contemplation

Can there really be an end to Karma?

/ oneheart / 2 Comments

“Every situation is a challenge which demands the right response.  When the response is right, the challenge is met and the problem ceases.  If the response is wrong , the challenge is not met and the problem remains unsolved.  Your unsolved problems- is what constitutes your karma.  Solve them rightly and be free.” 

-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

I love the simplicity of this quote by Nisargadatta Maharaj an Indian sage who lived from 1897-1981.  I have to say it has evoked a rich contemplation for me.  

I’ve  thought long and hard about this and here is what I’ve come up with.  When dealing with challenges or problems two things are needed. 

 1. Come into right relationship with the situation  

 2. Have the right response.  

What does it mean to come into right relationship with a problem or issue?  Basically it comes down to acceptance.  Acceptance of what is.  What that means is non-resistance to the situation or to the feelings that arise about the situation.  

Don’t go into thinking, “oh, why did this happen to me?” and, ‘how did I cause this?” Don’t waste your time and energy trying to figure it out.  Use that energy to accept what is or what has happened.  

Once you have accepted and felt your feelings fully then clarity about the right response can arise.   You may have to slow everything down and give yourself time to do this.   It’s almost like clearing away the clouds so that you can see the sky.   

One more thing just to be clear.  What is right response? It can be an action or a state of mind or being.  A example of this is if someone steps on your foot and it causes you pain the response that is automatic is to pull your foot away and maybe say, “ouch!!”  There is no thinking needed the situation clearly dictated the response.  Every situation has a right response but when we are clouded by doubts, unmet feelings and anger we can’t discern what that is and our natural spontaneity is thwarted.  I know the example about having your foot stepped on seems ultra-simple and many of you might be saying, “of course your response is automatic!”  When you have cleared away the clouds of your personal reactivity and you are not resisting the right response will arise automatically even in complex situations.  You are at a higher vibrations and alignment when you  learn to transcend the personal level and open to what is right and true in the moment.  You become one with your true self which is both the body and mind but also beyond them.  You are a non-physical being or spiritual being that is one with universal knowledge and knowing. That should give you something to ponder!

Developing awareness in this way can help us to take responsibility quickly so that we can respond sooner rather than later and in this way transmute challenges and dissolve karma. Now more than ever as the earth’s vibration rises we are able to dissolve and transmute our karma much more quickly and with greater ease.  

As always, when dealing with highly charged issues be gentle, kind and patient with yourself.

Facing the Void

/ oneheart / 5 Comments

Facing the void is similar to what is referred to as a dark night of the soul. Don’t worry its not as ominous as it sounds. A dark night is generally regarded as a time of great personal challenge when everything seems to be lost.  It’s as if there is a cloud hovering over head making it feel like the sun will never shine again.    It is a time of struggle and challenge where we can feel  tested repeatedly and as soon as one lesson is learned another one arrives on its heels. It is experienced alone and often no one else can relate to what you are going through and you must continue with your usual responsibilities and daily activities.   Some people can spend much of their lives in a dark night and it is believed that these souls have incarnated to learn, grow and evolve very quickly.

“…it is believed that these souls have incarnated to learn, grow and evolve very quickly.”

I have never been alive for a time where collectively we are experiencing what I am calling facing the void.     I’m calling it this because there are certain things about this time that are very different than the afore mentioned dark  night.  Right now there is an emptiness  and uncertainty that is looming and everything has stopped.  This is a collective and personal experience and we don’t know when it will end or what our world will look like when it’s over.  Our everyday routines and jobs have evaporated or changed drastically.  The streets and highways are empty and stores and businesses are shuttered and we all know what PPE is and we are wearing it!!!

“the very nature of life is uncertain.”

I’m wondering about the benefits of facing the void.  To not know for a while.   After all when we get right down to it the very nature of life is uncertain.  We can make plans but they can be wiped away in an instant.  We don’t like to think about the fact that we are not really in control.  When we really think it through life itself is impermanent and fleeting and especially as we get older the days, weeks and months seem to fly by.  

“Sometimes I thought I would be overwhelmed by the feelings.”

Oddly, part of my spiritual path has been about contemplating death.  I know how this sounds to most people.  All I can say is that I didn’t choose it.  For  some reason having to contemplate the certainty of death was something that chose me.  Initially it was a real bummer and very scary especially as a fairly young woman but going through this has been one of my most valuable life lessons.   Some times I thought I would be overwhelmed by the feelings.  Just when I thought I couldn’t take it I would have a powerful realization or learning that would make it all worthwhile.  For me it was my long dark night and a void that I couldn’t avoid but had to go through.

“we learn how to fly.”

During this time I met a spiritual teacher, Andrew Harvey, he wrote the book and coined the phrase “Spiritual Activism”, and I asked him what to do and how to deal with the knowing that our time is limited;  that we will all come to the same demise and this is the inevitable truth.   He said to me, “you can either get lost in the sadness and depression or you can dance.”   I’ll never forget it and he pointed me to something very important.   Am I going to wallow in depression or am I going to laugh, sing and dance with whatever time I am alive?  Trusting that life is an adventure that we can not predict.  It will twist and turn and surprise us over and over again.  

 When faced with the inevitability of the unknown and we don’t have solid  ground under our feet this is when we learn how to fly.  We learn essential skills for living a truly fulfilling and happy life when we face and go through what feels like the unfaceable.  We don’t learn this when we are living out our everyday lives unchallenged and comfortable.   It’s the extraordinary challenges to our very sense of self, our security, our routines that expand our knowing of who and what we really are.   It’s true what they say, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”  It really does and we won’t go there unless we are forced to.

We are so much more than we consciously know and life offers us a profound opportunity for this learning.  

This crisis is our once in a lifetime opportunity and I am hoping we can embrace it as the powerful teacher that it is.