything away from you, or meddle with your balance – what you earned is yours to own.
Can we do something to change our karmic balance? I think so. Karmic balance changes all the time. There might be limitations in terms of how much effort and how long it will take to get rid of certain burdens, but we clearly have a free will either to react or to work it out – as long as we’re aware. Between every stimulus and response there is a space of freedom that is always ours to claim – noticing that is awareness.
For example, you’re struggling in your life, you’re stuck and not able to live a reasonably comfortable life fit for 21st century.
The first step is to recognize the area of struggle. This might be related to your poor health condition, you may be experiencing financial struggles, you’re not having the most pleasant family life, difficulties with your job, you attract people that are not nice to you. Basically, you feel stuck in one area or another.
What’s the second step?
The second step is to acknowledge your dissatisfactions – things that cause irritation. For example, you have an issue with your shoulder and it’s painful. You may struggle with money and it’s causing your worries. You may have a shitty relationship with your manager and find it challenging being in their presence.
Step number three is to accept it – fully, in your mind and heart. I accept the pain that causes irritation, I accept my financial situation and my worries, I accept that it’s challenging for me to be around my manager.
Fourth step is to shower your love, all your blessings and attention into areas where you experience such imbalance. Sending and feeling love and kindness are your two most powerful allies that will eat up your karmic debt if you persistently and consistently repeat it. Along with gratitude for having been given this chance. How fast? It all depends on how much balance you have on your account and how uninterrupted is your flow.
Yes, there is step five. It’s called action. You may have to do something about it – change your job, undergo an operation, you may have to show your acceptance through some actions and change your behavior. But that alone is not enough to fix the issue that got you where you are in the first place – there has to be recognition, acceptance, genuine letting go, infused with gratitude, and lots of love and kindness.
Sometimes it may be your task to clear up generations old karma – it’s not an easy task, you may often find asking yourself, why me? Why not my brother or sister? Why me? It could well be because you are capable for completing such task.
Human beings – on a physical level we all look similar, however, on a soul level we may be completely different. Soul journeys can span across tens, hundreds or thousands of lifetimes. Rarely will the individual in this life time remember the journey of their soul through those lifetimes. Yet, you may feel as if you are an old soul – you are even able to recognize one, wondering: ‘are you sure we have not met before?’ This has happened quite often to me.
There may even be familiarities you notice, as if you have done certain things in life already, even if you haven’t. The learning of a particular craft comes very easy to you – feels like second nature. You can effortlessly understand math, you are naturally talented in arts, music, languages, etc. You can sit in-front of the potter’s wheel for the very first time and spin up a perfect mug in a first go.
Not everything is a coincidence in life. Certain people you meet were supposed to cross your path. Some stay for a short time, some linger longer, a few stay for a life time.
There may be times when you don’t understand why life has put you together with ‘certain’ people you find extremely difficult to be around. Well, as long as there is any outstanding balance on your accounts you will continue experiencing a particular lesson that always finds a way to trigger your reaction – until it doesn’t. At some point you will be free to choose how to respond – only you will know when you reach that moment. At that moment you will realize that between every stimulus and your response, there is a space of freedom that is always yours to claim. You became more aware.
Parents, siblings, relatives, partners, their family, friends, colleagues, rivals, competitors, students, teachers, children – we are all gathered here to learn, to grow, to become free.
In my own space and silent time, I had often wondered why have I been such a restless soul – moving countries, continents, homes, jobs, leaving behind my family, many beautiful people and friends I have met along the way.
Let’s just say I had plenty of outstanding balances from the past – my soul would not let me rest until I settled my bills. I learned that meditation helps, but that’s not enough. I had to go through various experiences in life to learn my lessons, to pay my debts – either to individuals, whole generations, or countries – serving until I was free to choose, to move on. It often felt like a burden, I did not understand why. Sometimes it felt like being locked in a prison, even though it did not appear so from the outside.
Either I was not fully aware, not unwilling to accept, or not yet allowed to understand. I don’t know, but I know I wasn’t free until I settled my bills. Looking retrospectively, I can assure you – there is no free lunch in life.
Some way or another you have already paid for it or you still will. So, choose wisely, when you can.
There’s one tricky part in this whole equation and a note I must add. When particular karma is over and you’re free to choose – your old habits, behaviors, and belief systems you have built out of your ‘karmic limitations’ may still be there and very much alive. Make note of that – there will be some work required to clear that up, so you can properly be free to choose how you wish to respond and live your life going forward, else you will end up creating more karma.
For example, it was my karma to be born into a particular family constellation I was born to. I was able to free myself from its grip at some point in life. After that came a more challenging task and that’s been all on me – I have to free myself from all the conditioning I have developed during that time in that particular environment and leave the past burdens behind. If I don’t, if I choose to continue behaving in the same old conditioned way – out of fear, resentment, lack of trust, anger, etc. I will be increasing my karmic account balance and I will be forced into the repetitive cycle once again – no choice. That’s how history repeats itself – it’s a genius creation of a perpetual cause and effect flow with a never-ending story.
Recent events in my life have revealed much truth to me – how acceptance, gratitude, love and kindness lead to more freedom. Everything that happens in life is an opportunity for us to break free from some sort of clutches that have most likely been self-inflicted at some point of our soul’s journey.
I rarely see my life from this perspective, but what are the odds of a girl born and bred under the Alps, infused with Slavic, Italian, Austrian, and Balkan culture, to end up living in the north east of American continent with her best buddy from the southern part of India. Both from completely different locations, family backgrounds, unalike in appearance, personality, traits, habits, culture, yet very similar in ways impossible to explain.
Why did life bring such two different worlds together that would otherwise have never met? Out of where did such combination occur? What are the probabilities, can anyone explain?
Yet, so much learning has happened in the past 12 years and particularly over the recent 3 months – I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Let’s just say I was finally able to accept my Indian family, the culture I once opposed and rejected. I feel very grateful for the opportunity I was given in this lifetime. It feels deeply liberating when the burden of constant irritation is gone, when ego stops complaining, fighting, resenting, judging, not accepting, feeling insecure, not trusting, and when I am finally able to see all the beauty and blessings life has stored for me.
This too is called karma – stuff – so much stuff. Some stuff feels burdensome, some is full of Ananda – bliss, joy.
And here I am. Reflecting, pondering, following my thread of thoughts, putting it down with my favorite silver pen, with a conducive golden nib, and the most beautiful blue green ink with golden glitters.
Thank you life, for all the precious gifts I am able to receive.
Om
Background: This piece of writing started off by me experiencing an overwhelming sense of anxiety in the early morning hours. It was the calling of my thoughts, the invitation to let them go, to let out this story that was throbbing under my skin, causing me to feel how I felt. It all feels good after I spill out the ink. It works for me.
