| No good deed goes unpunished |
Part 1
There is an old expression that ‘no good deed goes unpunished’.
I often think of that phrase when I question my beliefs. I am a
firm believer in karma, and trust that by doing things the right
way and doing them for the right reasons will lead to a positive
life. Karma itself means “deed” or “act”, and in a way is related
to a cause and effect relationship with life. Many believe that
karma was built on a principle to describe how evil happens, that
a person who experiences great tragedy must somehow
deserve it. Others are rooted in a system that both good and
bad deeds are rewarded with good and bad life events. I feel
that it is much more complex than that.
Many religions have a root in karma … Hinduism, Sikhism,
Buddhism, and Jainism being the foremost. Many of the people
that I have spoken to about my beliefs ask if I am affiliated with
one of those religions, I am not. The belief that good deeds
receive good karma, and bad deeds receive bad karma, covers
so many religions that to pinhole a belief system is tough. In the
Old Testament there is a passage in Ecclesiastes that reads
‘There is a time to sew and a time to reap what has been
sewn’. There is another passage later in the same book that
says how you reap is how you will see’. Thus, the roots of
Christianity and Judaism also show some effects of karma like
cause and effect. I have been told by friends of mine that it even
works its way into atheist lives as well. A firm non-believer once
told me that his goal was simply to do well and try to live how he
would want others to be able to live. Karma in a nutshell! Karma
also appears in the Wicca religion in the Threefold Law, the idea
that ones good or bad effects on life will return onto ones self in
multitude. Egyptians had the goddess Maat who sat in judgment
of ones life based on good deeds done versus bad and did so
with out seeing the persons status in life, all were judged equally.
My belief in karma is rooted in all those religions and in one
more thing that I feel is the foundation: Karma is not about good
or evil, it’s not a way to judge; it is a chance to see a new way
to live, a way that through deeds one can in essence control one’
s own life. If Karma is to be seen as a reward system then it
must pass judgment. I see it as more of a positive energy
against a negative energy and as such try to earn positive
energy for myself. Thus, a good deed done will come back to
you, or earn you good luck, or maybe just help you feel that by
doing good you are a good person and deserve good in return.
Many people have said that if you go around thinking the worst
the worst will happen, we should go around seeking the good
because we have done good!
One more thing that I now have to contend with is the notion that
as a sensitive person my abilities cannot be used for personal
gain. Wow! Define personal gain. Is it money, fame, comfort or
is it karma, what a dilemma. By using my gift to help others,
though I don’t take money, I may earn positive energy, is that
benefiting? I don’t think so. My beautiful wife had written
somewhere that to give of one’s self is the most precious of
gifts. Any positive you may get from that is a well deserved
reward!! So do unto others…or however you wish to view it, don’
t promote yourself above others, and laugh at yourself harder
and more often that you do at others and see your life turn
around, positive step after positive step no matter what religion
or lack thereof you hold true!
I often think of that phrase when I question my beliefs. I am a
firm believer in karma, and trust that by doing things the right
way and doing them for the right reasons will lead to a positive
life. Karma itself means “deed” or “act”, and in a way is related
to a cause and effect relationship with life. Many believe that
karma was built on a principle to describe how evil happens, that
a person who experiences great tragedy must somehow
deserve it. Others are rooted in a system that both good and
bad deeds are rewarded with good and bad life events. I feel
that it is much more complex than that.
Many religions have a root in karma … Hinduism, Sikhism,
Buddhism, and Jainism being the foremost. Many of the people
that I have spoken to about my beliefs ask if I am affiliated with
one of those religions, I am not. The belief that good deeds
receive good karma, and bad deeds receive bad karma, covers
so many religions that to pinhole a belief system is tough. In the
Old Testament there is a passage in Ecclesiastes that reads
‘There is a time to sew and a time to reap what has been
sewn’. There is another passage later in the same book that
says how you reap is how you will see’. Thus, the roots of
Christianity and Judaism also show some effects of karma like
cause and effect. I have been told by friends of mine that it even
works its way into atheist lives as well. A firm non-believer once
told me that his goal was simply to do well and try to live how he
would want others to be able to live. Karma in a nutshell! Karma
also appears in the Wicca religion in the Threefold Law, the idea
that ones good or bad effects on life will return onto ones self in
multitude. Egyptians had the goddess Maat who sat in judgment
of ones life based on good deeds done versus bad and did so
with out seeing the persons status in life, all were judged equally.
My belief in karma is rooted in all those religions and in one
more thing that I feel is the foundation: Karma is not about good
or evil, it’s not a way to judge; it is a chance to see a new way
to live, a way that through deeds one can in essence control one’
s own life. If Karma is to be seen as a reward system then it
must pass judgment. I see it as more of a positive energy
against a negative energy and as such try to earn positive
energy for myself. Thus, a good deed done will come back to
you, or earn you good luck, or maybe just help you feel that by
doing good you are a good person and deserve good in return.
Many people have said that if you go around thinking the worst
the worst will happen, we should go around seeking the good
because we have done good!
One more thing that I now have to contend with is the notion that
as a sensitive person my abilities cannot be used for personal
gain. Wow! Define personal gain. Is it money, fame, comfort or
is it karma, what a dilemma. By using my gift to help others,
though I don’t take money, I may earn positive energy, is that
benefiting? I don’t think so. My beautiful wife had written
somewhere that to give of one’s self is the most precious of
gifts. Any positive you may get from that is a well deserved
reward!! So do unto others…or however you wish to view it, don’
t promote yourself above others, and laugh at yourself harder
and more often that you do at others and see your life turn
around, positive step after positive step no matter what religion
or lack thereof you hold true!
Part 2
I tried in my last article to get across the simple role of karma in
my life, and by doing so hopefully exposed a new person to this
line of thinking. For that whether Christian, Jew, Buddhist,
Atheist, or any form of belief, good deeds can help one feel
better and live better. I hope that I did that and more. There
must be a way then to use what I believe that I know to feel
better about myself and the people around me. On a recent
occasion a group of us had gathered and were discussing some
current events, we joked about a certain occurrence and almost
as one said, "Oh boy, karma is going to get us!" We acted as
though karma was a bully on the edge of the playground, waiting
to meter out punishment for what we said or did. Yes, it may be
true that we may be repaid in some way by our actions or
thoughts, but will it really happen so obviously?
Let's just say that hypothetically a person you know upsets you
and you say, "Man am I mad at Sally. She is a real pain in the
butt!" Can there be a karmic repayment for that? What if it was,
"Man am I mad at Sally she is a real pain in the butt, I hope she
gets hit by a car!" There may be some backlash there. See
karma cannot punish, it does not hold a gavel and declare a
meeting open, or ask for order in the courtroom. It can,
however, act as a great moral guide. Should we talk about
others? Probably not. Should we wish harm on others? Definitely
not! So here it goes, try to follow me.
What if our discussing another person is in some way a reaction
to karma that they may have earned. What if Sally was a real
[censored] to everyone around her and did her best to act
superior as well, what if her only concern was for herself.?
Should then the karmic effect of this be that people who know
her discuss her in a bad or unflattering light? Now lets say that
Sally herself in some way, through her actions, causes pain or
injury to another. Can that wish of pain upon her be
repayment?? What if we, as we are "talkin' smack", fulfilling a
greater role in karma, what if we were destined to do it. Just
say that as people earn bad karma their repayment can come in
many forms. So here we sit probing the aspects of what can be
or cannot be karma. What if my being such a bad person earlier
in life is now repaying itself by my having a greater moral
conscience?
Those that know me are wondering where this is all coming
from. I am trying my best to earn that good karma for myself. I
realize that some people are going to take what I say for
granted, so be it. Those of you who really know me know that
there is much more than meets the eye. So at risk of blowing my
cover here we go again --- letʼs say that the butterfly effect was
in a real state. For those that donʼt know the effect, in a nut
shell, if a butterfly flaps its wings 2 times in Beijing instead of 3
will it rain in New York instead of being sunny. Now say the
effect is real and Sally is the butterfly, her actions then influence
all of the lives she even remotely touches! Should we then be
extremely careful in all of our actions? Should we then see that
our actions can affect all those we touch and when someone
warns us of impending danger does our not listening make this
affect worse? Can karma be a physical thing? Now that I have
taken up your time and hopefully made you think, I am now
going outside to talk some smack, wave my arms 4 times
instead of 3, and generally taunt karma into appearing, you
know poke it with a stick!! Nah, I'm just gonna sit here and see
the world as it unfolds before me for the good and the bad and
hope that karma leads me where to go!
PEACE!
my life, and by doing so hopefully exposed a new person to this
line of thinking. For that whether Christian, Jew, Buddhist,
Atheist, or any form of belief, good deeds can help one feel
better and live better. I hope that I did that and more. There
must be a way then to use what I believe that I know to feel
better about myself and the people around me. On a recent
occasion a group of us had gathered and were discussing some
current events, we joked about a certain occurrence and almost
as one said, "Oh boy, karma is going to get us!" We acted as
though karma was a bully on the edge of the playground, waiting
to meter out punishment for what we said or did. Yes, it may be
true that we may be repaid in some way by our actions or
thoughts, but will it really happen so obviously?
Let's just say that hypothetically a person you know upsets you
and you say, "Man am I mad at Sally. She is a real pain in the
butt!" Can there be a karmic repayment for that? What if it was,
"Man am I mad at Sally she is a real pain in the butt, I hope she
gets hit by a car!" There may be some backlash there. See
karma cannot punish, it does not hold a gavel and declare a
meeting open, or ask for order in the courtroom. It can,
however, act as a great moral guide. Should we talk about
others? Probably not. Should we wish harm on others? Definitely
not! So here it goes, try to follow me.
What if our discussing another person is in some way a reaction
to karma that they may have earned. What if Sally was a real
[censored] to everyone around her and did her best to act
superior as well, what if her only concern was for herself.?
Should then the karmic effect of this be that people who know
her discuss her in a bad or unflattering light? Now lets say that
Sally herself in some way, through her actions, causes pain or
injury to another. Can that wish of pain upon her be
repayment?? What if we, as we are "talkin' smack", fulfilling a
greater role in karma, what if we were destined to do it. Just
say that as people earn bad karma their repayment can come in
many forms. So here we sit probing the aspects of what can be
or cannot be karma. What if my being such a bad person earlier
in life is now repaying itself by my having a greater moral
conscience?
Those that know me are wondering where this is all coming
from. I am trying my best to earn that good karma for myself. I
realize that some people are going to take what I say for
granted, so be it. Those of you who really know me know that
there is much more than meets the eye. So at risk of blowing my
cover here we go again --- letʼs say that the butterfly effect was
in a real state. For those that donʼt know the effect, in a nut
shell, if a butterfly flaps its wings 2 times in Beijing instead of 3
will it rain in New York instead of being sunny. Now say the
effect is real and Sally is the butterfly, her actions then influence
all of the lives she even remotely touches! Should we then be
extremely careful in all of our actions? Should we then see that
our actions can affect all those we touch and when someone
warns us of impending danger does our not listening make this
affect worse? Can karma be a physical thing? Now that I have
taken up your time and hopefully made you think, I am now
going outside to talk some smack, wave my arms 4 times
instead of 3, and generally taunt karma into appearing, you
know poke it with a stick!! Nah, I'm just gonna sit here and see
the world as it unfolds before me for the good and the bad and
hope that karma leads me where to go!
PEACE!
| M.C.P.I. |
| M.C.P.I. |
| if you believe in the hereafter you know what we're here after |
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| Monroe COUNTY PARANORMAL investigations |
