Karma, in this case referring to the consequences of past action, is described as having 3 types. With awakening, we are said to roast the mountains of our backlog and to stop creating new problems for ourselves. But the sprouted seeds that we began this incarnation with will continue to unfold.
With the falling away of the bindings of attachments, how we respond to life can change quite a bit. This is why no new problems. This is also the essence of the end of suffering.
I was reminded of this point several times recently. Several friends are going through unexpected challenges. But none became a story of suffering. Just some unexpected drama that they went with and it all worked out fine. A different kind of quality time than planned.
Same happened for me, though on a milder scale. Coming home late, one of my car tires went. By the time I realized it, the tire was trashed. (newer car, the flat tire didn’t change the handling) Hobbled it home and changed the tire the next day, in the light. And the day after, took the car in for a new tire. The place that carried my brand? Less than a mile away. And I arrived in an unusual lull.
A curious event but it was fine. No obvious reason for the tire to fail. Annoying? Sure, but nothing to get worked up about. Didn’t happen when I had a car full of people and/or was a long way from anything. And it was straightforward to address.
Thus, the difficult bit of karma is resolved and will not be coming around again. Nor was anything new created.
Had I instead got upset with the tire failing for no reason, or tried to change the tire on the side of a dark country road with an unfamiliar jack, or otherwise gotten into some drama about it, the story would be different. I may have gone on to carry resentment or anger or fear of it happening again. Any of these can create energetic resistance which leads to a reactionary response to further events, more suffering, lower quality of life, and so on.
But if instead we just work these things though, then the remaining karmic load winds down. Depending on the starting load, it means that over time, the number of such events gradually drops. There can still be surges depending on the trends of time, and of course the type may change in different cycles. But they become like punctuation or asides rather than the dominant theme of life as they may once have been.
And sometimes, what may at first seem like something disappointing can turn out to be a blessing. A meeting falls through but then something even better arises that you’re now available for. One situation falls apart only for something much better to arise.
Thus, as the suffering winds down, the difficulties tend to wind down as well. As long as we’re working through the “sprouted seeds” we came in with, there will continue to be some karmic benefits and challenges. But the average day-to-day life? It generally gets better and better. The presence of bliss and peace. The greater support. The sense of being blessed. The smooth enjoyment of life.
Then you can be happy for no reason and happy for reason, both. 😉
Davidya
This little quote came in a newsletter today:
“It’s important to build enough time and space into life to be able to digest the Hard and the Weird when we encounter them. Because we will encounter them.”
— Dr. Claudia Welch
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This explains something I was going through about re-traumatizing myself when something bad happened in my life. I would respond to the event so negatively, (complaining bitterly to God) that I think I was just continuing the cycle of bad things happening to me. I got out of the cycle using Energy Spirituality techniques by Rose Rosetree. I don’t think I could have gotten out of the cycle by just keeping cool and dealing with the problem. Anyway, thanks for giving your explanation on this subject.
Hi Morgan
Yes, I’m talking about a later phase where we’re just processing through things as they arise. This requires the establishment of a deeper sense of self so there is a more observational detachment and we stop being as drawn into the dramas that arise.
Karma does have a quality of shadow that blinds us to it’s dynamics. Only after some of the backlog is processed do we begin to get a sense of it. At first we tend to see we’ve been caught again after the fact, then during, and finally we notice as its arising and can change our response.
Different areas of life will also be clearer than others.
So yes, some healing of the larger shadows brings greater clarity and is a big help in making progress and getting out of the loops.
Those loops are the wheel of karma in action and tend to cycle round and round, building more trouble as we go. Stepping out of the cycle can have a major benefit.
And yes, by working on the deeper level, we also get to the cause rather than continually dealing with the consequences.
Thanks for commenting!