What is Karma, and How Does It Relate To Acts of God and Sacred Wounds?

by Robert Wilkinson

Today we take a new look at these profound and important topics that affect us all throughout this life and the others we’ve lived and will live. Through these things we have the ability to transcend suffering and become lights in our world.

We last looked at this subject about 16 months ago. I thought I’d give it to you again since there’s a lot of heaviness in the air as a result of what has fractured in everyone’s lives over the past few months (and years!) While life can be painful, we do not have to suffer.

Because life on Earth is impermanent, it's pretty much one long set of goodbyes, whether to people, activities, dreams, memories, or all the other things we experience while we're alive on Earth. However, since Nature abhors a vacuum, inevitably we'll attract new forms of these, and be attracted to new forms of these, throughout our lives. This helps us learn that a full glass cannot accept more water, but an empty one can, and that an open hand can be filled, but a hand clenching something tightly cannot receive anything.

It’s all part of learning how to be “perfectly human,” knowing what we can take responsibility for, and what we cannot. Our journey as Eternal Soul-Spirits is one of manifesting our lives through our 5 senses and our minds. Sometimes it gets strange or difficult, and today we’ll take a new look at what “causes” we create, which ones we don’t, and how it all fits into our Soul agreements before we incarnated.

I have observed that many times difficult things happen to us without any apparent reason. Too often I've heard blame or fault attributed to the one who suffers the difficulty, as though they were somehow the reason that such difficulty occurred. This points out a widespread misunderstanding of how karma actually works.

I've addressed this topic in several articles and across many comment streams. Various kinds of karma and good and bad "fortune" have many potential "reasons" for occurring. Sometimes we believe we know a reason, but just as often it may have nothing to do with what we believe.

Since our evolution is endless, and our lives are like ropes woven of Divine Threads, we'll never stop moving through experiences and gleaning wisdom from them. Sometimes these experiences are happy, seemingly forms of "good luck" or "good karma." Other times, they are difficult, seeming to be more "bad luck" or "bad karma." How can this be, if the universe desires only good for all of us?

This relates to a widespread superstition about “luck.” Every so often I get asked if there is such a thing as bad luck. The simple answer is yes and no.

Often what we call "luck" is a product of our attentiveness, preparedness, and willingness. We can turn difficulty into triumph, uncertainty into character strengths, and ignorance into wisdom. Who is to say that something that seems to be "bad luck" isn't the perfect opportunity to change our lives to the good forever?

Regarding the subject of karmas, most have been taught that “good karma” is the result of good actions in the past, and “bad karma” is the result of negative actions in the past. However, it’s not that simple or easy to know what “bad karma” actually is, what caused it, and why we confront it when we do, or not. Why do some good people seem to suffer from “bad karma,” while some bad people seem never to reap the results of their “bad karma?”

It helps to remember that we created our patterns for this life by what we did and did not cultivate in prior incarnations, along with what we learned when we were in “the Heaven World,” or Devachan. And we are creating future karmic patterns by our choices, actions, feelings, and thoughts while we’re here now.

We all know there is such a thing as bad karma, but often have a hard time dealing with it, whether our own or another's. Finding a new point of view regarding these things that seem to exist, we find that we have far more power to overcome and transmute bad luck and bad karma in the “here and now” than we usually think.

Over the decades, I've observed there are two kinds of “good and bad” karma. These are what I call "big K" Karma and "little k" karma. While somewhat interrelated, they are distinctly different types of karma. We have far more power to change the second type than we do the first type.

"Big K" Karma is built into our hologram at birth. These are primary causal energies that we must understand as part of our journey of Self-realization. They include Sacred Wounds by which we will come to powerful forms of compassionate service for others who suffer the same challenges, as well as those major lessons we must learn in order to move beyond our lesser self.

Every being has at least one of the Sacred Wounds. Some have more than one. Each one cuts us to the core, and by moving into the "underworld" associated with those sorts of Divine wounds and coming back to life in the appointed season, we contribute to the greater good in our world.

These help us serve with authenticity, since no external thing can take away the primal power of the direct experience. These types of "big K" Karma are often known as "Acts of God." Through healing these wounds and learning to live well despite them, we teach a higher Way by example.

Through dealing with our Sacred Wound(s), we learn to live what Rudhyar termed “the symbolic life,” and become a living symbol of a greater Way, Truth, and Life by the Light that shines as a result of dealing with that Sacred Wound. We never really “heal” it, but we do learn how to transmute the experience of the wound into the power to realize and demonstrate a higher purpose and service in our world.

Now we turn to "Little k" karmas. We create these lesser karmas as we move through life experiences, which yield "good" or "bad" results according to what we do or do not do. They are only important in the sense of being markers of greater lessons, or ways to modify our behavior, feelings, and thoughts.

Little “k” karmas are entirely the product of our actions, thoughts, and feelings, and can usually be changed by altering our behavior patterns. That’s not to say that all our misdeeds can be fixed, since as a great Bard once wrote, “the moving finger writes; and having writ, moves on; nor all your piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all your tears wash out a word of it.” Sometimes there’s nothing left to do but move on if there are no satisfactory amends to be made. Walk on, and “sin no more,” as we were once told.

Unfortunately, there is a widespread tendency to attribute guilt or blame when "bad things happen," even if that blame is misguided. These judgments naturally program us to take these on ourselves when "bad things happen," even though taking on guilt, blame, or shame cannot help us transmute much of anything.

Many take the attitude that because it's karma, we have little or no control over what manifests or not. This of course is an illusion. While we cannot do much about causes set into motion in the past, whether by ours or another's actions or inactions, or merely by circumstances, we can always transmute the energies in the NOW.

When we can learn to examine "bad luck" or "bad karma" as indicators of important lessons, and modify our response to better what we can, we learn how to transmute unfortunate illusions, attachments, and aversions into more positive and enjoyable lives. That's why no matter what life dishes out, we can always find a way to use those energies to our good, whether by diminishing the negatives or boosting the positives.

It's the same with "luck." Often "good luck" is merely the circumstance we have prepared for, knowingly or unknowingly. As with karma, we do have major control over what forms of "luck" do and do not manifest. It all depends on our willingness to rise to the needs of the Eternal NOW, and grow into a greater response-ability.

I elaborated more on these rather complex subjects a while ago in the article Overcoming Bad Luck, Bad Karma, and Bad Life Circumstances. Please take a new look at the precepts outlined there, and apply them as needed until you see your luck, or karma, shift to the good. After that comes an entirely new set of lessons!

Comments

Once again, Brilliant! Very clearly explained and practical. Does move forward or deeper from the usual (and often) superficial view of karma, guilt, luck and focuses in what we can do. Self responsibility is part of the growth in our path.

Posted by: Nic | May 16, 2014 at 04:11 PM

I love You!
Your writings are wonderful...I believe you are assisting many at this difficult time...wish I could meet you personally...you are wonderful to offer this blog to all...visit me at angelsmirth.com and leave me a message on facebook if you ever have time.
RS Jeanette

Posted by: Jeanette | May 16, 2014 at 10:20 PM