Many believe that “what comes around, goes around,” meaning that someone who has committed a wrong against another will pay for it via the Law of Karma. Another way of understanding this principle is by understanding its equivalency to Newton’s Third Law of Motion: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Another reference can be interpreted from this passage in the Bible, James 3:18: (And a) harvest of righteousness is grown from the seed of peace planted by peacemakers.
Masaru Emoto conducted experiments with water in the 1990s. In his book, Messages from Water, he illustrates with photographs the impact words have on water crystals. Since we ourselves are composed of about 60 percent water, it may be inferred that words are powerful and impact us just as words can change water crystals. But do angry words result in Karma?
What is Karma Anyway?
If you look up Karma online, you will find all kinds of definitions. From Wikipedia, “Our actions, both good and bad, come back to us in the future, helping us to learn from life’s lessons and become better people.”
A Theory of Karma from the Jainism Literature Center indicates that the translation of the word means deeds, which include thoughts and words. In the Jainism belief, Karmas are fine particles that sit around us creating layers that separate our souls from knowledge and reaching our potential. In Buddhism, Karma is based on the law of cause and effect.
“All living beings have actions (Karma) as their own, their inheritance, their congenital cause, their kinsman, their refuge. It is Karma that differentiates beings into low and high states.”
There have been many examples of Karma. I saw one the other day involving a local business. It’s top officials believed that cheating others was an acceptable business practice. The court system disagreed and they must now pay a hefty fine. Sometimes Karma takes a long time to impact someone, and sometimes it’s immediate. For some amusing examples of immediate Karma, visit: http://www.seenox.org/instant-karma-gifs-funny-examples/.
Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Deeds
Can Karma, good or bad, stay with us from our past lives? Does it impact our financial and life goals today? There are different schools of thought on this issue. Personally, I don’t believe we bring the heavy burden of old Karma with us from a previous life. I believe we are born again and begin anew when we enter this lifetime. However, that doesn’t mean that our thoughts, words and deeds don’t have an impact down the road for ourselves and for others.
So How Do We Avoid Karma?
Making it a practice to be kind to yourself and others is a good first step. Appreciating your own positive traits, skills and characteristics can impact your level of happiness in a positive way. If you practice being kind to yourself, you will find that negative self-talk feels alien to you after a very short while.
On the contrary, negative self-talk or angry words with others can raise your blood pressure, create an upset stomach and other health issues, simply as a result of how you think of y
ourself and others. If you are concerned about your health, stop focusing on the negative impact it may have and find the value or lesson in it. Change how you see yourself – focus on the outcome of a more perfect you without defining the process of getting there – and feel better. Say to yourself, “I feel GREAT today,” regardless of how you feel. Adversity can be tough, but it does provide a teaching moment, forcing us to grow, change and adapt. However, loving yourself through the obstacles and knowing in your heart that nothing remains the same (the wheel goes round and round), makes the challenge much easier to accept and conquer.
Love, too, can come to you. It may not be with a partner. It may be with a child, or a pet, or a neighbor or someone else, and that’s OK too. Learning to love unconditionally is one way to understand the potential it has to transform your life. One day, I was surprised by an intense feeling of unconditional love towards a pair of three-year-old twins I had just met. The feeling was incredible, and I was freed by the thought that it was possible to feel unconditional love in many ways. Learning to appreciate yourself and everything that is around you WILL CHANGE YOU for the better.