Karma is one of those topics honestly not brought up very much in law of attraction circles. It seems to be completely at odds with the philosophy of the LOA.
But it bears considering what, if any, relation there is between karma and the law of attraction. If karma is indeed real, does it mean that we can only manifest what’s in alignment with our karma? If karma does not exist, then does that mean that there are no repercussions to immoral actions?
Before writing this post, I did some research on what others are saying on karma and the law of attraction. I saw two general themes:
- Karma doesn’t exist, and you can manifest anything
- Karma exists, and those who are successful are successful because of good karma
Seems like a pretty important issue, right? So, I thought it called for a detailed post on the matter.
I enjoy lately taking issues like this and debunking any misconceptions and myths around it. If you know of more misconceptions you’d like me to look at, just send me your ideas here.
First, Does Karma Exist?
Let’s get the main question out of the way first, and then we’ll go into further detail.
Yes, karma exists.
Well, I should say, it depends exactly how you define it. My idea of karma is significantly different from that of traditional Hinduism or Buddhism, but it also has several similarities, which is why I keep the name “karma”, at least for this post.
The idea of karma, when it comes right down to it, is that it is a balancing force in the Universe. It holds us within the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
The more that you clear away your old karma, the freer you are to realize the essence of who you really are, i.e., achieve enlightenment.
All that is pretty close to the traditional understanding so far. But, here is where I differ.
Is Karma Punishment for Evil and Reward for Good?
The traditional understanding of karma is essentially that there is both good and bad karma. If you perform some bad action, then karma will come back around and bring you some bad experience in kind. If, however, you perform a good action, then that good will come back around in kind as well.
The complication that introduces itself is that there are clearly “bad” people who have many good things happen to them, and “good” people who have bad things happen to them.
And so the traditional explanation is that your karma from past lives also carries over (convenient, I know). So, if you’re doing good, and yet have something bad happen to you, it must mean that you had some bad karma from a previous lifetime.
All of the above is completely false.
First, there are some preliminary points to understand:
The Universe Is Amoral
This is a hard one to grasp, I know. But, the truth is that the Universe is amoral.
That means, the Universe knows no concept of good and evil. Good and evil are strictly ego constructs.
If you lie, for example, there is no Universal scorekeeper sitting up there and making negative tally marks on your record.
This one amuses me, because Islam, as an example, believes exactly this. The idea is that there is an angel that follows you around and records all of your actions, good and bad, to confront you on Judgment Day.
This is a hard concept to swallow, because our ego craves “justice”. It wants to know that wrongdoers will get their comeuppance in the end, if not in this life, then at least in the afterlife.
This is only so because the ego does not realize the inherent security of the Universe. It does not know that there are no real threats.
But, the nature of the Universe is non-dual. Non-dual does not mean that the good stays and the evil is defeated. It means that good and evil come from the same source, and are really two sides of the same coin. They stop really meaning anything at all.
As long as you believe in polarities such as this, you cannot really get at the truth contained at the source.
So, What Is Karma?
So, we must remove the labels of “good” and “bad” from karma.
But without those labels, then what is karma for, exactly?
Karma is not meant to reward good actions and punish bad actions.
It comes down to a question of the basic purpose of the Universe. Some believe that the Universe is here to encourage good actions and discourage bad actions.
But that’s not it at all. The Universe’s primary aim is freedom.
Actually, it is already free. But its primary aim is to help you to discover your own inherent freedom.
So, karma is a system in place to point the way to your freedom. It’s nothing more and nothing less than that.
All it is telling you is whether or not you are in alignment with your higher self. If you are, then you are free. If you are not, then you are subject to karma.
What’s the Difference Between Karma and Resistance?
This might sound a bit familiar. Much of what I’ve said above about karma, I’ve said exactly the same about resistance.
Resistance is, indeed, a synonymous term for karma. Much of what you already know about resistance can be applied to karma, though there is a bit more of an understanding I’d like to discuss in the remainder of this post.
Resistance, essentially, is the degree to which you push against the Universal Flow. It’s your disallowance of what is.
And the more you resist, the less that you allow your own good to enter your life.
So, karma is exactly the same.
That’s really where the biggest difference is. Karma really has nothing at all to do with actions, even though in Sanskrit it literally means action.
It has nothing to do with whether you perform good or bad actions. It has only to do with your own attitude—your own inner state.
If you resist life, you create karma. If you allow life to flow, then you dissolve karma.
So that means that if, for example, you want to have more money in life, but have a great fear of failure, this is your money karma.
It doesn’t mean that you performed some bad action in a past life around money. It just means that in the area of money, you are disallowing your own freedom. You are attached to the outcome, and creating resistance.
It also follows that you aren’t stuck in a life of poverty, just because you have “bad” money karma. Resistance is easily overcome, as you know from my previous posts. By simply allowing instead of resisting, that karma will be released, and you can manifest all the money you want.
What About Justice?
I mentioned earlier that the Universe is amoral. It doesn’t care what you do. It simply responds to the amount of resistance or flow in your energy system.
It helps somewhat if you replace “karma” with “gravity”. You don’t believe that gravity should stop working for someone who’s committed murder, do you? Gravity is gravity. It applies to everyone, equally.
So it is with karma and the other spiritual laws. They apply equally to everyone, no matter if they’re a murderer or a philanthropist.
However, that doesn’t mean that there are no consequences, necessarily. There is always balance, just not exactly in the way you might imagine.
Let’s imagine that someone steals some expensive item. The traditional understanding of karma would say that at some point in the future, whether in this life or another, something will likewise be stolen from this person.
Of course, as I’ve shown above, this is false. But what, exactly, will happen?
Well, let’s look at why this person stole in the first place. Did they do it out of joy and happiness? I doubt it. Even if they experience a temporary high from the act of theft, their overall vibration is not a high one.
How much resistance do you think we’ll find in such a person? Probably quite a lot.
And so, this is how karma kicks in. This thief clearly has resistance, and the Universe will respond to that resistance in kind. What exactly will happen to them, it’s impossible to know, but it will simply mirror their existing energy.
So, yes, it is very possible that some unwanted experience will happen to this person. But it’s important to see the difference.
This negative experience does not happen because the Universe is trying to punish them. The unwanted experience happens because the Universe is trying to point out where they are not yet free.
It will start with some negative feeling in regard to steeling. They do it not out of fullness and connection with their true Self, but out of fear and a belief in lack. Therefore, the action is going to feel bad.
If they ignore that feeling and do it anyway, then the resistance will grow, and likely result in some negative experience in outer reality. This will continue to increase until they release the resistance fully.
So again, it is not about an eye for an eye. It is about pointing the way to freedom.
Now, we also have to address the person that was stolen from. Was this “bad” karma? I’d say it was simply a manifestation of some belief about security, most likely.
The thing to understand is that a thief can never steal from someone who’s not a match to being stolen from. They have to match up with one another in that regard. Their subconscious beliefs and resistances will simply draw them together in this way, for the thief to steal and the victim to be stolen from.
Why Do Good Things Happen to Bad People, and Vice Versa?
This brings up the question, why do good things seem to happen to “bad” people, and bad things to “good” people?
Again, I don’t put stock in these labels of “good” and “bad”. But, it is true that you can easily observe resistant individuals still having good things happen to them.
Remember again that karma is not about good and bad. It’s about which areas of life you hold resistance, and which areas you allow the Universal Flow.
Let’s take the example of someone wealthy who lies or cheats.
It’s completely possible that such a person could have very positive beliefs about the ease of making money, while having resistance in other areas of life.
The Universe isn’t interested in punishing them for the bad things they’ve done, by, say, taking away their money. Unless, of course, that would be the best match to their resistance.
The Universe is going to match their resistance in the way that is going to best point the way to freedom. To be sure, the resistance will manifest via some unwanted experience, but it just might not be in the way others would expect.
Similarly, no matter how “good” you are in life, it doesn’t mean that you hold a high vibration in regard to money, relationships, or health. The Universe isn’t interested in rewarding you for your good actions. But, if the state out of which those actions arose is positive, then good things will happen to you.
But, as above, it’s very possible that you have wonderful manifestations in the area of money, but no success in relationships, or vice versa. The Universe will always reflect back to you your own inner state, whether good or bad.
Is There Karma from Past Lives?
This is a rather controversial one. Yes, there is karma from past lives. However, that does not mean that your current life is set in stone.
Let’s say that in this life, you have resistance around health. You believe that you are prone to sickness, and so, of course, you are.
If you don’t overcome this resistance in this lifetime, what happens? It will carry on into your next life for you to face and hopefully release.
Again, the Universe is interested in freedom. No matter how big or small your resistance, it will be triggered again and again until you release it. If you don’t release it in this life, then it’ll be carried over to the next.
As another example, if you were born in this life into a family that had a lot of lack beliefs around money, it is probably because you have more resistance in this area to release from a past life.
I just recently did an akashic reading, where my client was a successful business woman in a past life. But, in that life, her business eventually failed. It created the belief that if she succeeded, it would eventually turn to failure, and that belief carried over to this life to be addressed and released.
It may not seem fair, but whatever you hold on to, you must eventually let go of. You must eventually return to a state of complete freedom, and the Universe will do whatever is necessary to help you in that process, including carrying your programs from life to life, and triggering them all over again.
But, this does not mean that you are stuck in this lifetime. You have the freedom to release that resistance, or dissolve that karma, as it were. You have that choice every time that resistance is triggered.
How to Dissolve Karma
You already know the answer to this, if you’ve read any of my other blog posts.
Wen the Universe does trigger your resistance in some area, the best thing to do is simply to allow.
I’ve called it radical acceptance, or you could call it mindfulness, or even surrender. The term does not matter.
But, you must find a way to let go, quite simply—to interrupt the pattern of resistance from the past.
I’ve linked to some posts above that will go into greater detail about how exactly to do that.
I am also offering a teleclass series starting this Sunday, called The Art of Reality Creation.
There are only 3 days left to register for this class, so I highly recommend checking it out. I consider it an advanced course in the law of attraction.
Just click below to learn more:
How About You?
Now it’s your turn. I know this was a pretty detailed post, but has this clarified the concept of karma for you? I’m always happy to hear your thoughts in the comments, and as always, feel free to ask questions to clarify this post even further.
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So if we are all made of energy, and if everything is one, as in non-duality etc, then how is it that there remains this discrete and coherent ‘unit’ of energy we identify as ‘ourselves’ that is seemingly immune to dissolving back into pure energy once transitioned, and is able to progress through several lives keeping it’s basic ‘identity’or consciousness? If the Universe is experiencing itself through us, and that is the purpose of our existence, and our ‘life’, this continuity seems unnecessary. Why not ‘make’ a new ‘being’ each life? Why have more than one ‘life’? What is the ‘you ‘or ‘me’ that keeps this apparent continuity through several ‘lives’? I know I am overthinking it, but the ego mind wants to know 😉
Hey Jon,
It is actually a very good question. 🙂
The reason to have the continuity across lifetimes is so that your particular projection of the Universe can find its way back to freedom. It’s somewhat like losing yourself, just so you can find your way again.
This discrete and coherent unit is the ego. It is the means by which we appear to be separate individuals. I mentioned before that the ego is a necessary part of living here. You can’t go without it.
What is the apparent “you” or “me”? That’s the whole question to be explored. It’s a mirage, an illusion, when you really look for the source of the “I”.
You’ll find that the closer you get to discussing the non-dual Source of all, the more language breaks down. Hopefully the above shines a bit of light.
Hi Brandon,
When a young child in an African or Arab country is forced to watch his parents decapitated and mutilated with a sword… and then raped and killed themselves, what sort of process do you think might be involved here? I’ve asked others but never had a satisfying answer.
If it’s karma from a past life ( having committed such atrocities themselves), then the universe is indeed a punishing universe. If you have such samskaras, then the universe will pile atrocities on you and you will have no escape. A 5 year old child born into such a situation wouldn’t know what hit it. The trauma would be excruciating and unbearable.
Hi CJ,
You’re focusing more on the “eye for an eye” aspect. As I said, that’s not how it works at all.
It depends what it would trigger in that child. A few guesses would be abandonment, anger at the world or religion, mistrust of certain people, etc.
It is highly possible that these issues became very critical for them in a past life. That is “karma”. It is also possible that for some reason, their higher self chose to have those experiences.
It’s sort of like how a person who feels very insecure or unsafe might end up being mugged, if that issue became critical enough. Just imagine it across lifetimes. That resistance of insecurity or being unsafe would have to manifest into some kind of situation to aggravate that inner subconscious program.
Does that make more sense?
Thanks for the answer but I still feel confused. Seems like the universe has no qualms about creating situations of excruciating pain and horror in certain people just because they are ignorant about some unwritten laws (of attraction).
Obviously no one would choose such suffering, so that must mean the universe is inflicting such situations on people.
Hi CJ,
The Universe doesn’t have a personal will. It’s not “God”, as many people imagine “God” to be. It doesn’t want to make you suffer.
However, it’s not about having knowledge of these laws, though that helps. It’s about discovering your own freedom. On a less emotional issue, if you have a belief in lack of money, the Universe will reflect that in outer reality, triggering that resistance so you can face it. As long as you have resistance, it will be triggered in some way, eventually. That’s not the Universe being cruel. It’s simply the laws applying equally to all people, just as gravity might.
If someone decides to jump from a building, and gets hurt or even dies as a result, do you say that gravity should have cushioned their fall, or that it shouldn’t have been so cruel to them?
When you hold a lot of resistance without letting it go, you’re effectively getting ready to jump from that tall building. Unlike with gravity, resistance usually doesn’t result in death or major injury. You get a chance to try it again.
I know it doesn’t have a will, but it created me so there’s something akin to will going on. And I know it’s not a person or a “thing”, but it does have an intelligence and power. This unnamed intelligence and power put me here – it chose my birth date, my hair color, my eye color, my genes, my body. I didn’t choose any of that. Not that I’m complaining those aspects of ‘me’ (in fact I’m quite happy with them), but all those things were done without my consultation. I was just plonked here on a planet full of suffering and have no idea why I’m here, what Life is about or how it works. I often find myself thinking “WTF is going on???”.
I see what you did with the gravity analogy – that helps a little bit. We just have to learn how not to get hurt in a world full of traps and holes. Fall off a roof once and you learn or get killed. If you happen to survive, the increased anxiety makes the likelihood of a repeat performance greater. So that’s life – extremely difficult.
Hi CJ,
You did choose to come here, though. You don’t remember it, but as a soul, you made a conscious decision to incarnate on this planet, knowing the “risks”.
I wouldn’t say life is full of traps. Actually, I’d say it is rather forgiving. We get infinite chances to let go of our resistance.
A less dramatic example might be sticking your hand on a hot stove. The laws of physics won’t abate just so you don’t get hurt. Once you do get hurt, you’re unlikely to do that again. But, it’s not like you’ll die if you make that mistake a few times.
Most resistance is like that hot stove. It takes a lot of building up of resistance to get to the level of (metaphorically) jumping off a tall building.
But I’d ask you what kind of results you’re getting in life with this story that life is full of traps? If you change that story, then things might radically change for you. Stories are powerful, and changing a central story can have wide-spread consequences.
So if we are all made of energy, and if everything is one, as in non-duality etc, then how is it that there remains this discrete and coherent ‘unit’ of energy we identify as ‘ourselves’ that is seemingly immune to dissolving back into pure energy once transitioned, and is able to progress through several lives keeping it’s basic ‘identity’or consciousness? If the Universe is experiencing itself through us, and that is the purpose of our existence, and our ‘life’, this continuity seems unnecessary. Why not ‘make’ a new ‘being’ each life? Why have more than one ‘life’? What is the ‘you ‘or ‘me’ that keeps this apparent continuity through several ‘lives’? I know I am overthinking it, but the ego mind wants to know 😉
Hey Jon,
It is actually a very good question. 🙂
The reason to have the continuity across lifetimes is so that your particular projection of the Universe can find its way back to freedom. It’s somewhat like losing yourself, just so you can find your way again.
This discrete and coherent unit is the ego. It is the means by which we appear to be separate individuals. I mentioned before that the ego is a necessary part of living here. You can’t go without it.
What is the apparent “you” or “me”? That’s the whole question to be explored. It’s a mirage, an illusion, when you really look for the source of the “I”.
You’ll find that the closer you get to discussing the non-dual Source of all, the more language breaks down. Hopefully the above shines a bit of light.
Would this karma thing also explain why some people have allergies to pollen, some food, etc.?
Also, if I would clear up all the built up karma in this lifetime, would that guarantee that I would never ever have to suffer anymore, in any lifetime? Do you think that Lester Levenson cleared up all of his karma after those 3 months?
Sure, if those allergies bother you—i.e., you wish you didn’t have them—then they are karma.
If you cleared up all of your karma, you would either (1) choose to come back to help others, or (2) graduate to the next level of existence.
Yes I believe Lester cleared up all of his karma, from what I can tell.
Thanks for the comment. 😀
Thank you for the response, Brandon. I personally don’t have allergies, but I know some people that do, so it got me wondering.
Btw, I am wondering… if you personally knew that you were financially secured in the next 3 or more months, would you stop all the coaching and everything related, and just focus on releasing everything like Lester did? (this is me assuming that you still have things to clear, but of course I can’t know this)
And then once you’ve released everything, you could resume your coaching, free of the burden of karma. You have a lot of knowledge and experience with LOA and related things, so I’m pretty sure that you could do it really fast.
Hi Z,
I don’t think I would. It is really enjoyable for me to do coaching, so I don’t see a reason to stop.
Plus, setting goals in everyday life helps with clearing resistance, so it is really one and the same process.
I think Lester’s process worked for him because he had nothing to live for, really. He had nothing stopping him from just focusing on releasing resistance all day.
I’ve definitely been releasing a lot of resistance through my goals, though. I’m very serious about achieving my goals, so I get the chance to clear a lot of resistance, which I’m thankful for.
Z, you asked such a great question! And Brandon, you gave such a great answer! I’ve wondered about this sort of thing myself. It sounds like you can still make a ton of progress just setting goals, watching what resistance comes up, releasing it, and repeating the process. Brandon, would you say that you release about the same amount/intensity of resistance through your goal-setting and coaching as you would doing what Lester did for 3 months? Or are you releasing less resistance, but in a more enjoyable or leisurely way?
I had a tremendously bad teenagerhood (tons of resistance, tons of bad stuff, I won’t go into the gory details, haha), and I released a lot of resistance (eventually! haha) and now my life is really easy and fun…so much so, that I kind of worry that I’m not making much spiritual progress. Especially since people have said if you raise kundalini energy fairly early, it makes your life really chaotic and somewhat unpleasant, but it makes you grow much faster. I wonder if I ought to work more on kundalini stuff, or on near-full-time releasing like Lester did, so that I can spiritually mature faster. But if doing those things means extra chaos and suffering (or just a lot of what to me would be effortful focusing–maybe for Lester it didn’t feel effortful to focus that much, though), then maybe it’s not worth it.
Is it possible to “speed up” or “slow down” spiritual growth consciously? Is it usually better to go fast, or is it usually destructive to go fast? Would you say the coaching-and-releasing lifestyle that you have is a fast one or a slow one? I think I have a belief somewhere that “big suffering = big chance for spiritual growth, big happiness or peace = small opportunity for spiritual growth” such that a person is missing out on growing fast if life has become easy. This belief feels a bit wrong to me, but I’m having trouble seeing where my mistake is. What is your opinion?
Hi Lisa,
Wonderful questions. 🙂
I think it’s not quite as fast as Lester’s releasing might have been, but also I feel it is pretty fast, and it works for me.
I do want to point out to you that life is always flowing towards greater freedom. It won’t let you rest on your laurels, so to speak, for too long.
And I think that’s actually what’s going on here. Your belief about spiritual growth = suffering is being triggered by events in life, whether reading these posts, or just your own musings. But, that belief needs a chance to be released, and here it is. 🙂
But, the Universe will always trigger your resistance. The bigger the resistance, the more often it’ll be triggered. That’s the beauty of how this whole system works. You never have to worry about being lazy, because soon enough, the Universe will be along with some other trigger.
Of course, you can help that process along, and setting big goals is the perfect aid in doing this. It dredges up whatever resistance is keeping you from that goal.
But, I will say this: you don’t want to move too fast. I would strike a balance between too big and too small. Too small, and life gets a bit boring. Too big, and you’re overwhelmed by the weight of your resistance.
Kuṇḍalinī does indeed move things along, but I’m in favor of letting it happen naturally. About 5 years ago, I actively endeavored to awaken my own kuṇḍalinī, and was successful. However, the next two years of my life was, well, pretty miserable. I did successfully get through it, but I wouldn’t recommend it very highly.
There’s no rush with all of this. You’ll always be making progress. You’ll find the perfect balance for you. Remember, most of all, that fun = high vibration = spiritual development. You’re already doing great, as a result of the resistance you’ve cleared already. Keep having fun, and also setting goals that challenge you.
I hope this helps. 🙂
Thank you! That is very helpful. I appreciate how clearly you are able to receive and explain answers from the Universe. Wonderful!
Thanks for bringing up the jumping from a building example. This brings me to the other forces that exist which I wanted to bring up at some point.
There is a life force that keeps many from taking their own life, preventing them from dying a, perhaps untimely death. No matter how bad life is, this force keeps you going. It keeps the bees laying eggs even if they live for 6 months. It keeps flowers blooming, animals getting food, you name it. Inanimate things do indeed contain energy, they are energy, but there are other forces, such as this very powerful life force, which is all part of the one.
Totally agreed, Kat. The Universe tends towards life. That’s just how it works. 🙂 And it also tends towards life getting better. That’s why we didn’t just remain in the dark ages. We have progressed technologically and culturally many many times over. That’s why no matter how bad things get, people still prevail in the end. Life tends towards wholeness, healing, completeness, abundance.
It takes a huge effort of will to actually interrupt this tendency. We do it every day, but that’s why highly resistant people are so low-energy, often prone to sickness, depression, etc. All of their energy is being devoted to resisting the flow of life.
Indeed. And now I understand what gurus are talking about. They really stress this letting go thing. Only that can bring freedom. That’s how Darth Vader came back as a Jedi, not a Sith. Remember Return of the Jedi, the final scene? He appeared as Anakin.
Brandon, how about if we are influenced by our environment? I asked a swami about this and she responded the same way. If we were little and did something bad, it was probably a response to our environment but that does not make us bad. She said to let it go and find the balance within again and it will re-balance.
Also, I totally see what you are saying about the illness topic, as I’ve seen it many times in others.
Wow, so much to talk about!
Hi Kat,
Yes, letting go is the most important thing you could possibly do. Great observation about Darth Vader. 🙂
As far as being influenced by your environment, I think it really depends on the situation. Children are certainly more malleable and easily influenced. Again I don’t consider any action “good” or “bad”, so I’d look at it more in the light of resistance. What were you trying to accomplish by that action? Does that reveal some hidden saṃskāra or karmic program.
Just like the example I gave about stealing, that reveals some subconscious pattern in that individual, depending on their motive of doing it.
Of course, the answer is always to let go. No one should ever judge themselves, as judgment is of the ego.
I hope that helps. 🙂
Yup. Swami said not to dwell on it at all.
It’s true. If you inflict pain on someone, it is your deal, not theirs, unless it’s self defense. What advice do you give parents disciplining children? I was hit a lot for no reason and I was pretty angry that I hit a smaller child when I was in third grade, for no reason! I felt so bad about it but my dwelling on it did not help any, just made it worse. I just couldn’t believe how influenced I was, though.
I am absolutely against any sort of physical discipline, such as spanking. Psychologically it’s shown to be ineffective, and it only inspires fear in the child, not really the desire to do what you want them to do.
Keep in mind I don’t have children, but have done a lot of research on the matter. I’ve seen studies that say only using positive terms with children really helps. That is, instead of saying, “Don’t do that”, you say, “Why don’t we do this instead?”
This makes sense to me, as the subconscious mind can’t understand negatives, and children are basically 100% subconscious mind.
I heard of a story of a father who told his daughter when they were out, “Don’t go over there.” She hadn’t even been thinking about it, but soon after he said that, sure enough, she went over to the place he said not to. He could have said instead, “Make sure you stay with me.”
I also believe in telling children the reason you say what you say. There’s nothing worse than “Because I said so.” Children are naturally curious and want to know why the rules are the way they are.
Just a few of my thoughts. Take them for what they’re worth. 🙂
Hi Brandon,
When a young child in an African or Arab country is forced to watch his parents decapitated and mutilated with a sword… and then raped and killed themselves, what sort of process do you think might be involved here? I’ve asked others but never had a satisfying answer.
If it’s karma from a past life ( having committed such atrocities themselves), then the universe is indeed a punishing universe. If you have such samskaras, then the universe will pile atrocities on you and you will have no escape. A 5 year old child born into such a situation wouldn’t know what hit it. The trauma would be excruciating and unbearable.
Hi CJ,
You’re focusing more on the “eye for an eye” aspect. As I said, that’s not how it works at all.
It depends what it would trigger in that child. A few guesses would be abandonment, anger at the world or religion, mistrust of certain people, etc.
It is highly possible that these issues became very critical for them in a past life. That is “karma”. It is also possible that for some reason, their higher self chose to have those experiences.
It’s sort of like how a person who feels very insecure or unsafe might end up being mugged, if that issue became critical enough. Just imagine it across lifetimes. That resistance of insecurity or being unsafe would have to manifest into some kind of situation to aggravate that inner subconscious program.
Does that make more sense?
Thanks for the answer but I still feel confused. Seems like the universe has no qualms about creating situations of excruciating pain and horror in certain people just because they are ignorant about some unwritten laws (of attraction).
Obviously no one would choose such suffering, so that must mean the universe is inflicting such situations on people.
Hi CJ,
The Universe doesn’t have a personal will. It’s not “God”, as many people imagine “God” to be. It doesn’t want to make you suffer.
However, it’s not about having knowledge of these laws, though that helps. It’s about discovering your own freedom. On a less emotional issue, if you have a belief in lack of money, the Universe will reflect that in outer reality, triggering that resistance so you can face it. As long as you have resistance, it will be triggered in some way, eventually. That’s not the Universe being cruel. It’s simply the laws applying equally to all people, just as gravity might.
If someone decides to jump from a building, and gets hurt or even dies as a result, do you say that gravity should have cushioned their fall, or that it shouldn’t have been so cruel to them?
When you hold a lot of resistance without letting it go, you’re effectively getting ready to jump from that tall building. Unlike with gravity, resistance usually doesn’t result in death or major injury. You get a chance to try it again.
I know it doesn’t have a will, but it created me so there’s something akin to will going on. And I know it’s not a person or a “thing”, but it does have an intelligence and power. This unnamed intelligence and power put me here – it chose my birth date, my hair color, my eye color, my genes, my body. I didn’t choose any of that. Not that I’m complaining those aspects of ‘me’ (in fact I’m quite happy with them), but all those things were done without my consultation. I was just plonked here on a planet full of suffering and have no idea why I’m here, what Life is about or how it works. I often find myself thinking “WTF is going on???”.
I see what you did with the gravity analogy – that helps a little bit. We just have to learn how not to get hurt in a world full of traps and holes. Fall off a roof once and you learn or get killed. If you happen to survive, the increased anxiety makes the likelihood of a repeat performance greater. So that’s life – extremely difficult.
Hi CJ,
You did choose to come here, though. You don’t remember it, but as a soul, you made a conscious decision to incarnate on this planet, knowing the “risks”.
I wouldn’t say life is full of traps. Actually, I’d say it is rather forgiving. We get infinite chances to let go of our resistance.
A less dramatic example might be sticking your hand on a hot stove. The laws of physics won’t abate just so you don’t get hurt. Once you do get hurt, you’re unlikely to do that again. But, it’s not like you’ll die if you make that mistake a few times.
Most resistance is like that hot stove. It takes a lot of building up of resistance to get to the level of (metaphorically) jumping off a tall building.
But I’d ask you what kind of results you’re getting in life with this story that life is full of traps? If you change that story, then things might radically change for you. Stories are powerful, and changing a central story can have wide-spread consequences.
Would this karma thing also explain why some people have allergies to pollen, some food, etc.?
Also, if I would clear up all the built up karma in this lifetime, would that guarantee that I would never ever have to suffer anymore, in any lifetime? Do you think that Lester Levenson cleared up all of his karma after those 3 months?
Sure, if those allergies bother you—i.e., you wish you didn’t have them—then they are karma.
If you cleared up all of your karma, you would either (1) choose to come back to help others, or (2) graduate to the next level of existence.
Yes I believe Lester cleared up all of his karma, from what I can tell.
Thanks for the comment. 😀
Thank you for the response, Brandon. I personally don’t have allergies, but I know some people that do, so it got me wondering.
Btw, I am wondering… if you personally knew that you were financially secured in the next 3 or more months, would you stop all the coaching and everything related, and just focus on releasing everything like Lester did? (this is me assuming that you still have things to clear, but of course I can’t know this)
And then once you’ve released everything, you could resume your coaching, free of the burden of karma. You have a lot of knowledge and experience with LOA and related things, so I’m pretty sure that you could do it really fast.
Hi Z,
I don’t think I would. It is really enjoyable for me to do coaching, so I don’t see a reason to stop.
Plus, setting goals in everyday life helps with clearing resistance, so it is really one and the same process.
I think Lester’s process worked for him because he had nothing to live for, really. He had nothing stopping him from just focusing on releasing resistance all day.
I’ve definitely been releasing a lot of resistance through my goals, though. I’m very serious about achieving my goals, so I get the chance to clear a lot of resistance, which I’m thankful for.
Z, you asked such a great question! And Brandon, you gave such a great answer! I’ve wondered about this sort of thing myself. It sounds like you can still make a ton of progress just setting goals, watching what resistance comes up, releasing it, and repeating the process. Brandon, would you say that you release about the same amount/intensity of resistance through your goal-setting and coaching as you would doing what Lester did for 3 months? Or are you releasing less resistance, but in a more enjoyable or leisurely way?
I had a tremendously bad teenagerhood (tons of resistance, tons of bad stuff, I won’t go into the gory details, haha), and I released a lot of resistance (eventually! haha) and now my life is really easy and fun…so much so, that I kind of worry that I’m not making much spiritual progress. Especially since people have said if you raise kundalini energy fairly early, it makes your life really chaotic and somewhat unpleasant, but it makes you grow much faster. I wonder if I ought to work more on kundalini stuff, or on near-full-time releasing like Lester did, so that I can spiritually mature faster. But if doing those things means extra chaos and suffering (or just a lot of what to me would be effortful focusing–maybe for Lester it didn’t feel effortful to focus that much, though), then maybe it’s not worth it.
Is it possible to “speed up” or “slow down” spiritual growth consciously? Is it usually better to go fast, or is it usually destructive to go fast? Would you say the coaching-and-releasing lifestyle that you have is a fast one or a slow one? I think I have a belief somewhere that “big suffering = big chance for spiritual growth, big happiness or peace = small opportunity for spiritual growth” such that a person is missing out on growing fast if life has become easy. This belief feels a bit wrong to me, but I’m having trouble seeing where my mistake is. What is your opinion?
Hi Lisa,
Wonderful questions. 🙂
I think it’s not quite as fast as Lester’s releasing might have been, but also I feel it is pretty fast, and it works for me.
I do want to point out to you that life is always flowing towards greater freedom. It won’t let you rest on your laurels, so to speak, for too long.
And I think that’s actually what’s going on here. Your belief about spiritual growth = suffering is being triggered by events in life, whether reading these posts, or just your own musings. But, that belief needs a chance to be released, and here it is. 🙂
But, the Universe will always trigger your resistance. The bigger the resistance, the more often it’ll be triggered. That’s the beauty of how this whole system works. You never have to worry about being lazy, because soon enough, the Universe will be along with some other trigger.
Of course, you can help that process along, and setting big goals is the perfect aid in doing this. It dredges up whatever resistance is keeping you from that goal.
But, I will say this: you don’t want to move too fast. I would strike a balance between too big and too small. Too small, and life gets a bit boring. Too big, and you’re overwhelmed by the weight of your resistance.
Kuṇḍalinī does indeed move things along, but I’m in favor of letting it happen naturally. About 5 years ago, I actively endeavored to awaken my own kuṇḍalinī, and was successful. However, the next two years of my life was, well, pretty miserable. I did successfully get through it, but I wouldn’t recommend it very highly.
There’s no rush with all of this. You’ll always be making progress. You’ll find the perfect balance for you. Remember, most of all, that fun = high vibration = spiritual development. You’re already doing great, as a result of the resistance you’ve cleared already. Keep having fun, and also setting goals that challenge you.
I hope this helps. 🙂
Thank you! That is very helpful. I appreciate how clearly you are able to receive and explain answers from the Universe. Wonderful!
Thanks for bringing up the jumping from a building example. This brings me to the other forces that exist which I wanted to bring up at some point.
There is a life force that keeps many from taking their own life, preventing them from dying a, perhaps untimely death. No matter how bad life is, this force keeps you going. It keeps the bees laying eggs even if they live for 6 months. It keeps flowers blooming, animals getting food, you name it. Inanimate things do indeed contain energy, they are energy, but there are other forces, such as this very powerful life force, which is all part of the one.
Totally agreed, Kat. The Universe tends towards life. That’s just how it works. 🙂 And it also tends towards life getting better. That’s why we didn’t just remain in the dark ages. We have progressed technologically and culturally many many times over. That’s why no matter how bad things get, people still prevail in the end. Life tends towards wholeness, healing, completeness, abundance.
It takes a huge effort of will to actually interrupt this tendency. We do it every day, but that’s why highly resistant people are so low-energy, often prone to sickness, depression, etc. All of their energy is being devoted to resisting the flow of life.
Indeed. And now I understand what gurus are talking about. They really stress this letting go thing. Only that can bring freedom. That’s how Darth Vader came back as a Jedi, not a Sith. Remember Return of the Jedi, the final scene? He appeared as Anakin.
Brandon, how about if we are influenced by our environment? I asked a swami about this and she responded the same way. If we were little and did something bad, it was probably a response to our environment but that does not make us bad. She said to let it go and find the balance within again and it will re-balance.
Also, I totally see what you are saying about the illness topic, as I’ve seen it many times in others.
Wow, so much to talk about!
Hi Kat,
Yes, letting go is the most important thing you could possibly do. Great observation about Darth Vader. 🙂
As far as being influenced by your environment, I think it really depends on the situation. Children are certainly more malleable and easily influenced. Again I don’t consider any action “good” or “bad”, so I’d look at it more in the light of resistance. What were you trying to accomplish by that action? Does that reveal some hidden saṃskāra or karmic program.
Just like the example I gave about stealing, that reveals some subconscious pattern in that individual, depending on their motive of doing it.
Of course, the answer is always to let go. No one should ever judge themselves, as judgment is of the ego.
I hope that helps. 🙂
Yup. Swami said not to dwell on it at all.
It’s true. If you inflict pain on someone, it is your deal, not theirs, unless it’s self defense. What advice do you give parents disciplining children? I was hit a lot for no reason and I was pretty angry that I hit a smaller child when I was in third grade, for no reason! I felt so bad about it but my dwelling on it did not help any, just made it worse. I just couldn’t believe how influenced I was, though.
I am absolutely against any sort of physical discipline, such as spanking. Psychologically it’s shown to be ineffective, and it only inspires fear in the child, not really the desire to do what you want them to do.
Keep in mind I don’t have children, but have done a lot of research on the matter. I’ve seen studies that say only using positive terms with children really helps. That is, instead of saying, “Don’t do that”, you say, “Why don’t we do this instead?”
This makes sense to me, as the subconscious mind can’t understand negatives, and children are basically 100% subconscious mind.
I heard of a story of a father who told his daughter when they were out, “Don’t go over there.” She hadn’t even been thinking about it, but soon after he said that, sure enough, she went over to the place he said not to. He could have said instead, “Make sure you stay with me.”
I also believe in telling children the reason you say what you say. There’s nothing worse than “Because I said so.” Children are naturally curious and want to know why the rules are the way they are.
Just a few of my thoughts. Take them for what they’re worth. 🙂
Great post Brandon. You explained it so well. I liked gravity analogy. I think whatever you do under shame, guilt, doubt and under fear doesn’t give you good results so that is may b kind of bad karma because of lack of clarity. I liked that example u gave about somebody who steals something. Some point in their life they must be having fear of getting caught and punished. so I guess that fear becomes true. And may be this applies to all those things which we do in fear and doubts. And That’s why I also believe karma is some kind of resistance. I always believed one thing ” when you are not sure say NO :).
Hi Rhea,
Thanks so much for your comment. 🙂
Yes, I think you’re exactly right. Having fear, doubt, anxiety, etc, is sort of like “bad” karma. It holds you in resistance to your highest good.
It’s funny how the ego will twist such a beautiful system into one of reward and punishment. But, that’s exactly what it does.
Wonderful comments. Since resistance/karma came up the most in the comments it occurred to me that if we’re constantly in a state of releasing resistance (i.e. our lacks and limitations) while we’re trying to focus on our goals at the same time, we’re not really giving our goals our full attention and that attention is gravitating more towards clearing the resistance, so it seems to end up creating more of the that energy and we can get trapped in a never-ending clearing “cycle. I understand the nature of resistance is to ultimately lead us back to freedom and ourselves by letting us know we’re off track and need to make a course correction – either large or small – depending on our goal. And we know there are tools/modalities to help us make those corrections and get clear. But I can’t help but think that maybe we chose to come here in this physical existence exclusively to clear resistance since there are so few people that don’t really have to deal with it. And since dealing with it can take up a lot of time for many people who don’t have the tools and finally time runs out, then they have to deal with it once again in the next life as a different “person” in a different existence. I would guess very few people get through this life with very little or no resistance and accomplish everything they want and are able to get to their next life without that necessity of finishing the learning, thus starting fresh and clear.
Frann, this is a good point. We are in kindergarten here after all.
As far as goals are concerned, I assure you they are in your hands to be fulfilled. I did read an account of a man in Asia who did not pass until 170 or so because he had not fulfilled what he came here to do yet. it was not until he achieved all his goals that he went from this life. Though a far off example to most, to me this was a sign. It came to me when I was asking if I was running out of time so I got my answer. It goes according to your will. If you give up, you do. But if you keep going, one day you will succeed. It is up to you.
If you’ve seen Star Wars, Obi Wan and Yoda never give up on Luke. Nor does Luke himself really. They waited 30 or so years to let him grow, train him and face his father. If you ask me, ok there would be others who would have given up. It’s not like Luke was an easy or good student, since Yoda had to teach him to believe, even though the force was strong with him. Luke was more ego in the beginning. Also, Yoda brought up a good point. Luke was always looking away to the horizon, not focusing on his goals. He did want to be a pilot, but for adventure. Nothing wrong with that, but he did have a “destiny”. This is something not to be overlooked. If you feel it within, it is within you and it keeps you up at night, this goal needs to be tended to. Things may take a long time, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter. I keep reading stories of older people doing this- a 62 year old fire fighter, nurse, even a Phd recipient in her 100s who was denied it due to her Jewish heritage in the war. So you see, it’s important to not give up. Think Rachel Plattens’s fight song.
Brandon, I made a comment in response to Frank but it’s not here. What could’ve happened to it?
Ok, it appeared, never mind.
Hi Kat,
Yeah, that can happen sometimes. The cache just had to clear, I suspect. Takes a few hours sometimes.
Hi Frann,
Thanks for your comment.
Kat made some wonderful points, so I’ll just add my own thoughts to those. 🙂
I disagree that focusing on clearing resistance will create more resistance to clear. The state of “clearing resistance” is exactly the same state as needed to achieve one’s goals.
Of course, you do need to put time into deliberately intending your goal. No one has ever said otherwise. But, clearing resistance is a necessary part of that process.
It’s like the programmer who would say, “Fixing bugs just creates more bugs to fix.” That’s silly. You run the program, see if it works, then change it as necessary to get it to work better.
That’s how manifestation is.
Sure, there’s a coding stage, and a fixing bugs stage, and both are important. But, you can’t have one without the other. No bugs would exist without writing the code first. And, no code would really work if bugs weren’t fixed.
Hopefully that analogy makes sense. 🙂
Great post Brandon. You explained it so well. I liked gravity analogy. I think whatever you do under shame, guilt, doubt and under fear doesn’t give you good results so that is may b kind of bad karma because of lack of clarity. I liked that example u gave about somebody who steals something. Some point in their life they must be having fear of getting caught and punished. so I guess that fear becomes true. And may be this applies to all those things which we do in fear and doubts. And That’s why I also believe karma is some kind of resistance. I always believed one thing ” when you are not sure say NO :).
Hi Rhea,
Thanks so much for your comment. 🙂
Yes, I think you’re exactly right. Having fear, doubt, anxiety, etc, is sort of like “bad” karma. It holds you in resistance to your highest good.
It’s funny how the ego will twist such a beautiful system into one of reward and punishment. But, that’s exactly what it does.
Wonderful comments. Since resistance/karma came up the most in the comments it occurred to me that if we’re constantly in a state of releasing resistance (i.e. our lacks and limitations) while we’re trying to focus on our goals at the same time, we’re not really giving our goals our full attention and that attention is gravitating more towards clearing the resistance, so it seems to end up creating more of the that energy and we can get trapped in a never-ending clearing “cycle. I understand the nature of resistance is to ultimately lead us back to freedom and ourselves by letting us know we’re off track and need to make a course correction – either large or small – depending on our goal. And we know there are tools/modalities to help us make those corrections and get clear. But I can’t help but think that maybe we chose to come here in this physical existence exclusively to clear resistance since there are so few people that don’t really have to deal with it. And since dealing with it can take up a lot of time for many people who don’t have the tools and finally time runs out, then they have to deal with it once again in the next life as a different “person” in a different existence. I would guess very few people get through this life with very little or no resistance and accomplish everything they want and are able to get to their next life without that necessity of finishing the learning, thus starting fresh and clear.
Frann, this is a good point. We are in kindergarten here after all.
As far as goals are concerned, I assure you they are in your hands to be fulfilled. I did read an account of a man in Asia who did not pass until 170 or so because he had not fulfilled what he came here to do yet. it was not until he achieved all his goals that he went from this life. Though a far off example to most, to me this was a sign. It came to me when I was asking if I was running out of time so I got my answer. It goes according to your will. If you give up, you do. But if you keep going, one day you will succeed. It is up to you.
If you’ve seen Star Wars, Obi Wan and Yoda never give up on Luke. Nor does Luke himself really. They waited 30 or so years to let him grow, train him and face his father. If you ask me, ok there would be others who would have given up. It’s not like Luke was an easy or good student, since Yoda had to teach him to believe, even though the force was strong with him. Luke was more ego in the beginning. Also, Yoda brought up a good point. Luke was always looking away to the horizon, not focusing on his goals. He did want to be a pilot, but for adventure. Nothing wrong with that, but he did have a “destiny”. This is something not to be overlooked. If you feel it within, it is within you and it keeps you up at night, this goal needs to be tended to. Things may take a long time, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter. I keep reading stories of older people doing this- a 62 year old fire fighter, nurse, even a Phd recipient in her 100s who was denied it due to her Jewish heritage in the war. So you see, it’s important to not give up. Think Rachel Plattens’s fight song.
Brandon, I made a comment in response to Frank but it’s not here. What could’ve happened to it?
Ok, it appeared, never mind.
Hi Kat,
Yeah, that can happen sometimes. The cache just had to clear, I suspect. Takes a few hours sometimes.
Hi Frann,
Thanks for your comment.
Kat made some wonderful points, so I’ll just add my own thoughts to those. 🙂
I disagree that focusing on clearing resistance will create more resistance to clear. The state of “clearing resistance” is exactly the same state as needed to achieve one’s goals.
Of course, you do need to put time into deliberately intending your goal. No one has ever said otherwise. But, clearing resistance is a necessary part of that process.
It’s like the programmer who would say, “Fixing bugs just creates more bugs to fix.” That’s silly. You run the program, see if it works, then change it as necessary to get it to work better.
That’s how manifestation is.
Sure, there’s a coding stage, and a fixing bugs stage, and both are important. But, you can’t have one without the other. No bugs would exist without writing the code first. And, no code would really work if bugs weren’t fixed.
Hopefully that analogy makes sense. 🙂
Thank you Kat and Brandon for your replies to my comment. Kat mentioned older people not giving up too.. Well I’m one of the “older” people (over 50), but I won’t be giving up, and thanks for straightening out my confusion about resistance. Btw: Kat: the Star Wars analogy was great.as was Brandon’s computer “bugs” analogy! Just seems like I’m getting soo much resistance and it’s big. I’m going to focus on smaller goals only right now and get that nice feeling of no or very little resistance and that helps to stay more relaxed and confident as the smaller ones appear and I then move towards the bigger ones. Am looking forward to the class and more specific methods of dealing with resistance as my methods are not really doing much frankly.
“….but I won’t be giving up [my goals]”.
The whole idea is to give up. That’s what surrender means.
No, that’s not surrender. That would be giving up.
Recall what I said in the Persistence vs. Desperation post. You must be persistent in holding your goal. That is not the same thing as desperate.
Surrendering does not mean giving up your goal. It just means giving up the attachment to your goal, which is completely different.
Frank,
That’s a good idea and a good plan. Words are actually poor substitutes for this kind of stuff, as it’s the feelings that count. So, I try to explain as best as I can with words. You may not be ready for this, but if you can go through life feeling cradled by the Universe, that is a good place to be.
Also, from your dialogs on the calls I sense a nervous energy about you. This from someone living in NYC, so believe me it is noticeable. I thought you were a New Yorker as well from your tone and energy. In California, the vibe is different. From my visits there and the people I’ve known, they pretty much go through life with the ease of knowing, if you can understand that. Again, words or poor. When my husband’s newphew visits from Cali, he seems to just float through life. Now, understand that this does not mean he does nothing. Of course he does. He wakes up at 5 am and goes on until 10pm. What I mean here is that he is not nervous about anything. He is so grounded and yet so airy. Just try to imagine this. It is wonderful the exchange we have. Anyway, perhaps toning down the energy a bit would help as well. For example, finishing the totality of a sentence without jumping around from idea to idea and word to word. No one is chasing after you. The clarity of your words as they come out may make a difference. You don’t need to think about several things at once. One thing ata time. This way, you will also reap the benefits of the calls. Trust me, there are benefits to them. Try to meet the overall vibration of the call, if you can. This way you can also go about your day more deliberately than in a frenzy. Also, in time, you will also command a room this way, but you’re probably not ready for that either and don’t understand what I’m saying right now.
Well, I just had to get that out there. It is heartfelt, not meant in any derogatory way or anything. I would not be here if I was like that. Just some things I’ve noticed that may be of help
Oops, sorry Frann. That is the spell check.
Hi Kat,
That was a beautiful comment. Great advice, and I agree 100% with you.
It’s neat to hear about what you’ve noticed from people who live in California. I’ve always felt drawn to that location, because I feel it matches my overall energy better. It’s a long-term manifestation of mine.
Oh my goodness, Brandon, the west is really something. I eloped out there and it is a manifestation of mine as well. I’ve been to Arizona and New Mexico, too, and there is a vortex out there that is pretty intense. I’ve probably lived there in one of my other lives 🙂
Thank you Kat and Brandon for your replies to my comment. Kat mentioned older people not giving up too.. Well I’m one of the “older” people (over 50), but I won’t be giving up, and thanks for straightening out my confusion about resistance. Btw: Kat: the Star Wars analogy was great.as was Brandon’s computer “bugs” analogy! Just seems like I’m getting soo much resistance and it’s big. I’m going to focus on smaller goals only right now and get that nice feeling of no or very little resistance and that helps to stay more relaxed and confident as the smaller ones appear and I then move towards the bigger ones. Am looking forward to the class and more specific methods of dealing with resistance as my methods are not really doing much frankly.
“….but I won’t be giving up [my goals]”.
The whole idea is to give up. That’s what surrender means.
No, that’s not surrender. That would be giving up.
Recall what I said in the Persistence vs. Desperation post. You must be persistent in holding your goal. That is not the same thing as desperate.
Surrendering does not mean giving up your goal. It just means giving up the attachment to your goal, which is completely different.
Frank,
That’s a good idea and a good plan. Words are actually poor substitutes for this kind of stuff, as it’s the feelings that count. So, I try to explain as best as I can with words. You may not be ready for this, but if you can go through life feeling cradled by the Universe, that is a good place to be.
Also, from your dialogs on the calls I sense a nervous energy about you. This from someone living in NYC, so believe me it is noticeable. I thought you were a New Yorker as well from your tone and energy. In California, the vibe is different. From my visits there and the people I’ve known, they pretty much go through life with the ease of knowing, if you can understand that. Again, words or poor. When my husband’s newphew visits from Cali, he seems to just float through life. Now, understand that this does not mean he does nothing. Of course he does. He wakes up at 5 am and goes on until 10pm. What I mean here is that he is not nervous about anything. He is so grounded and yet so airy. Just try to imagine this. It is wonderful the exchange we have. Anyway, perhaps toning down the energy a bit would help as well. For example, finishing the totality of a sentence without jumping around from idea to idea and word to word. No one is chasing after you. The clarity of your words as they come out may make a difference. You don’t need to think about several things at once. One thing ata time. This way, you will also reap the benefits of the calls. Trust me, there are benefits to them. Try to meet the overall vibration of the call, if you can. This way you can also go about your day more deliberately than in a frenzy. Also, in time, you will also command a room this way, but you’re probably not ready for that either and don’t understand what I’m saying right now.
Well, I just had to get that out there. It is heartfelt, not meant in any derogatory way or anything. I would not be here if I was like that. Just some things I’ve noticed that may be of help
Oops, sorry Frann. That is the spell check.
Hi Kat,
That was a beautiful comment. Great advice, and I agree 100% with you.
It’s neat to hear about what you’ve noticed from people who live in California. I’ve always felt drawn to that location, because I feel it matches my overall energy better. It’s a long-term manifestation of mine.
Oh my goodness, Brandon, the west is really something. I eloped out there and it is a manifestation of mine as well. I’ve been to Arizona and New Mexico, too, and there is a vortex out there that is pretty intense. I’ve probably lived there in one of my other lives 🙂
Yesterday I felt good about this post, but today I’m filled with despair. Basically, if I don’t make it in this lifetime, I’ll be forced to relive all the pain and agony once again? Until now I have believed that if everything fails, then at least we can find salvation in death. But according to what you wrote, that’s not how it goes. If we don’t succeed now, we don’t even get that happiness and salvation with the death, but the agony continues in a different lifetime? This is really sad and crushing. I should at least be able to choose to NOT come back again, and instead enjoy the happiness, freedom and peace in the non-physical. If I misunderstood something, please let me know.
LOL, you sound like me z!
Speculation about what happens after death is just that – speculation. Or worse, repetition of what someone else said. Some Christians say “after you die, you go to heaven or hell, because that’s what the Bible says”. We can’t know whether this is true, just like we can’t know if reincarnation is true. It’s just guessing.
But like you I’d be pretty keen to avoid a repeat of this.
Hey, CJ
Yeah, different people say different things. Many times in my life I was about to kill myself. I hoped for the peace and happiness I couldn’t achieve in this life. Later when I learned about LOA, I got convinced that after death there’s only love and peace, and that encouraged me a lot. I kind of got an attitude of, “I’m gonna be happy when I die anyway, so might as well play in this life first”. However this karma thing took that safety net away from me. That guaranteed salvation.suddenly crumbled to pieces.
I hope that you’re doing better than me. Someone has to be able to make it through all of this.
z,
Yeh who knows if I make it. Life can be hell can’t it?
Sometimes I like to re-conceptualize my problems in terms of a desire.
eg. “I’m financially insecure” becomes “I want money”. Or “my relationship sucks” becomes “I want a better relationship”.
Because then I can focus better. I know what I want and then it’s up to me to see if I can trust life to deliver. I don’t have much trust in life, because I know it will inflict hell on those who live in fear (like me). But I have also seen life give me what I want when (somehow) I manage to let go of fear.
So, serious question: what holds you in fear?
What holds me in fear?
I’m not really sure, but maybe a deeper underlying fear of success. A fear that if I get everything I want I’ll be abandoned or punished.
That’s actually pretty common. I’d look at that fear, then, and find a way of releasing that resistance. As long as you are held back by fear, as you already know, it will be much more difficult to create in your reality.
Thanks Brandon,
I might try recording something and playing it to myself whilst I’m asleep.
The implication of only being able to have so much – or being punished/abandoned for having too much – is one of worthiness. Like an imagined worthiness in the eyes of the universe (the thing that created me). So I’ll focus on worthiness and see how I go.
Well, maybe worthiness and acceptance. Hopefully that encourages desire to push forward into my conscious thought stream so I can be aware of it.
Hi Z,
I’ll give you my understanding of it:
Immediately after death, you do have a resting period of sorts, where you just remain in the spiritual world for a while. How long that is depends on the person, though time doesn’t have much if any meaning over there.
But eventually, you’ll be pulled to reincarnate here again, and yes you will carry your previous karmic bonds with you.
But, I understand that you have some leeway as to when you return. You might even get a choice of where and when you return to. But, it is my understanding that you will return, again and again, until your soul is totally free.
So yes, there will be a respite. It’ll be a wonderfully healing time of peace and love and joining back up with your higher self.
I hope that makes things clearer.
Yesterday I felt good about this post, but today I’m filled with despair. Basically, if I don’t make it in this lifetime, I’ll be forced to relive all the pain and agony once again? Until now I have believed that if everything fails, then at least we can find salvation in death. But according to what you wrote, that’s not how it goes. If we don’t succeed now, we don’t even get that happiness and salvation with the death, but the agony continues in a different lifetime? This is really sad and crushing. I should at least be able to choose to NOT come back again, and instead enjoy the happiness, freedom and peace in the non-physical. If I misunderstood something, please let me know.
LOL, you sound like me z!
Speculation about what happens after death is just that – speculation. Or worse, repetition of what someone else said. Some Christians say “after you die, you go to heaven or hell, because that’s what the Bible says”. We can’t know whether this is true, just like we can’t know if reincarnation is true. It’s just guessing.
But like you I’d be pretty keen to avoid a repeat of this.
Hey, CJ
Yeah, different people say different things. Many times in my life I was about to kill myself. I hoped for the peace and happiness I couldn’t achieve in this life. Later when I learned about LOA, I got convinced that after death there’s only love and peace, and that encouraged me a lot. I kind of got an attitude of, “I’m gonna be happy when I die anyway, so might as well play in this life first”. However this karma thing took that safety net away from me. That guaranteed salvation.suddenly crumbled to pieces.
I hope that you’re doing better than me. Someone has to be able to make it through all of this.
z,
Yeh who knows if I make it. Life can be hell can’t it?
Sometimes I like to re-conceptualize my problems in terms of a desire.
eg. “I’m financially insecure” becomes “I want money”. Or “my relationship sucks” becomes “I want a better relationship”.
Because then I can focus better. I know what I want and then it’s up to me to see if I can trust life to deliver. I don’t have much trust in life, because I know it will inflict hell on those who live in fear (like me). But I have also seen life give me what I want when (somehow) I manage to let go of fear.
So, serious question: what holds you in fear?
What holds me in fear?
I’m not really sure, but maybe a deeper underlying fear of success. A fear that if I get everything I want I’ll be abandoned or punished.
That’s actually pretty common. I’d look at that fear, then, and find a way of releasing that resistance. As long as you are held back by fear, as you already know, it will be much more difficult to create in your reality.
Thanks Brandon,
I might try recording something and playing it to myself whilst I’m asleep.
The implication of only being able to have so much – or being punished/abandoned for having too much – is one of worthiness. Like an imagined worthiness in the eyes of the universe (the thing that created me). So I’ll focus on worthiness and see how I go.
Well, maybe worthiness and acceptance. Hopefully that encourages desire to push forward into my conscious thought stream so I can be aware of it.
Hi Z,
I’ll give you my understanding of it:
Immediately after death, you do have a resting period of sorts, where you just remain in the spiritual world for a while. How long that is depends on the person, though time doesn’t have much if any meaning over there.
But eventually, you’ll be pulled to reincarnate here again, and yes you will carry your previous karmic bonds with you.
But, I understand that you have some leeway as to when you return. You might even get a choice of where and when you return to. But, it is my understanding that you will return, again and again, until your soul is totally free.
So yes, there will be a respite. It’ll be a wonderfully healing time of peace and love and joining back up with your higher self.
I hope that makes things clearer.
This is in reply to Kat W’s post to me earlier today. Thank you Kat for the comments. You brought up a lot of helpful, knowledgeable ideas and concepts. I appreciate the caring. Yes, I’m aware I have a lot of nervous energy. But that’s because I’ve had a generalized anxiety disorder from a pretty early age.. It doesn’t really have that much to do with where I’m from, but I’m sure living with two born and bred NYC parents in Los Angeles, where we moved when I was 6-years-old (I was born in NY), definitely had some effect as well! Ironically, I’m also pretty aware of how I must sound on the calls and have actually detached many times and listened to myself with a mixture of embarrassment and amusement at what I must sound like. I know I need more control over my thoughts and the way I express myself. Believe it or not, I’m much more mellow and organized in my thinking and speech clarity when I’m not involved in spiritual topics because these concepts are so big and amazing and new to me. As an impatient and fascinated student, I want to know everything NOW! LOL. So I guess this “frenzy” you refer to just comes over me. But I know that I need to do some fine tuning, and I intend on listening more and (great catch) speaking on one topic at a time. LOL. I’m sure not just me, but everyone on the call would benefit from me calming down. It will be. Thanks again, Kat. I can see you are a loving, supportive person and genuinely want to help. You have.
Dearest Frann,
I am glad! Thank you for letting me know.
I get the same way in classes, so I know the deal. You see, we are learning from each other. Others call me passionate, but yeah, I know what it’s like to want to know everything. I am working on lowering this resistance, however, because it’s keeping me from being the professional I am meant to be. This “got to know it or I’ll make a fool of myself” sort of feeling. However, when I slow down and am calm and more in the flow, it totally works and I am in command and yes, turn heads.
I, too have suffered with anxiety, so I am very much familiar with it as well. The thing is, that comes from within, too. Though genetically prone to it, I still find relief in tapping on those meridians Brandon pointed out, just when feeling anxious and it works! Pills did not and they were too sedating.
I liked what quarterback Eli manning said once when asked if he had any anxiety and he responded its excitement. So, why not call it that? Better huh? Overly excited sounds better than anxious, right? These are some things that help me at least.
Kat, tapping works for you? Could you estimate for how long (in minutes) you tap before the anxiety dissolves? Do you say, “Even though I feel anxiety right now, …” ?
Also, can you read other people’s energy? Your replies to Frann suggest that, so I’m curious.
Hi Z,
Tapping works to a degree. I do not say anything actually. I don’t really do it as instructed. When I get anxious, it comes on suddenly, like an attack. No time to say anything, Like giving myself a hug, which for me sometimes works just fine. When I had worse attacks, it would work like that. Anxiety is a bit of a tricky thing. Like a phantom of sorts, it sweeps in to consume you, but when that wave comes, I feel its fullness and a couple of times I tapped. It and it helped. But then again, so did saying Om and sort of humming it to myself. The wave just runs its course then.
Yes, I feel many things and see through people and many situations. Like, I can tell why they are acting the way they do. I can feel their fear, insecurity, and most if my life I’ve been calming people down because I think they go overboard with these things for naught. Now, if I can just help myself, but I think that comes on it’s own and realizing things through helping others. At least part of it.
Thank you for your reply, Kat. I guess I’ll give it another shot when I get hit by anxiety again. I like your suggestion to Frann, to refer to anxiety as excitement.
You, like Brandon, seem to have a lot of LOA knowledge and experience. Do you think one day you could be a LOA teacher as well? 🙂
Hi Z,
Thank you so much for that! I deeply appreciate it. I am really glad and it is great being of assistance becasue it does one a lot of good as well, trust me.
I am intuitive, but not as advanced as Brandon. My first memory was “why in the world am I here again?” I seriously think I’ve lived in a higher yuga, where I experienced telepathy, because all these things regarding money, jobs, studies, working and what people think about them are bs to me. I’m not saying to not have goals, because in this yuga these are prevalent, but the beliefs concerning them. Though I have goals, and now I seriously think they are the reason I am here because they keep showing up no matter what I do, along with some other stuff. I did meet some kindred spirits along the way, which is pretty cool.
Yes, I will be using LOA, not as a coach, but in my personal and professional life, where I already use it. My student life is a bit messy, but when I excelled I was totally in love with life, that is why that zero state is important. And being there not out of necessity, but becasue you are there. 🙂
P.S. Kat, I sort of know what you meant by “commanding a room” – I’ve read a bit about it and I felt it intuitively when you mentioned. And no, I’m not ready for that yet, but excited being able to do that when I’m ready. Yes, definitely kindergarten and going through the steps!
Brandon I want to ask you that if our past lives karma affects our current life then why don’t we remember it? It’s like getting punishment for the crime you don’t even remember doing ????. And if we have a choice about where to born and what kind of life we want then why would anybody choose to be born in poverty or to abusive parents?
I also want to know if Buddha is free from this life and death cycle ?
Thank you all of you for posting great comments and lots of great thoughts.
Hi Rhea,
Thanks for the comment. 🙂
This is a great question. I tried to make this clearer in the post, but I apologize if I did not.
You have to remember that karma is not a punishment. It is just another word for resistance.
So if you had relationship issues in this life, for example, and did not resolve those, you will have to confront them again in your next life. It is all in order to help you to be free.
Why don’t you remember it? Well, simply because it’s not necessary, and remembering every life would quickly become a bit overwhelming. We often have trouble overcoming some traumatic memory in this life. Imagine if you remembered, in great detail, every trauma, heartbreak, and otherwise bad experience from every life.
I do think that as you are ready, you will start remembering. But for now, it is for your own protection.
I say it’s not necessary, because there are always experiences that validate and strengthen our past life programs. If you have a past life money issue, you might be born into a family that shares similar subconscious programs. You’ll attract the exact type of life that matches the karmic bonds you need to overcome.
For two reasons:
First, that might be the best match to the karma they have to face in this life.
Second, they might intentionally choose it as a challenge. I’ve often given the analogy of a video game. You don’t usually choose the easiest level on that game. You want the challenge. It’s the same with this life.
Yes, I believe that he is, as well as many others.
This is in reply to Kat W’s post to me earlier today. Thank you Kat for the comments. You brought up a lot of helpful, knowledgeable ideas and concepts. I appreciate the caring. Yes, I’m aware I have a lot of nervous energy. But that’s because I’ve had a generalized anxiety disorder from a pretty early age.. It doesn’t really have that much to do with where I’m from, but I’m sure living with two born and bred NYC parents in Los Angeles, where we moved when I was 6-years-old (I was born in NY), definitely had some effect as well! Ironically, I’m also pretty aware of how I must sound on the calls and have actually detached many times and listened to myself with a mixture of embarrassment and amusement at what I must sound like. I know I need more control over my thoughts and the way I express myself. Believe it or not, I’m much more mellow and organized in my thinking and speech clarity when I’m not involved in spiritual topics because these concepts are so big and amazing and new to me. As an impatient and fascinated student, I want to know everything NOW! LOL. So I guess this “frenzy” you refer to just comes over me. But I know that I need to do some fine tuning, and I intend on listening more and (great catch) speaking on one topic at a time. LOL. I’m sure not just me, but everyone on the call would benefit from me calming down. It will be. Thanks again, Kat. I can see you are a loving, supportive person and genuinely want to help. You have.
Dearest Frann,
I am glad! Thank you for letting me know.
I get the same way in classes, so I know the deal. You see, we are learning from each other. Others call me passionate, but yeah, I know what it’s like to want to know everything. I am working on lowering this resistance, however, because it’s keeping me from being the professional I am meant to be. This “got to know it or I’ll make a fool of myself” sort of feeling. However, when I slow down and am calm and more in the flow, it totally works and I am in command and yes, turn heads.
I, too have suffered with anxiety, so I am very much familiar with it as well. The thing is, that comes from within, too. Though genetically prone to it, I still find relief in tapping on those meridians Brandon pointed out, just when feeling anxious and it works! Pills did not and they were too sedating.
I liked what quarterback Eli manning said once when asked if he had any anxiety and he responded its excitement. So, why not call it that? Better huh? Overly excited sounds better than anxious, right? These are some things that help me at least.
Kat, tapping works for you? Could you estimate for how long (in minutes) you tap before the anxiety dissolves? Do you say, “Even though I feel anxiety right now, …” ?
Also, can you read other people’s energy? Your replies to Frann suggest that, so I’m curious.
Hi Z,
Tapping works to a degree. I do not say anything actually. I don’t really do it as instructed. When I get anxious, it comes on suddenly, like an attack. No time to say anything, Like giving myself a hug, which for me sometimes works just fine. When I had worse attacks, it would work like that. Anxiety is a bit of a tricky thing. Like a phantom of sorts, it sweeps in to consume you, but when that wave comes, I feel its fullness and a couple of times I tapped. It and it helped. But then again, so did saying Om and sort of humming it to myself. The wave just runs its course then.
Yes, I feel many things and see through people and many situations. Like, I can tell why they are acting the way they do. I can feel their fear, insecurity, and most if my life I’ve been calming people down because I think they go overboard with these things for naught. Now, if I can just help myself, but I think that comes on it’s own and realizing things through helping others. At least part of it.
Thank you for your reply, Kat. I guess I’ll give it another shot when I get hit by anxiety again. I like your suggestion to Frann, to refer to anxiety as excitement.
You, like Brandon, seem to have a lot of LOA knowledge and experience. Do you think one day you could be a LOA teacher as well? 🙂
Hi Z,
Thank you so much for that! I deeply appreciate it. I am really glad and it is great being of assistance becasue it does one a lot of good as well, trust me.
I am intuitive, but not as advanced as Brandon. My first memory was “why in the world am I here again?” I seriously think I’ve lived in a higher yuga, where I experienced telepathy, because all these things regarding money, jobs, studies, working and what people think about them are bs to me. I’m not saying to not have goals, because in this yuga these are prevalent, but the beliefs concerning them. Though I have goals, and now I seriously think they are the reason I am here because they keep showing up no matter what I do, along with some other stuff. I did meet some kindred spirits along the way, which is pretty cool.
Yes, I will be using LOA, not as a coach, but in my personal and professional life, where I already use it. My student life is a bit messy, but when I excelled I was totally in love with life, that is why that zero state is important. And being there not out of necessity, but becasue you are there. 🙂
P.S. Kat, I sort of know what you meant by “commanding a room” – I’ve read a bit about it and I felt it intuitively when you mentioned. And no, I’m not ready for that yet, but excited being able to do that when I’m ready. Yes, definitely kindergarten and going through the steps!
Thank you so much for answering my questions. Yeh may be its to finish unfinished businesses. But I wish we could remember the things we need to work on and start brand new life. But I think sometimes we do know what is it that we are carrying forward and need to leave it here and now before moving on. Thank you ????.
Brandon I want to ask you that if our past lives karma affects our current life then why don’t we remember it? It’s like getting punishment for the crime you don’t even remember doing ????. And if we have a choice about where to born and what kind of life we want then why would anybody choose to be born in poverty or to abusive parents?
I also want to know if Buddha is free from this life and death cycle ?
Thank you all of you for posting great comments and lots of great thoughts.
Hi Rhea,
Thanks for the comment. 🙂
This is a great question. I tried to make this clearer in the post, but I apologize if I did not.
You have to remember that karma is not a punishment. It is just another word for resistance.
So if you had relationship issues in this life, for example, and did not resolve those, you will have to confront them again in your next life. It is all in order to help you to be free.
Why don’t you remember it? Well, simply because it’s not necessary, and remembering every life would quickly become a bit overwhelming. We often have trouble overcoming some traumatic memory in this life. Imagine if you remembered, in great detail, every trauma, heartbreak, and otherwise bad experience from every life.
I do think that as you are ready, you will start remembering. But for now, it is for your own protection.
I say it’s not necessary, because there are always experiences that validate and strengthen our past life programs. If you have a past life money issue, you might be born into a family that shares similar subconscious programs. You’ll attract the exact type of life that matches the karmic bonds you need to overcome.
For two reasons:
First, that might be the best match to the karma they have to face in this life.
Second, they might intentionally choose it as a challenge. I’ve often given the analogy of a video game. You don’t usually choose the easiest level on that game. You want the challenge. It’s the same with this life.
Yes, I believe that he is, as well as many others.
Thank you so much for answering my questions. Yeh may be its to finish unfinished businesses. But I wish we could remember the things we need to work on and start brand new life. But I think sometimes we do know what is it that we are carrying forward and need to leave it here and now before moving on. Thank you ????.