Karma

NEARLY all of us are reborn incomplete humans, great teachers such as Buddha say, cosmic sojourners driven into a weary continuum of semi-aware lives.

We sense little of the karmic contents of our own carry-on luggage, which is brimming with karmic seeds boarding with us on our journey into each new life on Earth.

In this undeveloped state, we are pushed by our own unresolved debts and talents, having no conscious decision in the process — our egos decorated with the colors and patterns of all our past thoughts and actions.

If fortunate we recall vague snippets of our true identity, but for the most part haunting images of unrealized aspirations and desires, and unresolved questions. “The mass of men,” Thoreau once commented, “live lives of quiet desperation.”

Yet it is really the earmarked pages of our own personal history that are the pilots inexorably charting our reincarnations. In the end we become what we are, whether Prince or Pauper.

This is the result of our Karma inheritance from ourselves, and coupled with Reincarnation are the unerring “twin doctrine” of Theosophy.

“Karma gives the eternal law of action, and Reincarnation furnishes the boundless field for its display,” wrote W. Q. Judge in his groundbreaking article “The Synthesis of Occult Science.” According to this eternal law, Judge says, “Theosophy is building toward

…the future realization of the Universal Brotherhood and the higher evolution of man.”

ë

Not everyone can grasp the “complete synthesis of the evolution that these doctrines form so important a part,” he acknowledged.

Instead of being the “victims of change and ‘selfish genes,'” theosophical scholar David Pratt wrote, and that “the twin doctrines of reincarnation and karma

“…place the responsibility for our lives firmly upon our own shoulders.”

Ω

Thousands of people are drawn by the logic of these doctrines, W. Q. Judge wrote, and “to weave them into the fabric of their lives and “apply them as a basis of conduct.”

Traveler

Art and animation join spiritual knowledge as ancient as time itself. You don’t have to find a hidden monastery near the roof of the world.

“The Soul stands alone,” says the narrator in this video: “The wise traveler becomes the Sage, only holding on to what is permanent. The Sage never claims to have a soul — the traveler is the Soul, the Soul is the traveler.”

Self-Made Souls

With a karmically rooted worldview, our fate is not arbitrarily caused by “some fickle God,” David Pratt says, but rather

“… we have made ourselves what we are, and it is up to us to use our free will wisely, in order to help others and change ourselves for the better.”

Å

Σ

As the Buddha taught, the nature of our thoughts and actions largely color our future lives, as well the states of consciousness we experience between those lives, or what is called “Devachan” in Tibetan — our after-death dream state.

Karmic Pebbles

“Fear kills the will and stays all action,” The Voice of the Silence warns the disciple. If lacking in the Shila virtue — [Shila: the key of Harmony in word and act, the key that counterbalances the cause and the effect, and leaves no further room for Karmic action]:

 “The pilgrim trips, and Karmic pebbles bruise his feet along the rocky path.”

c

The creative cause of our unconscious karmic baggage can be understood in the Buddha’s teaching that all the varieties of personality and character are the result of the formative power of “thoughts.”

Lives of Learning

In 1980, Brian Weiss, head of the psychiatry department at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, began treating Catherine, a 27-year-old woman plagued by anxiety, depression and phobias.

When Weiss turned to hypnosis to help Catherine remember repressed childhood traumas, what emerged were the patient’s descriptions of a dozen or so of her hitherto unknown 86 past lives.

Catherine’s anxieties and phobias soon disappeared, says Weiss, and she was able to end therapy.

ö

In the Dhammapada The Buddha teaches: “all that we are is founded on our thoughts and formed of our thoughts.”

And, we do a lot of thinking!

õ

Ð

In this Mahayana Buddhist tradition, the Voice of the Silence teaches that “the Mind is the great slayer of the Real,” adding: “let the Disciple slay the Slayer.”

Mind Creator

Wisdom quote by Tai Situ Rinjpoche

National ethics expert Russell Gough, in Character Is Destiny, restates the age-old formula that character is ultimately determined by our thinking. Says Gough:

“Sow a thought, reap an act; sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”

√

An inescapable truth lies at the heart of this simple formula of sowing and reaping.

The quality of a life is not determined by “the happenstance of genetics or by the influence of environment,” writes award winning author Shelby Steele.

In his review of Gough’s book Steele opines “it is not measured in material possessions or in the trappings of youth — it is not dependent on personality or social acclaim.”

“On the contrary, the intrinsic value of the lives we lead reflects the strength of a single trait: our personal character.”

∞

Below: Marlee Matlin as Amanda, the protagonist and heroine of What the BLEEP Do We Know.

Knots of the Heart

by William Q. Judge
(Excerpts from”Karma”)

A person can have no attachment for a thing he does not think about, therefore the first step must be to fix the thought on the highest ideal.

The more the mind dwells on any course of conduct, whether with pleasure or pain, the less chance is there for it to become detached from such action.

Edward’s Healing Release

“The manas [Sk] (mind) is the knot of the heart,” Judge wrote, and “when that is untied from any object, in other words when the mind loses its interest in any object, there will no longer be a link between the Karma connected with that object and the individual.”

Non-Attachment

It is the attitude of the mind which draws the Karmic cords tightly round the soul. It imprisons the aspirations and binds them with chains of difficulty and obstruction.

“Thou must have mastered all the mental changes in thy Self,” The Voice of the Silence advices the disciple…

ξ

“… and slain the army of the thought sensations that, subtle and insidious, creep unasked within the Soul’s bright shrine.”

Ψ

It is desire that causes the past Karma to take form and shape and build the house of clay. It must be through non-attachment that the soul will burst through the walls of pain, it will be only through a change of mind that the Karmic burden will be lifted.

Modifications of Mind

In his rendering of The Yoga Aphorisms of the Sage Patanjali, W. Q. Judge conveys the Sage’s views on the relationship between Yoga and thought:

“Concentration, or Yoga, is the hindering of the modifications of the thinking principle.”

≈

Points of Thought

“In other words, the want of concentration of thought is due to the fact that the mind — here called ‘the thinking principle’ — is subject to constant modifications, by reason of its being diffused over a multiplicity of subjects.”

“So ‘concentration’ is equivalent to the correction of a tendency to diffuseness, and to the obtaining of what the Hindus call ‘one-pointedness.'”

≠

The power of concentration is, Judge confirms: “to apply the mind, at any moment, to the consideration of a single point of thought, to the exclusion of all else.”

Soul Power

“Upon this Aphorism [the want of concentration] — the method of the system hinges,” writes W. Q. Judge:

“The reason for the absence of concentration at any time is, that the mind is modified by every subject and object that comes before it — it is, as it were, transformed into that subject or object.”

Chameleon

The brain should not be confused with the mind, Judge also says, it is merely “an instrument for the mind.” We have to use another power — our spiritual will, a soul power — to subdue the mind, and make it a servant of the heart.

“The mind, therefore, is not the supreme or highest power—it is only a function, an instrument with which the soul works, senses and experiences.”

♣

The Shadow

Karmic Conundrum

In The Key to Theosophy, H. P. Blavatsky uses the phrase “unmerited suffering” — a puzzle to some students because it seems opposed to Karma’s fundamental axiom that:

“…the particular conditions of life in which each person finds himself, are nothing more than the retributive Karma which the individual generated in a previous life.”

Ω

Wicked Witch of the West

Suffering is “unmerited” only from viewpoint of the “new” personality — which, like the physical body, is in some ways similar to a new suit of clothes.

“We are what we
continually do.”

– Russell Gough

Forgetfulness is no excuse for abusive or ignorant parenting— every situation depends upon the innate character and spiritual development of each family member.

Parental Factors

Nature or Nurture

The inherent  karmic character of the incoming child, and the parent, together determine the nature of the new circumstances and conditioning.

Free will, choice and character play a primary role — even if the specific causation is unremembered by the new brains and personalities.

±

The connection, however, between the present and the future life is nonetheless very complex. This is explained in more detail in Echoes from the Orient by W. Q. Judge:

“…when a being dies, he emits, as it were, a mass of force or energy, which goes to make up the new personality when he shall be reincarnated.”

§

Shady Nook

Yet, every reincarnating person is compensated for his perceived ‘unmerited suffering’ during the period of between-life sleep known by the Tibetan word “Devachan” [place of the Gods], says Theosophy.

“We say that man suffers so much unmerited misery during his life, through the fault of others with whom he is associated, or because of his environment,” Blavatsky explains that

“… he is surely entitled to perfect rest and quiet, if not bliss, before taking up again the burden of life.”

∏

Perrault - Jeune-Mere-Et-Enfant-Endormie

Army of ‘Skandhas’

Key to Theosophy (excerpts)

“Every labourer is worthy of his hire,” Blavatsky wrote in the Key, “every action, good or bad, is a prolific parent, saith the Wisdom of the Ages. “

“Put the two together,
and you will find the ‘why.'”

ð

“After allowing the Soul, escaped from the pangs of personal life, a sufficient, aye, a hundredfold compensation …

Karma — with its army of Skandhas [traits, habits, debts, unlearned lessons] — waits at the threshold of Devachan [a Tibetan word meaning blissful state after death] — whence the Ego re-emerges to assume a new incarnation.”

“It is at this moment that the future destiny of the now-rested Ego trembles in the scales of just Retribution, as it now falls once again under the sway of active Karmic law.”

Ø

“It is in this rebirth which is ready for it, a rebirth selected and prepared by this mysterious, inexorable, but in the equity and wisdom of its decrees infallible LAW, that the sins of the previous life of the Ego are punished.

“Shadow Trick”

“Only it is into no imaginary Hell, with theatrical flames and ridiculous tailed and horned devils, that the Ego is cast, but verily on to this earth — the plane and region of his sins — where he will have to atone for every bad thought and deed.

“As he has sown,
so will he reap.”

≡

Lion, Tin Man, Dorothy, Toto and Scarecrow

“Reincarnation will gather around him all those other Egos who have suffered, whether directly or indirectly, at the hands, or even through the unconscious instrumentality, of the past personality.

“They will be thrown by Nemesis in the way of the new man, concealing the old, the eternal EGO, and . . . .”

Trials of Initiation

In the Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy and her companions take a shortcut through a poppy field symbolizing mind-altering drugs, explains examiner.com writer Wayne Purdin in the article:

Baum’s Wizard

“Some people think they can use drugs as a shortcut to the etheric dimension,” Purdin writes — but Glinda, the Good Witch of the North (the Higher Self), “intervenes and wakes them from their stupor.”

"Glinda"

Purdin is convinced that Theosophist Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz, is a tale of a soul caught in despair: “… and how the protection and guidance of the higher self takes that soul to the point of initiation

“…where she must confront the shadow self or The-dweller-on-the-threshold.”

Þ

The ‘Dweller’

The “Dweller on the Threshold” refers to an invisible malevolent entity that attaches to a human being. The term was first used by Bulwer-Lytton in his novel Zanoni.

Jason-and-Argonauts - Medea puts the Dweller of the Threshold to sleep

Ω

I’m a dweller on the threshold
And I’m waiting at the door
And I’m standing in the darkness
I don’t want to wait no more

I have seen without perceiving
I have been another man
Let me pierce the realm of glamour
So I know just what I am.

ζ

Van Morrison wrote this song he called “Dweller On The Threshold” — a lyrical and sincere personal interpretation — and we thought some  readers might enjoy Morrison’s musical time out.

In Isis Unveiled H. P. Blavatsky describes the Dweller on the Threshold as the discarded astral double of an individual from a previous life, that may not have fully disintegrated when that individual is reborn.

Thus the Dweller, wrote W. Q Judge, will be drawn to the new incarnated personality due to the old affinity.

“The dweller of the threshold in Zanoni is no fiction,” writes W. Q. Judge in answer to Question 28 in the Theosophical Forum. “It is ever with each student, for it is the baser part of humanity that he begins in real earnest as never before to fight.”

“At the same time, the brightly shining Adonai is also there to help and save if we will let that be done.”

þ

The Wicked Witch

The Wicked Witch of the West represents the dweller, and Baum clearly indicated this when he had his illustrator William Denslow show the witch at the threshold of a doorway.

Wicked Witch of the West

The doorway leads to Dorothy’s initiation. Carolyn Myss, in Spiritual Alchemy, sees the witch as the embodiment of Dorothy’s fears that she must face and overcome.

But according to Theosophy, the dweller can be any negativity that prevents one from passing initiation..

†

—for it is the sum total of all the negative momentums you haven’t overcome in all your embodiments.

Ho’oponopono

We should welcome working healing tools and strategies to help us overcome the momentum of many lives of repetitive behaviors and thoughts. Facilitator, Mabel Katz, helps us better understand the powerful, ancient Hawaiian Healing Method of Ho’oponopono.

Cleaning "tool"

“Ho’oponopono teaches that we are created in the exact likeness of The Divine, but the reason that we don’t experience this on a moment to moment basis

…is because we’ve got garbage [karma-memories] replaying in our subconscious minds.”

∩

Perfect Solution

“You don’t have to know what you are cleaning with,” Mabel says, “because there is a part of you that knows everything. This part of you is only waiting for you to give it permission to help you with that problem. It has the perfect solution to the problem, and the perfect answer to all your questions.”

100% Responsible

“Ho’oponopono is about taking 100% responsibility for everything we experience in our lives and acknowledging that

“…the only thing that prevents us from experiencing Inspiration from The Divine — on a moment to moment basis — are these memories.”

ζ

“All of our excess, and often useless memories prevent us from being one with The Divine and cause us to be unclear.”

“When we mentally repeat one of the Ho’oponopono cleaning tools, like ‘I Love You’:

“…we are talking to The Divinity in us which knows exactly who we are and what is perfect for us.”

♥

“We are acknowledging that we don’t know what is going on and that this is causing us to be unclear. This appeal tells The Divine that we are willing to ‘let go’ and gives us the opportunity to be infused with Inspiration.

“Stop It!”

Humor is next to cleanliness, is next to godliness. We invite you to take a short break and enjoy this classic from ‘back in the days’ when TV was REAL!

“Through Ho’oponopono,” Mabel says, “I have come to realize that

“…if the people around me seem to be ‘unclear’ it means that I am ‘unclear’ too.

↔

“I must thank them and be grateful,” she insists, “because they are giving me the opportunity to do my Ho’oponopono cleaning and work on the millions of memories in my own subconscious mind that I am not even aware of.”

“Now, when people are speaking to me, or I hear a question, I listen and simultaneously do my Ho’oponopono cleaning. I do this because I know that when I am willing to clean the memories in my own subconscious mind

“…I, and everybody who shares those memories with me, will get clearer and clearer.

Χ

“This is the greatest favor that I could ever do for myself or anyone else.”

Joe Vitale & Ihaleakala Hew Len

Click the link below, “Source: Zero Limits” – By Dr. Vitale and Dr. Hew Len:

News for the Soul
Internet Radio

∞

This Ho’oponopono Video explains how Dr Hew Len was able to cure an entire ward of criminally insane patients at Hawaii State Hospital by working on himself and the garbage (memories) in his subconscious mind.

Enjoy this Ho’oponopono Video which may help you better understand Ho’oponopono. What Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len found, was that when he himself got in rhythm with The Divinity

…all the patients got into rhythm too, and they soon healed.

♥

Healing Rhythm

ψ

Dr. Masaru Emoto, a scientist from Japan, has done research and written about characteristics of water. His research reveals that water physically responds to thoughts and emotions.

Water Crystal - "Love & Gratitude"

Most of us have a predominantly angry emotion when we consider what happened in the Gulf oil spill. While certainly we are justified in that emotion, we may be of greater assistance to our planet and its life forms, if we sincerely, powerfully and humbly say the prayer that Dr. Emoto proposes:

“I send the energy of love and gratitude to the water and all the living creatures in the Gulf of Mexico and its surroundings. To the whales, dolphins, pelicans, fish, shellfish, planktons, corals, algae, and all living creatures.”

∑

I am sorry.

Please forgive me.

Thank you.

I love you.

≡

Participate in this prayer, set an intention of love and healing that is so large, so overwhelming that we can perform a miracles in any disaster like the Gulf.

We are not powerless. We are powerful. Our united energy, speaking this prayer daily, multiple times daily, can literally shift the balance of destruction that is happening. We don’t have to know how. We just have to recognize that

 …the power of love is greater than any power active in the Universe today.

♥

Repeat this healing prayer of Dr. Emoto, and share it, spread it wide, send it around the planet! Let’s take charge, and do our own inner clean up!

The Emoto Peace project is the brainchild of Dr. Masaru Emoto, the author of Messages from Water, Hidden Messages from Water and The True Power of Water. He says:

“The messages from water are telling us to look inside ourselves.”

λ

Dr. Emoto has now created a special children’s book to explain his principles and wants to distribute it to every child on the planet, for free.

Living Crystals

Water is a sensitive world in which every living entity shares a part — and about which we know very little. Dr. Emoto’s work has led to a new consciousness of Earth’s most precious resource.

Anatomy of an Epidemic

“Anatomy of an Epidemic investigates a medical mystery:

“Why has the number of adults and children disabled by mental illness skyrocketed over the past fifty years?

“Every day, 850 adults and 250 children with a mental illness are added to the government disability rolls. What is going on?”

≠

“There are now more than four million people in the United States who receive a government disability check because of a mental illness, and the number continues to soar.”

ƒ

This situation reminded us of H. P. Blavatsky’s prediction in a footnote, in her article Esoteric Character of the Gospels:

“There are several remarkable cycles that come to a close at the end of this century.”

Λ

First is the 5,000 years of the Kaliyuga cycle — again the Messianic cycle of the Samaritan (also Kabalistic) Jews of the man connected with Pisces (Ichthys or ‘Fish-man’ Dag).

“It is a cycle, historic and not very long, but very occult, lasting about 2,155 solar years, but having a true significance only when computed by lunar months.”

ξ

“It occurred 2410 and 255 B.C., or when the equinox entered into the sign of the Ram, and again into that of Pisces.

“When it enters, in a few years, the sign of Aquarius, psychologists will have some extra work to do, and the psychic idiosyncrasies of humanity will enter on a great change.”

On Altruism

“The Secret Path leads the Arhan to mental woe unspeakable … and helpless pity for the men of karmic sorrow”

(Book of the Golden Precepts)

♥