What is Karma: Why it doesn’t pay to judge ourselves or others?

Karma can be defined as ‘the spiritual principle of cause and effect where the intent and actions of an individual influence the future of that very person.’

This means that the way others behave towards us contributes towards their karma, and the way we respond contributes to our karma. When we understand this, we know that nothing happens by chance, and therefore everything in our life happens for our benefit so that we can learn and grow from our experiences!

We are all students here, learning about life on earth and most of us still have unresolved issues, things that keep coming back to haunt us again and again.

Through the lessons that karma teaches us, we are offered the tools needed to transform ourselves into more evolved human beings. The more we become aware of the meaning of our life, by accepting our lessons and working through them to their completion, the fewer lessons we will need to repeat before achieving our dreams. So, the question becomes “What am I here to learn?”

What am I here to Learn? We are all unique and understand the world through our own personal belief system

Essentially, all human life can be thought of as a transition from an un-evolved mind to a mind that surrenders and allows the soul aspect of self to reign supreme. This is how we become ‘enlightened,’ (filled with the light of creation,) and within this energy, we remember who we are and realize that ALL is ONE.

We all came from this same source, and one day when we have finished in this school of life, we will all go back to that ONE source. However, until then, we have assumed different identities so that our souls can play here on earth. As we have grown up our identities have formed a distinctive view of the world because of the unique experiences we have been exposed to and the beliefs we have formulated about those experiences.

We can only ever view the world through our own blurred senses. Everything we see, feel and think is based on what WE know of the world. This view mostly conforms to a narrow ‘consensus reality’ which normalizes everything and places it within the comfort and context of our experiences, expectations, and understanding. In this way, we share many common beliefs with others.

However, when we talk with others, the accuracy of our conversations depend on their view of the world as well as ours, and how well we can convey concepts to each other. Because we all possess unique beliefs, this is a process that very often leads to misunderstandings, confusion, and sometimes conflicts.

So what? How does knowing this help me in my life?

When we judge others, we are really only making a judgment based on what we know and on what we have been programmed to believe is right, wrong, or any shade of gray in-between. This does not make our judgment true. However, this does not prevent most of us from basing our thoughts and actions on the belief that our view is accurate.

If you think about it, how can each individual on the planet be right when they hold onto ideas that are different from so many others? Most of us have some beliefs that we consider to be true and yet many others will have opposing views that they consider to be true.

To believe we are right and others are wrong is the basis of much of the conflict in the world. Giving up the need to be right and accepting that others may think differently based on their basic programming makes life a lot less complicated for everyone.

Take a walk in another’s shoes: Here we will learn to be less judgemental.

Imagining what it is like to walk in another person’s shoes helps us to understand why they act and believe the way they do. This does not mean we need to accept their ideas, beliefs, or values, but we will learn that it is not possible to judge them by our standards.

By being sympathetic and trying to understand what others are going through, our knowledge of life and its processes becomes more complete. And then with a willingness to understanding that all lives, and all life matters, we can become more mindful of the thoughts and actions that we express into the world. We will naturally become more supportive and compassionate towards others and be less inclined to judge another being based on our personal beliefs.

The school of life: Treat it as a playground and it becomes fun!

Souls travel together from lifetime to lifetime to continue working out their karma together and so the encounters we have are never coincidences. In this way, we are presented with the same lessons until we have learned what others have felt and experienced because of how we have treated them in the past. Our soul group provides us with our greatest opportunities for learning the lessons we are currently here to learn.

As a soul, we can never truly be happy while we are hurting others. Although our ego-self may believe we are in some way gaining some sort of advantage, it is ultimately to our detriment that we intentionally try to cause harm to any other being.

Even when we think we are alone and no one will see, it is our intention through the law of attraction that will invoke the resulting karma, good or bad. Therefore, in a sense, we are never truly alone and we can never escape the consequences of our actions.

Who are we to judge someone else? We don’t know their life story

Everyone is fighting their own inner battles of which we know very little. How can we judge others when we cannot fully understand their life? They may have suffered physical or mental trauma, war, never been loved or understood, or any other conditions that led to the formation of their unique views on life. Even when we think we know another person, we do not, and cannot.

The differences we have are opportunities for each of us to learn something new. We can help others and ourselves by being kind to those who are unkind or angry, for they are the ones who need it the most. Wishing someone well who hurt us allows us to release negative energy, whereas thoughts and actions of revenge only inflict more self-harm for us!

Those that intentionally cause harm are willingly participating in their own downfall. Unlike the law systems on Earth, the God-consciousness cannot ever be corrupted, forget, or ignore the thoughts or actions of anyone. This consciousness is like a fixed computer program that is running without a controller and will act according to its program without exception or deviation. Cause and effect, karma, or The Law of Attraction, call it what you will, the results are the same in that we always get what we deserve/create for ourselves!

Forgive yourself and others: It makes our journey a lot lighter.

Practicing forgiveness is to our advantage as it relieves us from the burden of suffering and stops us from accumulating negative lessons that will come to haunt us later in this or another lifetime. Forgiveness does not mean being happy with what has happened, but it is about us being evolved enough to show kindness, compassion, and understanding. In this way, we can avoid the negativity that would otherwise be gained if we responded in a less desirable way.

Always remember that what we put out into the world in the way of thoughts, words, and actions is what we attract back into our lives: Karma and The Law of Attraction always returns to us what we deserve.

After all, what we consider to be ‘wrong’ is only something that we currently do not approve of, do not want to happen, or do not understand. Instead of being caught up in the drama of any situation, we can try to view life from a longer-term perspective of learning lessons. By attempting to understand what we can learn from any situation, we are more inclined to ‘get over it’ and move on without further attachment.

Jesus described this best when he said: “Let the one amongst you who is without sin cast the first stone.”

There is not one single person who is alive today, who has not achieved the state of Christ Consciousness, that is worthy of casting a stone towards anyone else, for any reason! This is the nature of our existence- we are here to grow in conscious awareness to reach SELF-realization, and until then we are all just riding a bike with the training wheels still attached.

Judgment is a limiting belief: It twists our mind and only hurts us

It is not up to us to meter out punishment to others. However, it is in our best interest to forgive them and thank them for the lessons they provide to us, even though this may be difficult at times. It will give us a sense of relief and allow us to move forward feeling refreshed.

Anyone who has hurt us or come to our aid will receive exactly what they deserve through the accumulation of karma. Here their ‘reward or punishment’ mirrors exactly what they deserve. Yes, in a universe as perfect as the one we exist in, there is no distinction between good and bad, and each will return in the exact same measure as given.

We are but a small cog in a universe of connected cogs and cannot possibly comprehend the complex repercussions of our simplest actions. When one cog moves, all other mechanisms are affected. This is too much responsibility for the human mind to comprehend.

We should be grateful that the natural laws of nature keep perfect order so that we can concentrate on our own self-development. We benefit the most when we release all judgment against our-self and others and we are then rewarded with feelings of peace in our mind, body, and soul.

Sadly, it is often our self who is our own worst enemy.

Unfortunately, most people are willing participants in their own punishment by being ignorant of the damage they are inflicting upon themselves with their negative mind-chatter. We will receive back according to our thoughts and actions. If we get used to this idea and start to consciously create thoughts and actions that are uplifting, one by one our lives, and therefore this world will be magically transformed for the better. This law applies to all things, as all are included in the ONE consciousness that is God.

Why stop there? Why not extend our love and compassion to all life?

God, Creation, The Universal Mind, is energy, and some of this energy is expressed at a slow vibration giving the appearance of physical matter as in the current physical universe that we perceive. Everything that has form is expressing energy from God.

It is easy for most people to understand that living, thinking, breathing animals have consciousness and souls, but it may be harder to accept that even the trees, rocks, water, concrete, your car, the table, and all things are expressing the energy of God, and are, as such affected by the energy we project onto them. Therefore, when considering the effects we are having on our own karma we need to consider our relationship to all energy, in effect, all that is manifest and un-manifest. We need to extend our compassion to all living creatures and the whole of nature.

Constant acceptance of others as they are, and looking for the good in all situations, is always the best option. To have the wisdom to be able to do this we need to have experienced life from many different perspectives so we can understand what is happening and then understand the consequences that will follow.

The ability to empathize with others comes with time and experience, and more importantly, with the desire to want to understand. Understanding is a choice we make, consciously or unconsciously and it affects our ability to see the world from someone else’s point of view. Do you want others to be more understanding of you? Then take the necessary steps and first become more understanding towards others.

We are all here playing the same game: What kind of experience are you creating for yourself?

A pond, river, stream, cloud, ocean, and water in a glass are not the same things in our perception. We use words to explain to others how these things are all different. In reality, they are all just collections of water and contain the same essence. Asians, Africans, Americans, Europeans are the names we use to differentiate peoples of the Earth, however, we are all people with the same spirit. Christians, Muslims, Taoists, Buddhists are the names of the different religious groups, however, they all contain the same universal truths if we can read between the lines.

The reality is that we are all born into a specific situation and learn what those around us wanted us to learn. Whether we are either Muslim or Catholic, tall or short, Asian or African is not important. With the knowledge that we are who we are because of the situation we were born into, combined with genetics and our upbringing, we should be tolerant to all those who are like us and those who are not like us.

Because like us, they too are a product of their environment which is not something that they consciously remember choosing to be a part of. Born with no thoughts of our own we accepted the ideas and beliefs of those closest to us, as did everyone else on earth. How then can we judge anyone for being who they are?

Shared with love and respect for all souls who choose to play the game of life.

Andrew