Karma. I led a discussion a few months ago about the concept of karma. Most participants viewed karma as real and initially considered it a negative concept. The idea that when we harm, we get that action back in spades. The concept of karma is about exerting power and control. It helps us feel justified and empowered when we use it to curse or condemn another person. “Karma will bite them when they least expect.”

Karmic thought processes may empower us to laugh at someone else. We elevate ourselves by thinking, “Just wait, they’ll get theirs.” We may not think of these thoughts as karmically related, but they are indeed connected. Every time we use these thoughts or similar ones, we elevate ourselves over others through actions that are punishing, such as cursing someone else, which means putting someone else outside Spirit’s light. Then our spiritual connection becomes a competition to show who is more loved and worthy. This action can breed harm and unintended consequences. Walking with Spirit isn’t a competition of good vs. evil.

Consciously or not, karma comes into play when we think God doesn’t love us, because if we were truly loved, we wouldn’t suffer, and we wouldn’t feel pain. Or that someone else is more fortunate because “they live right.” I’m sorry we’ve been taught this. It weakens us in moments when we need to feel strong and loved. It causes us to feel diminished. The truth is, we are loved. When things happen to us that are bad, we aren’t being punished, and conversely, we aren’t rewarded for good deeds. In Sanskrit, karma refers to action and is never intended to imply reward or punishment. It is the natural law of the universe.

What if karma is the memory of experience to remind us of being mindful of our actions? What if karma is an intentional lesson, a means of checks and balances, prompting us to stop and think before we respond? Or reminding us of a lesson we’ve forgotten? When we do respond, it is by shining our light more brightly. Because if karma is real, then we must naturally acknowledge that the mere thought of harming will boomerang. Why not boomerang love instead? I can hear Spirit smiling and saying, “Whatever works. Do better. Behave better.” Karmic memory serves as a reminder of the need for a deeper reevaluation.

We are not to elevate ourselves above another, whether by thought or deed. Karma is not the safety we think we seek when invoking karma. As Wayne Dyer expressed, “How people treat you is their karma, how you react is yours.” Karma puts the object of a curse in darkness, out of the light of Spirit. Why would we want to do that when putting another in darkness serves to put ourselves in darkness? To curse another is not justice. I say this as a reminder that justice, when living in Spirit’s light, is not about justification; it is about forgiveness and grace. It is freedom.