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Do you believe in Karma? I mean, do you think we always get punished in one way or another for our bad actions? Since I was a little girl, I’ve heard that Karma is a type of punishment we get when we act with bad intentions. In my culture, Karma is related to bad actions. I’m not sure why, but that’s the meaning associated with this word back home.
Since I started meditating, I’ve been reading a lot about Buddhism because I like to understand the things I practice from all the different perspectives. The word Karma in Buddhism and Hinduism means, “The sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.” The one-word definitions are “action,” “effect,” and “fate.”
To me, these definitions mean that Karma is not only related to bad actions and punishment, but it refers to all the effects we get from all our actions. When we do good things, we get good Karma, and when we do bad things, we get bad Karma. It sounds pretty simple and straightforward right? It should be easy to live under this rule. The world should be full of people always doing good so they can get only good stuff back. Well, like everything in life, the concept of Karma is a little more complex than that.
The reason I’m talking about Karma today is simple. I was listening to one of my guided meditations by Melli O’Brien on a wonderful meditation app called Mindfulness, and she explained the concept in a very interesting way. For the first time, I was able to understand the meaning of Karma with more awareness. She explains how every action we take has a ripple effect. What caught my attention was the way she explained that the concept of Karma is more about the intention behind every action we take than the action per se. Everything we do with virtuous intentions will grow seeds of happiness. On the flip side, everything we do with the intention to harm or from a place of selfishness will take lead us to suffering in some way.
This meditation made me think about my own intentions and how my life reflects them. I don’t know how to act with bad intentions. My mind can’t process doing something with the intention of harming others, which led me to wonder whether that’s the reason so many people call me “lucky.” I’ve been told that my life is too easy. When I talk about my friendly divorce, some people think I was just lucky. When I talk about my business, again, some people think I got lucky. But this meditation about Karma made me realize that my life is a reflection of my intentions. That ripple effect is real. I love seeing the good in every situation and every person. I love being an empathic human.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that I’m perfect. On the contrary, I’m extremely far from it. I’m simply analyzing how the way I have decided to live my life has ended up being such a blessing. I make mistakes all the time, and I know sometimes my actions may cause some discomfort to others, but I can promise you that nothing I do has a bad intention behind it. The moment I decided to get a divorce, for instance, was not a comfortable time for my ex-husband and me, but my intention behind that action was to see both of us happy even if that meant we needed to take different paths. I believe my intention guided the whole process to be as friendly as it was.
If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know that from time to time I bring up the wonderful benefits of meditation … and today is one of those days. I can tell you from my own experience that meditation has helped me be a lot more aware of my intentions. I didn’t know the whole concept of Karma from this perspective, but now that I know, I can tell you that the more you meditate, the more you’ll be able to identify the intentions behind your actions. So, if you understand your intentions, you’ll be able to guide them to always be virtuous; hence, you’ll generate a loving ripple effect for yourself and others. Being able to redirect an intention is a much better approach than waiting for the ripple effect to show you that you failed at having a good intention from the start.
I believe that the concept of Karma shouldn’t be seen as a way to make people fear bad actions. Instead, it should be viewed as a way to keep our intentions pure so we can create a better world for ourselves and others. Focusing on seeing Karma as a punishment can only generate a negative effect. However, seeing Karma as a filter for our intentions will generate a more positive understanding of the concept, thus we will apply it better.
Karma is an effect, my friends. We have the power to create better ripple effects for ourselves and our loved ones by paying attention to our intentions. Everything we do from pure love always generates a wonderful effect. So, keep paying attention to your intentions and work on making them as beautiful as you want your life to be.
Love,
Irene.
