Stopping the wheel of Karma!
Published February 21, 2018 | By John Ashley
Reposted from my blog as an original written article.
Stopping the wheel of Karma
In life there are moments that challenge us, and force us to ask some really deep questions such as: “why do I have to go through this” and “why do bad things happen to good people in general?” Sometimes in those moments, we can really feel quite defeated. However, if we understand the purpose of Karma, and the role it plays in helping us grow personally, then the challenges don’t seem like they have as much power over us as they used to.
There are many things that keep the wheel of negative Karma spinning. The many parts of the wheel, have to do with our level of intentions, motivations, love, forgiveness, and compassion. The lack of any part of the wheel, throws it out of balance, like a car with a flat tire going nowhere.
Starting with intention, we have to first go out in life with the intention of good things happening to us. If we go out with an attitude of fear, and attitude of negativity, or an attitude of entitlement, then what is returned to us is exactly what we send out each and every day. Also, one day’s energy builds on top of the other. Conversely, when we set out our day with the intention of services to others, what quickly follows in many cases, are positive vibes, positive intentions and positive outcomes.
What about motivation?
Our motivation and intentions play a crucial role in allowing good things to flow to us. If all we focus on are the struggles in life, and we don’t find purpose in our work, then what follows is a lack luster result at best. A person can find success in an area through service to self, but it’s usually short lived, and requires a tremendous amount of energy and effort in keeping your head above water. When we shift our focus to “service to others”, and aligning our skills and talents with our passions, we begin to both slow the wheel of Karma, as well as shifting the vibration of our reality towards great and lasting outcomes. When we are stuck in the battle of “service to self” – which by the way is really a battle against yourself, and Karma itself, we can end up feeling trapped into a life that’s not truly authentic or really adding any value for us or those we serve.
Many of the most successful people who can sustain their success, have done so with a “service to others” mindset. For example: the difference between a boss and a leader. Leaders in this world build teams of people who are truly passionate about what they do, people who value the team, and whom are less competitive with others, than they are about being in competition with themselves. The kind of competition I’m speaking of here, is not competition in the truest sense of the word, but rather a focus on being better both personally and professionally each and every day. When we focus on our true purpose, and put love into what we do, we begin to see the success we have always dreamed of begin to show up in our lives.
How to define success?
To truly define success, we have to understand what it really means for us. Is success a certain amount of money, is it having certain material possessions, is it about attaining as much wealth as possible, or is it more about happiness? A person can be successful in anything they are capable of doing, in any profession, and with any amount of wealth. Some of the happiest people on this planet are those who realize that no matter what we attain while here on this planet, that it is all temporary, and unimportant in the long run, unless we intend on sharing our wealth with others while we are here. Our wealth truly lies in what we leave behind in what we gave to the world, not in what we took from it. Did you share your wealth or hoard it in fear of self-preservation?
Sharing our wealth can come in many packages. We can share the wealth of our time, of our resources, and of our love and compassion. Sharing wealth is not just about money. Also, money is not evil by itself, but it’s more about how we use it… that can be evil or good depending on our intentions. Again, the more we shift our mindset to “service to others”, the more greater wealth we can build overall. Whole communities can be transformed with a single “service to others” mindset.
What exactly does it mean to be service to others rather than service to self?
To give a good example, would be someone who goes into a profession, with the attitude of serving others first, and then accepting whatever monetary reward that comes to them for doing what they love – what they feel is a calling or was what they were actually meant to do, and guided by their heart and passion first. In contrast a “service to self” individual shops around for jobs that make the most money first, and then tries to fit themselves into that position through forced education in an area they only care about because of the money.
These people tend to be some of the unhappiest people in the world, and will have many lessons riding on the wheel of Karma as a result. There have been many highly trained or educated people, who finally hit a wall and burn out because they were never passionate about what they chose to do as a profession in the first place, and ended up either very sad, or choosing to quit the profession they spent their entire life learning just for the money, or notoriety etc. All is not lost even for those people, because if they do finally see the pattern of “service to self”, they can turn things around and live out the rest of their lives in a more “service to others” mindset, and will as a result be much happier with their position in life.
We are all taught that we have to get married, settle down, have 2.5 kids (it might be at 3.5 now because of inflation), buy a large house, have fancy cars, and that will bring us great happiness. Now for some people this can be exactly what brings them happiness, but for others it might be living a life of service in a different way than is typical or average. Some people find different careers and lifestyles, that make them happy, allow them to serve others, and may or may not include building a family, owning a home or having fancy cars.
The point being that you can be happy no matter the material things that show up in your life, and no matter how you choose to serve. The point is, that we must have a “service to others” mindset for any real connection to be made in life, and for our lives to truly be happy, and hold the highest level of value.
One of the toughest lessons on the wheel of Karma is
One of the toughest lessons is; that we must learn the value of forgiveness of self, and forgiveness of others in all cases, no matter the extreme. Because if we choose to return anger for anger, harbor resentments, or choose to hold onto bitterness rather than choosing love… then we keep the wheel of Karma going for ourselves, and the thing that happened to us… will forever hold great power over us.
Not that we shouldn’t ever have anger, or that we should never have resentments, it’s more about how we process those emotions, and the ultimate intentions behind those emotions. I personally have to keep reminding myself of the Karma that is involved in reacting negative to negative situations. The challenge is with keeping our reactions in check as much as possible, while still allowing ourselves room for mistakes. The most important thing, is with our intentions, and our ability to continue to be conscious about how what we do affects those around us, and to remember that what we send out into the universe will always come back to us. Our intentions and even our thoughts, are so important, and important to reevaluate, and to keep focused in a positive direction.
What about environmental conditions and the effects that it has on motivation?
This is truly one of the greatest challenges we have in life! What do we do, to change our environment if our environment is so bad that it seems to affect us in a great way. Firstly, we can take the mindset that even if we are stuck in a particular environment for a period of time, that we can always make a choice to find ways to make a difference in that environment while you are there, and we also always have control over our own personal attitudes. Setting forth a plan to change or remove yourself from that environment as quickly as possible, will go a long way in keeping a positive mindset. You never want to just accept a condition in life as permanent, because all things are temporary, and can change if you set your mind to it.
“Change your thoughts change your life” is a good book that can help people realize the power they have through mental visualization, and positive motivation. Also “The Power of intention”, is another great book that teaches you the power of our intentions with our ability to chance our lives, simply through intending to do so. Both books are Dr. Wayne Dyer books – an amazing self-help and motivation author.
Love and compassion – the emergency brake on the wheel of Karma
When all is said and done, at the heart of all success in life, whether we are talking about a work relationship, personal relationships, a business, a job, or pretty much anything in life, the key is in understanding the power of love, and compassion. Love and compassion if placed and aligned with your intentions, and your goals, will ultimately yield the greatest successes in your life, no matter the resources that come your way. In many cases however, the greatest material successes, being that we live in a material world, come through putting love and passion into all that you do, before even thinking about the potential for monetary gain. In this way, the universe goes to work providing the right resources, at the right time, to support your alignment with your purpose. The things you were meant to do, when we truly follow our heart, will always be supported in some way by the laws of the universe, such as the law of attraction, and the law of Karma.
So essentially what we are saying here, is that we want to stop the wheel of Bad Karma through this alignment with “service to others”, while speeding up the wheel of good Karma at the same time. The point is, what wheel do you want to ride on for the rest of your life?
How do I get started with a more service to others mindset?
This will take some real inner work (mediation and reflection [see this article: https://www.getesoteric.com/finally-looking-within/ ]), and some real soul searching, to evaluate all of the decisions you have made in your life, and really address all of those things that hold you back in life. If you are the kind of person who gives up easily or tends to make bad decisions, ask yourself why that is? Honestly ask yourself these tough questions, and look for patterns of giving up, patterns of only focusing on what you can get from life, patterns of victimization, and keeping the mindset of being a victim of your life, potentially for your entire life to this point.
Once you learn how to forgive those people in your life who have done negative things to you, and whom you have held so much anger towards, and whom may also have conditioned you to feel like you have to survive this life, rather than really live it; it’s only then that you can contemplate thinking more about what it means to be of service to others. For example, if you were a victim of abuse in the past, you can still learn to forgive, but not forget. This doesn’t mean accepting that person back into your life, it only means that you see the soul of that person as damaged, and that we are all truly one, and that holding onto anger will in no way help you trust again, or help you to live a good life, a life of service to others.
One way that a person who’s gone through something like that can serve; is to become an advocate for the abused, or to even go to the extreme as to want to change your entire career, and retrain as a counselor or therapist. No matter your financial ability to make big changes, there are always ways you can give back if it’s your intention to do so, and is part of what is in your heart, as purpose and passion. Joining a support group and sharing your story, can lead to so many new things in your life, including new friendships, and changed lives as well. This includes the possibility of volunteering at a shelter if that is something that’s possible for you. The value you will get out of these experiences, transcends any monetary reward you may get from even a change in career etc.
To summarize: The best way to stop the wheel of Karma, is to first learn how to reflect on your life, and then let the universe guide you in the direction of healing and change. Once on this path through reflection, and meditation, you can begin to take real action towards living a life of value and passion in service to others first, while at the same time serving and supporting your own souls divine purpose. We primarily do this through the power of love and forgiveness of self and others, and then looking for ways to serve, and to share our own personal talents, gifts and life experiences with others.
Good luck on your journey towards stopping your wheel of bad Karma! Namaste!
John Ashley!