The following pages (Monday - Sunday) Are taken from Deepak Chopra's "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success"
Each day work on the corresponding law as a base, core, spiritual practice.
Each day work on the corresponding law as a base, core, spiritual practice.
The Law of Karma (or cause and effect)
"Every action generates a force of energy that returns to us in like kind...what we sow we reap. And when we choose actions that bring happiness and success to others, the fruit of our karma is happiness and success."
The third spiritual law of success is the Law of Karma. "Karma" is both action and the consequences of that action; it is cause and effect simultaneously, because every action generates a force of energy that returns to us in like kind. There is nothing unfamiliar about the Law of Karma. everyone has heard the expression, "What you sow is what you reap." Obviously, if we want to create happiness in our lives, we must learn to sow the seeds of happiness. Therefore, karma implies the action of conscious choice-making.
You and I are essentially infinite choice-makers. In every moment of our existence, we are in that field of all possibilities where we have access to an infinity of choices. some of these choices are made consciously, while others are made unconsciously. But the best way to understand and maximize the use of the karmic law is to become consciously aware of the choices we make in every moment.
Whether you like it or not, everything that is happening at this moment is a result of the choices you've made in the past. Unfortunately, a lot of us make choices unconsciously, and therefore we don't think they are choice - and yet, they are. If I were to insult you, you would most likely make a choice of being offended. If I were to pay you a compliment, you would most likely make the choice of being pleased or flattered. But hink about it: it's still a choice. I could offend you and I could insult you, and you could make the choice of not being offended. I could pay you a compliment and you could make the choice of not letting that flatter you either.
In other words, most of us - even though we are infinite choice-makers - have become bundles of conditional reflexes that are constantly being triggered by people and circumstances into predictable outcomes of behavior. These conditional reflexes are like Pavlovian conditioning. Pavlov is famous for demonstrating that if you five a dog something to eat everytime you ring a bell, soon the dog starts to salivate when you just ring the bell, because it has associated one stimulus with another.
Most of us, as a result of conditioning, have repetitious and predictable responses to the stimuli in our environment. Our reactions seem to be automatically triggered by people and circumstances, and we forget that these are still choices that we are making in every moment of our existence. We are simply making these choices unconsciously.
Most of us, as a result of conditioning, have repetitious and predictable responses to the stimuli in our environment. Our reactions seem to be automatically triggered by people and circumstances, and we forget that these are still choices that we are making in every moment of our existence. We are simply making these choices unconsciously.
When you make any choice - any choice at all - you can ask yourself two things: First of all, "What are the consequences of this choice that I am making?" In your heart you will immediately know what these are. Secondly, "Will this choice that I am making now bring happiness to me and those around me?" If the answer is yes, then go ahead with that choice. If the answer is no, if that choice brings distress either to you or to those around you, then don't make that choice. It's as simple as that.
There is a very interesting mechanism that the universe has to help you make spontaneously correct choices. The mechanism has to do with sensations in your body. Your body experiences two kinds of sensations: one is a sensation of comfort, the other is a sensation of discomfort. At the moment you consciously make a choice, pay attention to your body and ask your body, "If I make this choice, what happens?" If your body sends a message of comfort, that's the right choice. If your body sends a message of discomfort, then it's not the appropriate choice.
For some people the message of comfort and discomfort is in the area of the solar plexus, but for most people it's in the area of the heart. Consciously put your attention in the heart and ask your heart what to do. Then wait for a response - a physical response in the form of a sensation. It may be the faintest level of feeling - bit it's there in your body. Only the heart knows the correct answer.
Most people think the heart is mushy and sentimental. But it's not. The heart is intuitive; it's holistic, it's contextual, it's relational. It doesn't have a win-lose orientation. It taps into the cosmic computer - the field of pure potentiality, pure knowledge, and infinite organizing power - and takes everything into account. At times it may not even seem rational, but the heart has a computing ability that is far more acccurate and far more precise than anything within the limits of rational thought.
Most people think the heart is mushy and sentimental. But it's not. The heart is intuitive; it's holistic, it's contextual, it's relational. It doesn't have a win-lose orientation. It taps into the cosmic computer - the field of pure potentiality, pure knowledge, and infinite organizing power - and takes everything into account. At times it may not even seem rational, but the heart has a computing ability that is far more acccurate and far more precise than anything within the limits of rational thought.
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What about past Karma and how it is influencing you now? There are three things you can do about past Karma. One is to pay your karmic debts. Most people choose to do that - unconsciously, of course. This may be a choice you make, also. Sometimes there's a lot of suffering involved in the payment of those debts, but the Law of Karma says no debt in the universe goes unpaid. There is a perfect accounting system in this univers, and everything is a constant "to and fro" exchange of energy.
The second thing you can do is to transmute or transform your karma to a more desirable experience. This is a very interesting process in which you ask yourself, as you're paying your karmic debt, "What can I learn from this experience? Why is this happening and what is the message that the universe is giving to me? How can I make this experience useful to my fellow human beings?"
By doing this, you look for the seed of opportunity and then tie that seed of opportunity with your dharma, with your purpose in life, which we'll talk about in the seventh Spiritual Law of Success. This allows you to transmute the karma to a new expression.
The third way to deal with karma is to transcend it. To transcend karma is to become independent of it. The way to transcend karma is to keep experiencing the gap, the Self, the Spirit. It's like washing a dirty piece of cloth in a stream of water. Every time you wash it, you take away a few stains. You keep washing it again and again, and each time it gets a little cleaner. You wash or transcend the seeds of your karma by going into the gap and coming out again. This, of course, is done through the practice of meditation.
The second thing you can do is to transmute or transform your karma to a more desirable experience. This is a very interesting process in which you ask yourself, as you're paying your karmic debt, "What can I learn from this experience? Why is this happening and what is the message that the universe is giving to me? How can I make this experience useful to my fellow human beings?"
By doing this, you look for the seed of opportunity and then tie that seed of opportunity with your dharma, with your purpose in life, which we'll talk about in the seventh Spiritual Law of Success. This allows you to transmute the karma to a new expression.
The third way to deal with karma is to transcend it. To transcend karma is to become independent of it. The way to transcend karma is to keep experiencing the gap, the Self, the Spirit. It's like washing a dirty piece of cloth in a stream of water. Every time you wash it, you take away a few stains. You keep washing it again and again, and each time it gets a little cleaner. You wash or transcend the seeds of your karma by going into the gap and coming out again. This, of course, is done through the practice of meditation.
Applying the Law of "Karma" -(affirmations)
1) Today I will witness the choices I make in each moment. And in the mere witnessing of these choices, I will bring them to my conscious awareness. I will know that the best way to prepare for any moment in the future is to be fully conscious in the present.
(2) Whenever I make a choice, I will ask myself two questions: "What are the consequences of this choice that I'm making?" and "Will this choice bring fulfillment and happiness to me and also to those who are affected by this choice?"
(3) I will ask my heart for guidance and be guided by its message of comfort or discomfort. If the choice feels comfortable, I will plunge ahead with abandon. If the choice feels uncomfortable, I will pause and see the consequences of my action with my inner vision. This guidance will enable me to make spontaneously correct choices for myself and for all those around me.
(2) Whenever I make a choice, I will ask myself two questions: "What are the consequences of this choice that I'm making?" and "Will this choice bring fulfillment and happiness to me and also to those who are affected by this choice?"
(3) I will ask my heart for guidance and be guided by its message of comfort or discomfort. If the choice feels comfortable, I will plunge ahead with abandon. If the choice feels uncomfortable, I will pause and see the consequences of my action with my inner vision. This guidance will enable me to make spontaneously correct choices for myself and for all those around me.