KARMA...What it Is....What it Isn't

Karma can be a frightening word. It can be so...if looked upon in two ways:
1.) from a religious stance that includes punishment from an outside source.
2.) from a viewpoint of a world based solely on cause and effect -- without recognizing that man has free will and the power to create his own reality.

Unfortunately, many people who became turned off by organized religion, merely substituted karma as a newly revised way of looking at punishment from God. Instead of saying "God's gonna getcha!" ...it turned into "Karma will getcha!" ... not too much of an improvement, in my opinion. One is as fear-based as the other. Not the best reason to be motivated to do --or not do something.

How many times have we heard others say: (heaven forbid we ever said it!) ..."Just wait! It'll come back to you / him / her / them!"...with a mixture of hatred and glee.
According to the Universal Law of Attraction, we DO attract into our lives that which we give out. So is the Law of Attraction any better than a punishment-wielding god? I think so. Part of our misunderstanding deals with the fact that what we are really 'giving out' are our vibrations. It's the frequency we are emitting when we are 1) doing 2) saying, or 3) thinking. That is what 'counts'--not necessarily the 1) deed, 2) spoken word, or 3) thought.
That is what Jesus was talking about when he was telling a group: 'even though you speak with the tongues of angels, and have not LOVE in your heart, your words are but as tinkling brass." Noise. Don't mean a thing, so we can expect the same kind of vibration BACK as we PUT OUT. The vibrations/ frequencies can come in any kind of form...human or circumstance. When we find ourselves in the midst of bad vibrations...this gives us the grand and glorious opportunity to learn to say 'no'...or politely excuse oneself from those vibrations. I just recently re-learned that. Again.
Is it any wonder why Abe keeps preaching the same ol' song and dance?? FEEL GOOD!! Stay in Alignment. Let go of hatred, resentment, blame... Keep reaching for the better thoughts, enjoy and milk the good times for all they are worth, accept 'what is' but don't ever think you have to 'stay there.' Take care of yourself by keeping in the best alignment you can muster up...and that way...one helps others.
All the great teachers do not look upon karma as 'punishment' from which their is no escape. I was looking at some books in Capitol Hill Second Hand Book Store today and came across a phrase by the Buddha. This is paraphrased, but close enough..." Letting go of the hatred of a situation will allow karma to dissolve." And I thought...wow!.... Smart man, the Buddha.
Don't be a martyr unless you enjoy being one. Don't 'do good deeds' in hopes of building up 'good karma' unless you actually enjoy what you are doing. If we enjoy it, vibrationally we will 'receive back' all kinds of good stuff that makes you feel good. Just don't always expect to get it back from the same person you are giving whatever...to. That is where a lot of disappointment may come in. Just LOOK at all I have done for you, and that is how you repay me!
Seth tells us that if we insist on stubbornly believing in the stereotypical version of karma; if we strongly believe that we must be punished for some misdeed, we will not find ourselves disappointed. Our beliefs have created our reality. We create our reality (if one wishes to believe that or not.) Eventually, we learn, we all evolve, we all expand our consciousness... the rate at which we do so is up to us.... although 'we never get it all done'...or we really would be dead. Perfection is 'death'...it's all over. No more growth. Now that's not a fun thought.
Cause and Effect is what is called a Root Assumption in this 3D reality. We experience our time in a Linear fashion...another Root Assumption. Before we become Aware; before we Awaken spiritually, we will have experiences that will always validate those Root Assumptions. Put your hand in the fire and it will burn...for a long 'time.' Once we learn to become consciously aware...we will (ideally) not pull that stunt off again. As simple as that analogy is...it applies to all of life. Even the complexities. Eventually we learn we can heal / change the past from the PRESENT...because the Point of Power is always IN The Present. That was the basis for Eckhart Tolle's book, The Power of Now.
Often, we decide, before a new incarnations, what we feel we need to experience in order to keep expanding and broaden the scope of our self-empowerment. This may even include some difficult and challenging happenings in a particular lifetime... but it is NOT punishment! It is for gaining understanding. Ironically, we get to think of it in any way that we want...but eventually we learn to accept that WE ARE the creators.
There is a saying (by some wise guy...I do mean 'wise' :) that until we learn to love ourselves, we can never love anyone else. We don't have to EARN the right to love ourselves by loving others.
If people insist upon believing the only reason people 'behave' is because they fear the consequences of karma, punishment, or 'getting caught' ... it means they have no faith in humanity. Which means: they have no faith in their own innate goodness. Which means they will continue to have problems....which isn't much fun to hear or accept...but, alas and alack...tiz true. Good ol' America has more Laws than any other country... and guess what?...we also have more crime than any other country.
Karma is about learning...not punishment. To think of karma as nothing but punishment indicates one has not accepted responsibility for his or her role in what one is experiencing. Sometimes it's all very difficult to comprehend or believe...or accept. And, there may be instances of when we simply have to let go of being able to understand why certain things happen to us. I am learning, however, that those instances are actually more rare than common. I have taken many an offbeat path in my learning before I found genuine humility and allowing in order to 'see' what kind of frequencies or vibrations I myself was putting out -- which invited those 'unexpected' events into my life....Being willing to let go of the concept that Karma is punishment...indicates we are willing to let go of Blame. Letting Go of Blame means...guess what!?... we will find we have so much less to blame! Funny how that works. It's SO good that it does work that way!!

"What you vibrate into the world comes back to you.
How you vibrate your life determines what kind of
life you will have."

Those Dark Nights of the Soul...we all have them...yes!! We do!

We've ALL been there. Every one of us. Weve all had those times when it seems like even our most solid, reliable beliefs just aren't 'there for us.' We may start doubting ourselves and feel very mistrusting of the reasoning, answers, or beliefs we felt secure with in the past. Everywhere we look, hope seems to be gone. In states of Darkness (we may call it depression) we even convince ourselves that the twisted way we are viewing things right now is really the 'truth.'

The Pleiadians often remind us the only time anything 'new and improved' can find a way of penetrating our minds is during those dark times when we had no idea what to think or believe! Reading that, you might be willing to consider that what they say really makes sense!

Poetically, those rough times are often called "the dark night of the soul." Seth referred to them as "the winter of the spirit." When I started realizing -- and then accepting -- that the dark times would subside -- the length of those dark times started lessening dramatically. Those dark times are real. They are valid. We should not label ourselves as 'bad or wrong' or think "I am the only one who 'loses it' all this badly"...because I guarantee you, your name is Legion.

The Dark Nights of the Soul will have their due recognition. Refusing to recognize those Dark Nights as being as valid as the Light, stuffing away or denying the feelings, thoughts, or emotions that accompany them...will result in them manifesting in other ways: illness, accidents, unpleasant events, arguments, etc... What works best for me is simply reminding myself that, this, too, will pass. What one experiences during those ultra depressed, black times is not who you 'really are' ... but it FEELS like it when we are flooded and seemingly overwhelmed by really awful emotions. Our 'bad emotions' are serving us by trying to get our attention, letting us know when we have managed to DO, SAY, Or THINK something long enough so that it produced the vibrations within us that caused The Lights To Go Out...and experience those Dark Nights.

Sometimes these bouts of what we may call 'depression' may last for a number of days. During that time it may seem like they will never end...but they WILL end and they DO end... The more we accept that, the easier they will slip away. It is usually the refusing to face what our Higher Self, Spirit, etc wants us to look at that results in a condition that becomes to chronic that medication, legal or otherwise, becomes 'the answer'... I'm not saying it's "wrong"... only that we as our Higher Selves will always keep presenting the same 'unfaced whatevers' until we deal with them. Sometimes the biggest 'problem' is being unwilling to "forgive oneself" for buying into the fear and guilt conditioning that religion has psychically managed to damage us with.

I honestly believe that 'fear of failure' or of 'not being good enough'...which, in our minds, may culminate in some kind of 'hell or judgment' is way at the top of the list when it comes to what triggers those Dark Nights of the Soul.. The book, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz does a wonderful job of showing us how we acquired 'the inner judge' and how it is responsible for keeping away Joy and Peace of Mind...and just plain fun!

I've used this Seth quote many times, and will probably continue to do so: "You all take life too seriously!"... which flies in the face of nearly everything we have been taught! But, listening to Seth's admonition can be so freeing. During those Dark Nights, it helps me to remind myself NOT to take any of my currently twisted and distorted thoughts or painful emotions too seriously! People who are the happiest ARE the happiest because they WANT to be. This may require, as the P's have chided, us to start acting like self-empowered individuals: "You people can be so lazy and totally unwilling to DO something to bring about change... instead too often you tend to wallow in your self pity, blaming everyone and everything else. Claim, take back your self-empowerment."

Step One to Freedom is enacted through __desire, intention, and true wanting__ That is a necessary precedent to any action journey, or it will only result in a temporary fix. Other wise its like "trying to pick up a pencil...don't pick it up!--only try to!" I believe it's possible that those Dark Nights may come about because our Higher Selves know we need to slow down, realign, readjust, and turn in a different direction. And--if we've gotten of the path...OK!! So what? We will always create things in a way that will help us to expand our consciousness, including the Dark Nights. We really have to get over this 'right and wrong' thing and the 'blame ourselves for everything' bit. We are here creating and experiencing.

Life is not about 'getting it all right so everything is perfect all of the time' ... Abe would say, that would be true Death. We tend to forget we HAVE free will!...and whine "I just don't know what to do" ... Just because something doesn't work out they way we want it to and those 'others' don't act like they are here to be under our control ...doesn't mean we don't have a world full of options and probabilities and possibilities that can make us Feel Really Good.

Eventually we will all realize that the Darker the Night, the Brighter the Dawn. And even science (woo woo) can confirm that its always the darkest right before the Dawn. There will always be another Morning... so...Let's believe in those Good Mornings!

Do We Live in a Safe Universe? It's as Safe As We Believe It Is.

We all want to feel safe. Perhaps we have times when we choose things that are quite edgy and want to live a little dangerously! For some people, it might mean taking up rock climbing; for others stepping out on the edge might mean being brave enough to try out a new coffee shop instead of returning to the one you've gone to for 20 years. We all have different degrees of 'daring.'

The kind of "safe" I am talking about today, however, has nothing to do with attempting new and daring events, but how we feel about our everyday world. Do you believe you live in a safe world? Maybe we all have varying beliefs as to whether or not we believe we are living in a safe universe...What happens to us, however, faithfully reflect our beliefs, even though it may, at times, be difficult for us to understand.

Seth, during one of the early class sessions suggested to one of his students that he not say: "The Universe I live in is safe"...because there most likely would be too many contradictory thoughts arising. He then suggested, "Instead--say "I" live in a safe Universe.." This would remind us that we. then, are in charge of the one and only person we are truly responsible for: ourselves. None of us are here to 'save the world.' What we 'see' in the world will reflect back our strongest beliefs. We pretty much will always find what we are willing to look for. Seek and Ye Shall Find. We need to be a little careful, however, we would 'ask' for.

People who repeatedly bemoan 'this terrible world we live in' are insuring themselves that the Law of Attraction will deliver according to their most dominant beliefs. We empower what we keep giving our attention to, and 'fighting against' and 'resisting' will make those beliefs become stronger, allowing them to be made manifest in our lives. What we are 'usually thinking about' that brings about a lot of emotion -- is a good indication of what our beliefs are. I know one of my own biggest challenges is to be more mindful of what I am thinking about. As Jesus said: "It is done unto you according to your beliefs." Buddha said "Thoughts become things."

Some of you may know of my experience this past week in which I was chased by an rather insane -- definitely very miserable and angry street person. Fortunately for me, I was able to duck into a visitor's car (with an open door) in front of my apartment building and escape the attack... The details aren't important. What IS important is this: "It happened. Period. Even though I may still not see ALL the reasons, many of them have become very clear to me. Taking responsibility for some of them ...as uncomfortable as they make me feel, still provided me with a HUGE release. When something suddenly gives us that painful, uncomfortable twinge...it's because it carries an important element of TRUTH in it for us to look at. That's where "the truth hurts' comes from ...also!--"The truth will set you free"...

I had been concentrating and focusing far too much and with very negative emotion... on what I will call: "the changes in the street personell on Colfax"...hating it, condemning it, and giving far too much attention to it. I _chose_ to believe those people were becoming increasingly dangerous to myself and everyone else. I really hated what I was seeing. The word 'hate' here, unfortunately, cannot be ignored. An important thing to note is: it really didn't make any difference that 'other people' agreed with me. That does not 'justify or excuse' what I chose to 'see' or believe, or make it any more 'right.'

I create my reality. Thanks to what Seth calls "conflicting beliefs" --the visitor's car I jumped into (it had an open door) for safety was not there by 'coincidence,' either. In spite of my poorly chosen focus...I still had a belief in my own personal safety...and that, too, manifested for me.

For a couple of days I continued to feel very angry, hateful, afraid, and paranoid...all the result of being so frightened. I am not saying I didn't have a so-called right to feel what I felt... and I'm grateful I 'understood' that. But I also recognized that I was feeling horribly disconnected from Spirit and so opposite of Feeling Good... I knew I, first of all, had to WANT to feel better. Too bad I wasn't remembering that as I was wasting my time focusing bad thoughts and giving my attention to the 'changing street personell.'

I didn't take an action journey (as Abe calls it) by making immediate arrangements to move. I knew the change had to come from within, starting with wanting or intending__. It also meant I would have to eventually Let Go of my condemnation, my hatred of this man, my judgment and really wanting revenge. Here, too, I was grateful that I have learned (and remember most of the time !) that the first step would be _wanting_to Let Go of those feelings and emotions. I know I couldn't force them away or 'refuse to ever think them' because that is fighting against...resisting... I was receiving a really good lesson on 'the Universe will do the work if you allow it to' ...and WANTING to Feel Good was KEY to that.

This incident confirmed to me one thing: I KNOW that I truly DO believe that I create my own reality--and that gives me a really good feeling. I am NOT a victim and I do not want to harbor a victim mentality. To keep blaming that man 'for what happened to me' would be to CHOOSE to keep myself stuck in the situation and refuse to heal.

What happened to me (or what I created) does not make me 'bad' either...It happened because I needed to 'learn to see' with more clarity --that "thoughts become things" as the Buddha says. Everything is providing contrast so that we can see what Feels Good and enables our connection to Source...and what doesn't. I finally "get it" about what the Buddha was meaning when he said "Be willing to accept all blame." It means finally recognizing that you DO create all of your reality... even if we may not always understand all of it in this dimension. He didn't mean act like a weak, soppy, dramatic martyr. It takes inner strength to "own it" sometimes....

The P's have often told us: "You can walk amidst destruction and chaos and be safe" ... And that is true. As long as we are focusing and giving our attention to what we are perceiving as "horrible and bad"--THAT is what we are feeding... empowering...and that is what the Law of Attraction has to manifest for us... Two people sitting side by side do NOT have to 'see' the same world to the extent of how it will effect either one.

I can understand why some people might come up with a few "Yeah, but's" as to some of the things I've said. I contend with my own "Yeah, but's" ! All I am saying is this was "my" experience and what happened to me was created by me, my Higher Self, Oversoul, etc (whatever one calls it) because I needed to 'see' what I was doing, and how I was thinking, and therefore what I brought about to help get me back onto a better Feel Good Path again.

We all see "the outside world" through our own beliefs. Everything! Some of us really connect and can understand each other and therefore can 'resonate' with each other's thinking. That is always helpful and indeed very comforting. When we pretty much 'see things' in the same way, our vibrations/frequencies are a good match. When we come across something or someone disturbing...it is usually because there is something in _us_ that we need to address and examine... I cannot continue to blame 'that man' for what he did... I still am the 0ne that wrote the story, created the script, and he acted it out... what _his_ lessons were is none of my business.

I really don't like the word "survivor" when it implies that we have been a victim having absolutely nothing to do with whatever happened. We are CREATORS.. even though so much 'out there' seems like it is wanting to tell us otherwise... No wonder the P's have said: Your biggest struggle will be: to own your own mind.

Row, row, row you boat...gently down the steam...Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily...Life is But A Dream ... May Our Dreams be happy ones.

The So-Called "Necessity of War" ... Do we Believe in War?

Now there are the three ingredients for a perfect world! Let's just call them the basics, OK?

Even as a small child, war never made any sense to me...and during the '40's and '50's, especially, most Americans just assumed God himself was on our side. Therefore if it became necessary to serve 'God and country' --synonymous terms... one would proudly march to a strange land and kill people one didn't know, to protect our land and our 'freedom.' Being blindly obedient to God and country (government) and never questioning--was indeed, praiseworthy. Now THAT is 'patriotism.'

Now many years later, some people still have not changed their thinking. (I use the term 'thinking' quite loosely) Far too many have made no progress whatsoever in evolving away from thinking in terms of 'violence as being the only answer.'.... You know...The John Wayne philosophy: "Gee whiz, podner, I hate to do it, but I gotta kill ya." Bang. You're dead.

War has never and will never -- be 'protection' from anything, anyone, or any country. War is about believing control and dominance will solve our problems. The need for domination of one country over another comes from the ultimate sense of powerLESSNESS... All of it being Fear Based. If this is not understood ... then one could read books or listen to any one's teaching and it simply would not be absorbed by those who are still totally programmed and mind-controlled. The ultimate goal of violence is NOT power ... but that of self-destruction and self-annihilation....all based on overwhelming Fear...whether or not it is recognized as such. Either people "get this" or they don't. The pro-war people will always find 'justification' for having to go to war.... Some may say, 'it's such a shame but it's a necessary evil' but they are actually afraid to see with a greater seeing or awareness that is based on Love and Allowing.

Unless one believes that one actually does create one's own reality... one will always believe, and therefore find reasons -- for justifying and advocating war. One of the reasons why people refuse to see beyond what they have been programmed to believe -- is because they would be afraid of 'what else' they might 'see.'

As always, in metaphysics, one has to 'bring it home' ... to one's own individual, personal life. Those who believe in the necessity of war because 'they / we have no choice' -- believe all causes are external...that everything is on the 'outside' of them and they are 'victims'. As of yet, they are unable to make the connection between their own personal beliefs and what happens to them externally is a result of those beliefs.

Someone once said "All wars are religious wars" Organized religion _tells_ you what is 'right and wrong' and rarely encourages you to believe in your own power and that 'God' is not separate entity from you. But that's another whole story, eh?

There will always be war as long as people believe there must be. In time, everyone evolves and expands and becomes Aware and Awake... No one is lost in the Yang or the Darkness forever... Those who believe that Hate or Darkness is stronger than Love and Light, do not comprehend what Jesus said quite succinctly! --"It is done unto you according to your beliefs." To0 bad the Church doesn't teach the true meaning of what he said. Christians are no better than Muslims when it comes to glorifying war.... and the Jews just seem to love to instigate... oh well...

I spent much of my time being an anti-war protestor ... but you know what? It's like Ghandi said..."You cannot have peace by fighting for it...You must peace for peace." War will NEVER bring peace. Buddha said "What you resist...persists." One NEVER wins "the war on..."--and that must be a prelude to understanding any of this.

In much of our world 'war is big business'... and therefore we must continue to encourage men and women to "serve their country" ...and then honor and glorify our 'fallen heroes'... Never mind those we have killed~! After all, they are the bad guys, the "wrong" guys and we are "right" guys and "god" is on our side. It hurts to wake up to see the utter stupidity of all of this. But we've no right to point fingers at those 'others'. We all make our choices. As Abraham teaches: We either deliberately create our reality ... or we do so by default." Kind of like overdrive ... Law of Atttraction scans and seeks one's strongest beliefs and simply delivers.

So what can we do? Everything and anything that serves us well in making us Feel Good and connected to Source and the true Freedom that ONLY comes from Love. We KNOW when we are coming from a place of Love. And we know when we are NOT. What we do and how we do it...whatever that may be... is an individual thing. I strongly believe we know EXACTLY what we need to do and what we need to avoid...It's built into us... We can find it once we are willing to let go of the old programming that we dared not question for "fear of God's punishment!" We can choose to allow and bless others to their Highest Good...if we agree or disagree with them... We need only pay attention to our OWN journey and just let others be. We don't attempt to 'save them.' If we do help others, it will just happen. It will be a matching vibratory thing. I have a number of friends that do not understand anything of which I am talking about....and that's OK. We still like and respect each other (most of the time! ) because the Love that is in us all finds a way to ALLOW and Let It Be.

The predominant thoughts we have shape our ideas -- and what we FOCUS on and give our ATTENTION to materializes in our lives. Remember the little statement we kind of giggled at in the 70's: "Think Nice Thoughts" ... well!-- it's not a bad idea ... Another one: "Get Your Mind Off Of It" ...is another goodie... Don't take up permanent residence in the thoughts that make you miserable.

The "News" is our worst enemy. It doesn't "inform" us...it tells you what to believe... As the P's once said: "That's why they call it a News PROGRAM." and the question we must all ask ourselves is: What do I believe? As Seth once said, in The Nature of Personal Reality: "If you feel you have nothing to do ... sit down and sift through a handful of your beliefs." It really helps us to "see" things more clearly when we are aware of --and admit to honestly --those beliefs that we hold.

Namaste'