Is it possible to consciously settle-up on karma?
Seriously. As I continue pondering “how did I get here” I am looking inside and outside for clues. Some cultures or beliefs purport that when we find ourselves again and again in the same (unfavorable) circumstances, there is a karmic debt that is being collected. And so, I am wondering, is there a way to accelerate such payments?
About two years ago I kept having near-misses on the highways. These were scary near-misses, where usually the driver of a nearby auto would make some unexpected move that created a trajectory for collision with serious-impact possibilities. I would have to make a rapid evasive move, and while I was always the “innocent bystander” I was also the nigh-on decimated.
These near-misses happened six times over the course of about 12 months, and I became very concerned. Having already had one near-death auto accident, I wondered if I was somehow destined for another, and I really really really didn’t want to go through that. I also wondered if my life-path included creating a near-death experience for someone else, and I also very much didn’t want to partake in that.
So, I consulted my advisors, including a visit to my Rabbi. I described my experiences and concerns, and he sat across the desk from me and considered. Then, he advised me to increase my volunteer work. When I asked for more explanation, and he told me that sometimes “bad” can be thwarted by a proliferation of “good” and so I needed to increase the “good” in my life.
When I look back at that now it sounds a bit like what I am wondering about these days–can I prepay (so to speak) my karmic debts? Can I alter my behaviors or my focus so that I am more rapidly improving my karmic status?
I mean, I know I am a basically good person and all … but if we accept that bad things happen when we “owe” for past behavior (and I do accept that), and if I assert that I am tired of finding myself in the same old unacceptable (bad) situations … then for me it follows that one way to escape this routine is to pay off the debt. *
What do you think? Have you made conscious efforts to chip away a karmic debt? How’d that go? And do you think I need to get more clear on the nature of the debt, or just push forward and find a payment plan?
Photo: Karma Goes Both Ways by LexnGer. Used with Creative Commons license.
* Now, I also accept that there are myriad reasons for “bad” circumstances, and I am looking around at other elements too. The karmic debt and early payoff just happens to be prominent in my thoughts.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
sure, it’s true, being good and thinking good thoughts, brings more good to you. Or if not, at least when you die an untimely death, everyone will cluck their tongues and shake their heads and say, “What a shame! Such a nice person!”
And even if they don’t say that, the Universe’s Eye-In-The-Sky will know, and you will have lived an exemplary life. If you don’t believe this, go rob banks, beat up old people, steal candy from babies, be a jerk and see how far THAT gets you….not very far I’ll wager.
service work has worked for me. it seems we’re here to take care of each other. it hasn’t taken all that much, either, just a regular getting out of the middle of my life. no magic, no karma. it just feels good and strengthens my social ties. we’re social animals, like a super-organism. i feel better when i act accordingly.