What Is Karma and How Can I Get Some?

Karma is a fascinating topic, one with numerous viewpoints. Regardless of the way you view it though, karma is considered a universal spiritual law.

Karma is most often associated with terms of ‘good’ or ‘negative'. To make the situation more difficult to understand, karma may be 'weighted'.

Many Pagans speak of the 3-Fold or 9-Fold Law (whatever you send out comes back to you 3 or nine times, respectively). While neither is totally accurate, both are examples of ‘weighted’ karma. To clarify, let's look at the example of a young soul. The soul gets mad and starts a fight with a friend, punching that individual in the eye. That soul has just incurred some bad karma. The scales tip. Later, a situation equivalent will occur to them, making the scales come. The karma is resolved. That is a one times return. So neither the 3-Fold Law, nor the Nine-Fold Law applied. Now, let’s review the same experience, but with a really ancient soul. The scales tip negatively far more heavily this time, because that old soul should've known better. To make the scales balance, the old soul may end up getting mugged or beaten badly, ending up in the hospital as a result. That may possibly be much more than nine times the injuries done originally.

Practically everything which you choose to do has some sort of karmic results. Sometimes the acts are so minor as to be unnoticeable, or they may well be undescribably major. It depends upon the actions, the results of said actions, the age or evolutionary level of the soul AS WELL AS the intent. As an example:

Let’s say that Susan really likes Joe and would like for him to date her. But Joe and Betty seem to be a couple, and have been contemplating getting married. Susan is sure that if she could break them up, she could have Joe. So she spreads ugly stories about both of them to everyone they know. Her lies manage to find their way to Joe and Betty and the once happy couple break up. So even though there was no violence as part of the equation, Susan’s lies have really caused harm to 2 people. She has created some huge karma.

Bad karma may be incurred not only by way of what we do that directly affect another person, but also by our behavior towards animals, and the environment. anyone who lives a life of criminal behavior may perhaps earn enough negative karma that it will take them possibly many lifetimes to pay it off.

So far, we have talked only of bad karma, but karma is also of a good kind. When we do anything great as a result of compassion or love, that will also create karma, but in your favor. And that positiveness can either come back to us by having something good happen to us, or can assist in re-balancing the bad karma that we may likely have accrued. However, carrying out good deeds simply to earn positive karma is not enough. Positive karma is earned only when the good is done via a sincere desire to do good, or by way of an act of compassion or love. The reason behind the act is an essential factor. The same can be said for bad karma.

One time I read of a woman driving home one day with her children. She drove by a family that was hitchhiking: a man, woman along with two young kids. She went on home and had dinner with her family. Her meal was simple, but plentiful. Once she had eaten, she found herself thinking of that hitchhiking family. She went looking for them, intending to feed them. Unfortunately, she was unable to find them. Nonetheless, her intentions alone generated positive karma for her.

Karma is often thought of as a teacher, as it shows the soul right from wrong, good from bad, etc.

As previously mentioned, motivation can also have a direct bearing on karma. Sometimes, you may perhaps do something that, under normal circumstances would earn negative karma, but because of the motivation, will incur positive karma instead. Let us take a look at a dramatic example: There is a shooter over a rooftop firing at and killing people. Without question, he is incurring negative karma. You find yourself in a position to stop his slaughter, but the only way for you to accompish it, is by shooting him. Under these circumstances, you would incur negative karma if you only stood by and did nothing, but by shooting him and putting an end to his madness, you are going to gain positive karma because the intent is the greater good.

The city in which you are living has karma. Whether positive or negative, this karma was created by the actions of the city in general as well as actions of the individuals that stay in it. Examples: Some small communities learned that it was possible to generate money by turning their community into a speed trap for uninformed drivers from other places. Or take the small village that has a single stop light. The village’s police officer will sit at that traffic light so he can control it. He makes certain the light will be red for any driver who does not live in that town. And the light will stay red until finally the driver gives up and runs the red light, whereupon he is then given a traffic ticket.

Just as communities may generate karma, so can nations. Saddam Hussein created karma the moment he invaded Kuwait, but so did Iraq. The planet Earth also has karma.

There is one other aspect of karma to talk about, known as ‘karmic obligations’. This is a thing that often happens over lifetimes. In other words, you do some action in one lifetime earning karma that has to be paid in another. Suppose you do anything that has a really deleterious effect on another, which you're unable to re-balance during that lifetime. The obligation to that person continues after you pass away. In your next lifetime, or the lifetime following that, you'll find yourself in the position of resolving that karmic debt. And likely not understanding the reason.

This is one part of one lesson from the Dr. of Spiritual Awareness course written by Charles Grooms. The Universal Life Church Seminary offers a lot of free training and free mini-courses, as well as free ministerial ordination, so you can become a minister