Have you heard the expression Karma is a bitch? Karma has been used in the West as this concept of divine justice and in this episode, I wanted to highlight first how we are white washing the concept but also how there is a bit of cultural appropriation that is happening here that we have to be very careful of.
Karma is defined by the sum of a person’s actions in this life and in previous states of existence viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. It has been interpreted as good or bad luck. There are three concepts attached to this which I explore in the episode: fate, punishment and revenge. I will get revenge out of the way: God is not revengeful and the loss of your child is not some punishment because you didn’t attend mass regularly. I hope no one has ever told you that, and if they have, you must not believe them.
Fate is the idea that events outside of our control are predetermined by a supernatural power. The concept comes from the Greek and Roman mythology and is illustrated beautifully in the TV series Kaos, which I highly recommend you watch. In order to avoid cultural appropriation, let’s focus on that concept rather than karma. Fatalism is the frame of mind where everything is predetermined and inevitable and it leads to passivity. I don’t recommend it. I give an example of how having a psychic reading can actually lead to that and backfire.
I mentioned the akashic records in the episode because it enables us to see into the bigger picture and realise that possibly some events are predetermined by us before we are born, but once on Earth, free will reins and we can do what we damn well want. Checkout episode 57 to learn more about the Akashic records if you haven’t listen to it already.
Punishment is a concept that is used in many religions to motivate human beings to act decently. In the Christian tradition, we have Judgement Day and the Second Coming of the Christ where we will be judged and either saved or damned. If you go back to the episode I did on Near Death Experiencers (EP 66), you can find a simliar process called the Life Review but what happens during the life review is that you are made to experience how your thoughts, words and deeds impacted other people during your life on Earth by experiencing it through the eyes of the people on the receiving end. It’s not used for judgment or punishment purposes but for education and betterment. That’s a radically different energy.
When a lot of bad things happen to people, it’s not karma. It’s more likely to be that these people are old souls who have chosen bigger challenges for themselves because they are more interesting and you can learn more from them. I encourage you to listen to episodes 68 and 73 with baby soul communicator Lauren Dionysius as we tuned into the souls of children who have chosen particularly challenging lives. I also invite you to listen to EP 58 on why bad things happen to good people.
Karma is also sometimes associated with the law of attraction and I would like to refer back to episode 32 called the Gentle Art of Manifesting.
The short answer to today’s episode title is no. Karma is not punishing you. So relax.
To listen to the episode, click here.