Secrets of Karma Part 1.

 Today I will talk about karma. It has to do with spiritual awakening/enlightenment. Of course I didn't write this, I found it on the internet and I really liked it. So I used it in my post and left the original author. 

 What is karma really and how can it improve your life?

"Do you know any person who does nothing but bad things and then wonders why their life sucks? Well, that's me. Every time something good happened to me, something bad was just around the corner: karma. That's when I realised that I had to change, so I made a list of all the bad things I had ever done and, step by step, I was going to make amends for all my mistakes. I am trying to become a better person."

Nejc Krumpačnik -28 February, 2018

Above is the opening speech by Earl from the American comedy TV series My Name is Earl. And that's kind of what we imagine karma actually is. Some people see it as fate.

In reality, most of us have it wrong. And misunderstanding karma doesn't help any of us.

Once you understand what karma really is, you can use it as a powerful tool for personal growth.

So we'll do our best to explain what karma is, and then we'll give you some ways you can use this philosophy to your advantage - to take more freedom and gain more control over your life.

The Buddhist interpretation of the word karma

First, let's get one thing clear.

Karma has nothing to do with destiny. If you do something negative, it doesn't mean that you have to do something negative to make things right.

Karma is based on your actions and thoughts at each moment.

Let's look at a simple and clear explanation of karma by Barbara O'Brien on the blog buddhism.about.com.

"The word karma means action, not destiny. In Buddhism, karma is the energy created by volitional activity (action) through thoughts, words and deeds. Karma is created by all of us every moment, and it affects us all the time. Many people see karma as something they did in a previous life that sealed their fate in the present life. This is not consistent with Buddhist understanding. The future is not yet determined. You can change the course of your life in this moment if you change your willing actions and self-destructive patterns."

Why is karma so misrepresented in the media?

In pop culture, karma often means that people always get what is coming to them.

How did we arrive at this view?

Because we have the wrong perspective that we need something outside of ourselves to be happy.

If we are able to let go of this understanding of happiness, we can realise that all we really need is to live deeply present in the present moment. In this way we can come to know our true nature.

Karma is simply energy. It is our willed actions and thoughts. The energy we create now and in the future will affect us. It has nothing to do with reward and punishment. Karma has no beliefs of its own and is solely under our control.

That's the end of today's post, if you're interested I'm available on social media or in the comments. don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date! See you again in a few days.