Karma, Past Lives & Reinca ation - Talking About it With Your Kids

First, let’s define karma. Karma is energy, intent, andnaction. It’s put into motion in the present and you feelnthe effects now of the karma you’ve created during many,nmany, many past lifetimes. Karma is a spiritual law thatnaffects everyone, just as gravity is a physical law thatnaffects everyone. It’s not something you can changenimmediately, just as you cannot alter the path of annapproaching tsunami.

Instead, everyone has free will to react to karma. Plus,ndoing the “right thing” in all situations will preventnincurring additional negative karma.

Some people claim to be able to alter or delete karmanwithout having to directly balance it. We would likento believe it’s possible, but conclude after 24+ yearsnof study in this area that it’s impossible, and we’vennever seen anyone actually accomplish this. We’rennot talking about frivolous things, such as decidingnto avoid a main highway during a rush hour snowstorm,nthus skipping two hours of anguish. We’re referring tonkey life circumstances and events, such as relationshipnand money issues. We’ve asked people who make suchnclaims exactly what the karma was that they altered orndeleted and how they knew it was their karma to beginnwith, and we have yet to hear a reasonable,nstraightforward response.

It’s very important to note that just because you don’tnget what you want in a particular situation, it doesn’tnmean you have “bad” karma. Fate determines how you
life unfolds. You then have free will to make the mostnof all situations.

How you perceive situations can make a big difference.
For example, if one of your daughters didn’t get intona college that she applied for, you might say it’s “badnkarma.” Instead, it could be viewed as something thatnwasn’t meant to be. Perhaps she was meant to follow andifferent career path.

Many kids encounter difficult circumstances like romanticninterests treating them poorly, personal attacks from othe
students at school, or the countless other challenges thatnthey have to work through. The traditional meaning ofnkarma supports the idea that there are no victims, and thoughnit’s true from a spiritual viewpoint, that may sound a littlenharsh to a young person. Alte
atively, while providingnemotional support and guidance, suggest they consider thatnthe challenges they work through now will help make themnstronger, if you’re not already doing this.

The best approach may be to allow your children to holdnwhatever beliefs about life they choose, yet also occasionallynmake helpful suggestions and offer guidance when appropriate.

Finally, try to encourage them to get in touch with thei
inner-selves through the practice of meditation (or artisticnhobbies or cardiovascular exercise, to name a couple morenways). Becoming more aware of their inner guidance willnhelp them be more aware of their optimum choices in allnsituations. Handwriting analysis is also a very useful toolnto help identify hidden, subconscious fears and defenses.
Self-knowledge does wonders for improving one’s life.

For the skeptics, even if karma and reinca
ation didn’tnexist (these concepts have yet to be proved invalid),nencouraging kids to act as if they do helps them tonunderstand the importance of taking responsibility for allntheir actions and doing the right thing in all situations.

Copyright © 2007 Scott Petullo, Stephen Petullo