Self Cultivation

The word karma is a Sanskrit word that means action. The idea behind karma is that each action has an equal reaction and our actions are recorded and rewarded. We tend to misinterpret this as a sort of martial law of the universe, that if we do harm, the universe punishes us with bad karma, and on the other hand, if we do good deeds we are rewarded by the universe with good karma. When in reality we are the shot callers, and karma is a cycle. It is neither good, nor bad. It is never happy or sad, there is no emotional charge behind the process of karma.

Karma is driven by action. If someone commits an action that is considered negative, the result in itself is usually going to be negative, not necessarily because the universe is handing out punishments, but because an action results in a reaction. Karma can be driven in whatever direction we want it go to, because we are the captains of our ships, we control the actions that lead to the reactions. We can look at one karmic law, the law of cause and effect, this law states that what you put out into the world, you will get back. Other religions use this law and restate it as ‘you reap what you sow’, or ‘what goes around, comes around’ these sayings are all one and the same. Under this law, we can either create good karma for ourselves or bad karma. Based on the decisions we make for our daily routines and how we schedule our days can make a big difference in getting back what we put out. We looked at one law of karma but the others are just as useful.

• The law of creation: This law highlights that life does not simply happen to us; we must take action to make things happen.
• The law of humility: This law states that you must accept that your current circumstances are the product of your previous acts.
• The law of growth: This law emphasizes that true change begins with oneself, and that you should concentrate on what you can influence.
• The law of responsibility: This law states that you are the result of your choices.
• The law of connection: This law asserts that everything in the cosmos is interconnected, and that even the smallest details are significant.
• The law of focus: This law states that focusing on too many things at once can slow you down.

Following these principles (which I feel are the ‘original’ 7 habits), there are so many ways to create good karma in our lives. One way is by taking action on our goals, looking at your current view and mapping out a plan to change that view if necessary we can create a path of positive results. Using the law of growth we can channel areas of personal growth in order to cultivate a beneficial future, based on the lessons that we have learned from our past. The tool of accountability can be used to improve on our level of leadership as mentioned in the law of responsibility. Connection is a great thing to have when building good karma, the realization that all things big and small are in some form connected, is a good way to keep us grounded in helping one another. Laying a solid mental foundation to start each day is crucial to success, the law of focus mentions that we should not give ourselves more than what we can handle. I remember thinking once, that getting a 2nd job as a supplemental income would be a great idea, which actually turned into a situation of overwhelming stress when I realized that the job was much more intensive than I interpreted it to be. This then caused instability in my level of positive mental health, which is always, in some way or another, a set back or a slow down.

While karma is most certainly a great philosophy, it’s not actually a tool of universal vengeance, as most tend to think. In order to create good karma, you must cultivate the actions that align with the good things that you want to see. Create spaces of balance in life that enable you to think on a clear and rational level. Learn to focus on what you want, not what you don’t want. Be proactive and plan according to the results that you desire. A great rule of thumb to remember is that poor planning will yield poor decision making which will most likely lead to poor results, also known as bad karma.

Karma is there for us all, it’s up to us on which side of the fence we land.