Karma
Karma is a word we hear bantered about in Western society today and is a somewhat misunderstood concept. Karma tends to be interpreted as either a punishment or reward from previous lives or a repercussion of something good or bad that we have done. These are not unreasonable interpretations of Karma, however, these ways of looking at Karma seem to hint toward some divine law of the universe casting judgements on our behaviour. I do not believe this to be so.
In my opinion, Karma is a state of mind. We create our own good or bad Karma through our way of viewing and perceiving our experiences. Good things seem to happen to positive thinking individuals because, even when faced with adversity, they try to see something good. The same holds true for those who always look at the negative in a situation. I must confess, I often find myself sliding the way of the negative thinker, but I am becoming more and more aware of this and trying to alter the way that I respond to situations. It is not a rapid transition, but it is a transformation of thought that has become a bigger player in the way that I think.
Edward De Bono, in his works on Lateral Thinking, described our minds to be like a mound of Jello, and our experiences to be like pouring hot water on this mound. Just as we see with rain as it falls upon the earth, the water forms channels and, over time, as water seeks the path of least resistance, these channels are etched deeper and deeper over time. So, what De Bono is saying is that if we continue to solve problems using the same ways of problem solving, those ways - whether or not effective - become entrenched deeper and cause us to think in the way that we do. If this is to be accepted - I personally find it to be quite a reasonable assessment and have, as I stated previously, attempted to do this myself - then we can lead ourselves toward having better Karma.
In the end, we generate our own realities. The most empowering part of all of this is that we also have a choice. While we are a product of our experiences, we can chose to be something other - to experience a metamorphoses. While many believe in destiny and fate, I would state that that is irrelevant as we can still choose how to see these things. Sometimes our greatest horrors can become our greatest gifts. I've been through a lot in my life - oftentimes it's been harsh. But I'm still here, I am who I am and I control my choices. This is good.
