The Truth About Karma and How to Break Free
Let’s demystify karma. People have all kinds of strange preconceived notions about karma. But what the heck is it really? Before we uncover the truth about what karma is, let’s talk about what it’s NOT.
It’s not woo-woo or black magic that can be used for vengeance. It’s not a hex that the universe uses to punish you every time you do something bad.
Life isn’t shaking its finger at you and taunting, “Nanny nanny boo boo, karma’s going to get you.”
Um, that’s nonsense.
Most people seem to lack a clear definition of what it truly is. And if you don’t know what it is, how can you realize how it affects your life? Or break free from it?
If you’re as baffled by karma as I was (as most of us are), let me shed some light on the truth about what karma actually is. And put an end to the fallacies associated with the word and all the discombobulation — at least in regards to the topic of karma.
In this post, I’ll dispel the common misconceptions about karma and explain the benefits of understanding how it affects your life. I’ll also explain how to break free of it.
And as an added bonus, I’ll even share how it may be blocking you from manifesting your desires.
Yay! Who knew you’d get a little treat today? Feels like winning the lottery, now doesn’t it? Yeah, it really does.
Who knows. If you stick with me until the end, maybe you can pass along these insightful tidbits to your friends and family as entertainment (or education, whatever).
Like a nifty little party trick, you can pull out of your hat to impress everyone at the next friendly or family get together.
You’re welcome!
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Table of Contents
- What is Karma
- Misconceptions About Karma
- The Benefits of Understanding Karma
- How to Break the Karmic Trap
- How Karma Affects Our Lives
- How Karma Blocks Our Manifestations
What is Karma?
So, let’s get into the nitty-gritty, shall we? The truth is the word ‘karma’ merely means ‘action.’ It’s a Sanskrit word that originates from ancient Hindu teachings and is a key concept in religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
In the simplest terms, karma is the sum of all your actions, which include every word, choice, and deed. With every action you create karma.
You’re creating karma right now by reading this post.
And physics shows us that the energy produced by our actions returns to us. Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction.
So, karma is in fact energy. As our actions are energy. Because all things are energy. And energy cannot be created nor destroyed, which explains why it is believed that it follows us into our next life.
According to these ancient teachings, it is also believed that our goal in our current life is to accumulate good karma by performing selfless acts and good deeds.
But karma is neutral. It is not good, nor bad. It just is. Like many universal concepts.
Misconceptions About Karma
Karma is Not a Reward or Punishment
Many people think of karma like a curse or vindictive force that keeps us all in line and promotes good behavior. But being kind shouldn’t be done out of fear. Or so that you can cash in on a karmic prize.
The modern concept of karma has twisted the true intent of good deeds, and acts of kindness are treated like a fail-safe against accumulating bad karma.
You’ve likely heard one of these popular proverbs, which sum up the general understanding of karma.
“What goes around, comes around.”
“You reap what you sow.”
“If you do good to others, good will happen to you.”
But these familiar sayings fall short of the true concept of ‘right action’ as defined by the original teachings. Not to say there isn’t some truth in these sayings. But they imply that one must behave in a particular ‘right’ way in order to be rewarded, and if not, will be punished.
But punished by who? Karma is not going to slap you on the wrist.
It’s not a form of punishment, only a guidance system meant to lead you back to who you are at your core. You are good. Your soul, your true Self, is pure love.
And the more connected you are to that, the more goodness you put out into the world, which ultimately attracts more goodness to you.
But it’s not done from an egoic want or fear. The intention behind your action makes all the difference.
To be clear, a life of good karma is one focused on performing ‘right actions’ for the sake of helping others. It’s an act of love. When you are selfless, you’re being your true Self.
The Myth About Good Karma vs. Bad Karma
Ultimately, there is no good or bad karma. ‘Good’ and ‘bad’ are just labels. And if you get tripped up on the labels, you create suffering. And suffering attracts negative things into your life.
We’ve already established that according to physics every action we take has a consequence. But the actions themselves are not good or bad.
You may have cut someone off in traffic. Lost your cool with your nosy neighbor. Lied to your boss. Hurt a friend. Those actions are your karma. You won’t be punished for them. Not by karma coming back to bite you in the keester. Only by yourself.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not telling you to do those things. But don’t beat yourself up if you do make a mistake. And don’t hold onto the belief that karma, or the universe, is out to get you if you do.
When this life is over, you’ll look back at all your actions and see the consequences of how those actions affected others.
Did you live the life you wanted to live? Were you the person you wanted to be? No matter what you did (good or bad), you are only bound to your karma if you don’t grow from the experience.
Nevertheless, your soul may choose for you to learn those lessons again, and hopefully make different choices.
In the end, only YOU are judging and sentencing yourself.
So don’t fret too much over the righteousness of all your deeds. You can relax a little bit.
We’re all here to learn. If you make a mistake, learn from it and move on.
The Benefits of Understanding Karma
So what are the benefits of understanding your karma? When you awaken to the truth about karma, you realize you have the power to release it and create your reality. And that’s freedom.
Most people are unaware of this simple truth. Instead, they hand over their power to karma and use it as an excuse to play the victim in their life.
It’s a scapegoat for all their misfortunes and bad luck. They fail to take responsibility for their actions, which ultimately led to the events that have taken place in their lives.
Karma is not a disciplinary action set in motion by the universe for all the good deeds you failed to do. Or for the accumulation of all your wrong actions in past lives or the current one.
It is, in essence, choice. Karma is every action we take. We choose our actions and therefore chose every event (good or bad) that manifests in our lives.
That’s a hard pill to take. I know. To think you chose all the crappy things you’ve been through and hardships you’ve dealt with seems impossible to believe.
But it’s actually liberating. It means you have the power to change it.
How to Break the Karmic Trap
If the universe isn’t punishing you for the choices you’ve made, who is? You are. You do that, all on your own.
The guilt, shame, resentment, bitterness, and anger you feel in regards to your choices, which led to the mistakes you’ve made, keep you trapped in pain.
That pain attracts more pain into your life. That is the karmic hamster wheel we have chosen to experience.
We can choose at any time to step off the wheel, and choose a different action. We can choose forgiveness, gratitude, or even love. It’s up to us. It always has been.
And that’s how you break free of the karmic trap. Booyah!
The Truth of How Karma Affects Your Life
Traditionally, it’s believed that good deeds result in good karma, which progresses the soul spiritually.
That’s why you were created. To expand spiritually and learn lessons.
Each of us is a single point of awareness through which the universe can experience life. The universe manifested you to experience all that life has to offer.
It wants to collect experiences, through you. That’s the only way that it can experience the world. And awareness wants to experience EVERYTHING.
So, it has set up a system in which we complete levels. This is how evolution works. You’re here on Earth to learn and grow.
Life is a classroom. As you learn the lessons your soul has chosen for you, you release karma and graduate to the next level.
Learn Your Lessons or Repeat Them
In each life, your soul (higher self or whatever terminology you prefer to use) signs up to experience particular lessons.
If you refuse to learn the lesson your soul chose to learn in this life, you remain bound by your spiritual contract.
It will continue to show up in your life. The faces and names of the players may change, but the lesson you repeat remains the same.
To move past the current lesson, recognize the recurring patterns in your life.
Ask yourself, “What is the lesson that’s showing up in my life? “
Then make a different choice when it pops up. If you continue to make the same choices, you’ll be stuck in a loop of repeating the same lessons. Choose to learn from it.
Use the newfound knowledge to grow as a person. Then detach from the emotion of it and release any pain caused by it.
Once you’ve passed the test, so to speak, you release the karmic contract.
The truth is karma affects not only our current life but all of our lives. You can also become attached to people and events if you’re strongly attached to them (positively or negatively).
Karmic connections are sticky. But when you release your attachment to people and events in your life, you free yourself from their influence.
These attachments are only masking the truth of who you truly are — an eternal being having a human experience.
No Person in Your Life is a Coincidence
Everyone in your life is there for a reason. Karma has brought you face to face with these people to play out a particular lesson.
You need to dust off those observation skills. So, go on Sherlock Holmes. Get to sleuthing.
Ask yourself, “Why is this person in your life?“
“What is it they’re trying to teach you? “
Or on the flip side, “What could you teach them?“
Do you recognize any karmic relationships in your life that may be trying to teach you something?
I’ve had many karmic relationships. None of them has been fun. But I’m a better person for them. And looking back, I can appreciate the lessons they taught me.
When you have no clue why these types of relationships seem to continually bulldoze their way into your life, it’s hard to see the big picture.
It can be very painful and leave you feeling like you just got hit by a Mack truck.
We all have a role to play. The sooner you figure out what that role is, the sooner you can clear your karma.
Then maybe you can attract a nice, quiet relationship. Or an obnoxious, loud one. If you’re into that. Whatever floats your boat.
RELATED POST: 3 Reasons to Forgive Someone Today
Be mindful
Make conscious choices. By being more present and mindful of your choices, you lessen the chances of creating more karma in this life.
You just need to slow down and be aware of what you’re doing. Then you’ll be able to make more conscious decisions about what action to take next.
Actions that are in alignment with your true Self.
The Truth of How Karma May Be Blocking Your Manifestations
If karma is all of your actions, then you’re performing an action every time you make a choice.
Your choices to indulge in self-sabotaging behaviors and negative thoughts are actions. Actions you have chosen to take.
Awareness is neutral and nonjudgemental. It manifests what you focus on regardless of whether it’s negative or positive. According to the Law of Attraction, like attracts like.
So that means negativity attracts more negativity. In other words, these choices are manifesting negative things into your reality.
That is how karma blocks your manifestations and keeps you from materializing the love, happiness, and wealth you desire.
Your Past Life Karmic Contracts
The karma tied to your soul contracts and past lives may also keep you from manifesting your desires.
Let’s say for example you want to manifest a ridiculously wealthy lifestyle. But maybe you were already crazy rich in a past life.
And maybe that wealth led you to become superficial, feel isolated from the world, and perhaps distrust people.
That was the lesson your soul signed up for in that lifetime. You’ve been there, done that.
Perhaps your soul feels that the hardships you encountered in that lifetime were due to your wealth. So, your soul wishes for you to have a different experience in this life.
An experience in which you earn your fortune, make different choices and fulfill a more meaningful purpose.
Not to say there’s anything wrong with being wealthy beyond your wildest dreams. Awareness wants to experience everything.
Our soul will continue to incarnate into different lives, and different lessons, until we have experienced it all. Only then do we end the cycle of reincarnation.
Break Free to Unlock Your Desires
But how do you change your stars when you feel as though your fate has already been decided for you?
It hasn’t. The truth is karma isn’t set in stone. You can manifest anything you wish to experience, even if you’ve already experienced it in a past life.
Like I’ve said before, you have the power to make choices. Hence the existence of karma. And you always have the choice to release it with choices that are in alignment with your desires.
The power lies within your hands, not in your karma.
The universe is neutral and will manifest anything you focus on. You may have to heal your karma in order to hurdle the obstacle it’s creating for your desire.
But you chose that obstacle too. Or at least your soul did. So, learn the lesson that is being presented to you.
Let’s end the mass confusion and empower the world with the truth about karma. The truth will set you free! And freedom is power. Am I right?
I feel a little bit wiser? How about you?
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