“Although we may speak of karma in terms of positive, neutral, and negative actions, basically, it is all a question of whether a given action facilitates or retards the soul’s development and evolution – hence whether our actions lead toward a progress to a supernal or divine humanity or a regress back into our bestial past.”
– Tau Malachai

What are you doing to move forward?
What are you doing to heal the wounds of the past?

You can think of karma as a backpack of rocks. Every time something happens, whether you do something or someone or something else does something, and you choose to hold on to it, you pick up a rock and put it in your backpack. Holding on to it means holding judgment (“this is good” or “this is bad”); it means not allowing for the fact that it just is; it means not being present to what is, and therefore not processing it. When we don’t process, we don’t move forward, and we leave a part of ourselves in that space/time.

Forgiveness and acceptance are the opposite of Karma. Neither implies consent or condonement. They do not not make something okay, let alone “right”. It just means that I’m not going to carry this rock around anymore. It means that person, institution, or event doesn’t get to occupy rent-free space in my head anymore. It means that I’m not going to beat myself up on someone else’s behalf or use something they’ve done (or that I think they have done) as an excuse. It means, potentially, that I stop playing the victim.

Forgiveness comes from being able to say “this is.”

When I live under the laws of forgiveness (rather than the laws of Karma), I free myself up to act. I am no longer wasting energy trying to change or maintain illusion. I am no longer wasting my energy and disempowering myself by beating myself up. I can be present to the verifiable facts, and I can take the necessary actions to affect change, if that is what is called for. I am no longer trying to hold space for what I want to be true, so I can actually create real change. Since I am present, I have the ground under my feet, and I can take steps, be effective, rather than treading water or spinning my wheels.

How well do you apply your reasoning skills in thinking out your actions? Or do you just go on animal instinct? The question against which you can weigh all of your actions is whether it moves you forward or whether it slides you back. If it slides you back, examine that and look at the reasons behind the action.

I am not suggesting you be completely selfless. Look to your own needs; if you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t be of any use to others. Then, and only then, can you look to your immediate circle — how do your actions impact them? Then you look to the larger community, as well as to future generations. But first, you make sure that you are healthy and recharged.

Living in forgiveness frees us up to act. We are no longer wasting energy trying to change or maintain illusion, no longer wasting energy and disempowering ourselves through self-flagelation. We can be present to the verifiable facts, and can take the necessary actions to affect change, if that is what is called for. We stop trying to hold space for what we want to be true, so we can actually create real change. When we are present, we have the ground under our feet, and can take steps, be effective, rather than treading water or spinning our wheels. It is healing, it conserves energy. It is the ultimate in self care.