NOWHERE in John Lennon’s song does it talk about retribution and punishment.
Yet, ever since Karma was introduced to the Westerner, it has been twisted to instill fear (shame and guilt). The song is about taking responsibility for who we really are and owning it. It is about love and shining that light from the inside out. It is impossible to love from fear.
Repeatedly, I hear clients talk about Karma like a shadow of fear only inches behind them waiting for them to make a mistake and then cowering in fear waiting for the punishment. This fear can be so crippling that we trip over ourselves as we are walking on the street to avoid stepping on every little bug in our path. Karma is not about “paying it forward” and the moment we don’t, we get punished for it. It is not simply about a continuous series of cause and effect. Karma should not be experienced as a burden, rather as a conscious act and expression of our true nature.
My experience is that I am consciousness incarnated into this body to learn certain lessons. Along the way, through trial and error, I will make mistakes and they too are part of my lessons. In each incarnation, I carry within me the innate knowing of what I learned previously. Then next incarnation I may need to learn the deeper meaning of that which I didn’t learn before. Karma is not about paying for past deeds in another or present life.
Sooner or later “Instant Karma’s gonna get you.”
All this means is that if we are each consciousness, sooner or later we must recognize this and take responsibility for our contribution to the evolution/devolution of humanity. Why not sooner? What if each person with whom you came in contact was an element of YOU, whether it is a begger on the street, a kind benevolent stranger or friend, a thief, the politician next door, etc.? Can we take responsibility with love and compassion for the life we create and how it affects others? What if we could view Karma as feedback? We get instant feedback each and every day and in each and every moment. Often times we don’t see it or pay attention to it or we deny it and don’t accept it. That too is part of our lesson. Karma could be a series of lessons we either learn or avoid.
For more posts by Carol Pilkington, Spiritual Mentor/Teacher, click here.
The post is presented by the National Publicist, Annie Jennings of the NYC based PR Firm, Annie Jennings PR. Annie Jennings PR specializes in marketing books for getting authors booked on radio talk show interviews, TV shows in major online and in high circulation magazines and newspapers. Annie also works with speaker and experts to build up powerful platforms of credibility and influence.
