Karmaย ย เคเคฐเฅเคฎ, a concept that is often misunderstood by most, commonly translated as “action that binds”, and it is basically any action that is determining our direction or pathway in life.ย
When it comes to those we call our family, our karma acts as the underlying universal intelligence that bound us to these people.ย
Understanding this concept, how to transcend and work through our already existing karma and how to avoid creating more of it, is a fundamental aspect of the path towards liberation or moksha, as called in the Vedic sciences.ย
In this episode we not only dive into the concept of karma, but also explore how it intertwines with our familial relationships and how one can work through one’s karma to reap the benefits of a frictionless life (kriyaย เคเฅเคฐเคฟเคฏเคพ).
ABOUT OUR GUEST: JONNI POLLARD
Jonni Pollard, program founder and head teacher of 1 Giant Mind, is a world-renowned meditation teacher who has studied how to unfold human potential for over 20 years under great masters in the East and West.
His programs, including 1 Giant Mindโs Learn Meditation app, have taught more than 250,000 people how to meditate.
Jonni is at the forefront of authenticity in the meditation teacher landscape, making practical translations of ancient teachings for a modern lifestyle.
An Introduction to Karma
The traditional definition ofย karmaย เคเคฐเฅเคฎ is “action that binds”.
-
Any action that is determining our direction or pathway in life.
Karmaย is the underlying universal intelligence that ensures everything stays on track moving in the direction of its final destination (liberation [ย mokshaย ] orย dissolution).
-
Consciousness is like a river moving towards the ocean; and karma acts like the riverbanks that guide the water (consciousness).
-
It is aย non-punitive, definitive, strong boundary that nature provides for consciousness to evolve.
-
It is only through swelling that a river manages to escape the limits of its banks. In the same way, when one achieves higher states of consciousness one is able to transcendย karmaย and move past its limits.
Karma and Dharma
Karmaย is the force that drivesย dharmaย เคงเคฐเฅเคฎเคพ into action.
-
Dharmaย เคงเคฐเฅเคฎ is an individualโs duty in any given time thatย leads to the evolution of the individual soul & the collective consciousnessย simultaneously.
Our dharmaย becomes the healer of ourย karmaย and everyone elseโsย karma.
An Introduction to Family Karma
Familyย karmaย is the bond (or bondage) that ties us toย souls that we have traveled through many incarnations with, to the point where we are bound not only spiritually but on a genetic level.
It is theย karmaย of families that is the most powerful, impactful and more challenging to resolve, and yet it is also the most liberatingย when we get to the root of the challenge it presents us.
The various degrees of intensity familyย karmaย can take.
-
For some it may be a strong force that can be either loving, fierce or both. For others it may be a very mild force that doesnโt seem relevant at all.
-
The intensity of thisย karmaย may fluctuate during a lifetime/lifetimes.
Managing Difficult Family Relationships
When going through periods of intensity that present a real challenge to us, the key is toย surrenderย to it andย embraceย everything that this period is and entials.
-
Patience and compassionย are fundamental.
Understandingย the role that every party playsย within that relationship and thatย reciprocity is always meant to be honored.
Setting healthy boundariesย that create a sense of separateness that often allows others to have time and space toย reflect on the degree to which the relationship is importantย to them or not, and whether they are willing to accept the terms by which you are willing to interact.
Broken Families
In some cases it seems like the most appropriate thing to do is to simplyย cut off family membersย from oneโs life. That is not wrong in-and-of-itself.
-
If you did decide to do internthis, ask the followingย questions:
-
To what extentย does this family member(s) consume your awarenessย on a day-to-day basis?
-
How much time are you involuntarily having to invest in relationships that you have declared that you donโt want to be in or donโt want to have?
-
Despite being absent or not participating in these relationships,ย if you are still consumed by them internally, then that means that theย karmaย is still lively and it is therefore a relevant thing to be addressed.
-
-
Jonniโs method to find resolve in these situations:
-
Start byย auditingย yourself, yourย assumptions, yourย prejudicesย and theย extent to which you are seeing these people in their limited conditional state, instead of seeing them in their true light: as divine souls on a journey of awakening.
-
Judge the degree to which you areย lacking compassionย and insight into their condition, along with the extent to which perhaps you might be hypocritical in your judgments.
-
Ponderย the length to which you would make yourself available if they were to reciprocateย in this internal reflection.
-
Be honest with yourself and take responsibility for the role you are supposed to play in this relationship. Are you willing to put in that effort? If not then thereโs work to be done on your end.
-
-
Effectivelyย make yourself available to the extent that this can be a shared experience.
-
If you are willing to be open hearted and put in the effort to heal the relationship but the other cannot reciprocate then itโs ok to set boundaries.
-
Butย donโt take your leave still bounded to your resentment, disdain, self-righteousness and/or feeling like a victim. Let go of all of that extra weight that serves no purpose.
-
-
The Current Global State of Affairs & Its Impact On Family Relationships and Friendships
Families are being torn apartย by opposing world-views & lifestyle/health choices.
-
What is happening on the planet right now isย triggering the deepest primal wounds & fearsย of everybody.
Itโs paramount to allow ourselves to have our own opinion while also honoring that of others, no matter if they are aligned with ours or not
-
Projecting our choices onto others is what creates this great divide.
Shifting the focus from worrying about the choices others make, to how our relationships are being torn apart because we canโt see how the fear that underlines our differences is affecting us.
-
Being able toย see beyond the veil of fear, worry and concernย andย shedding light on the love that ultimately unites us all.
Letting go of the need to be rightย in hopes of being able to collectively transcend this divisiveness.
Nature’s Divine Arrangement of a Global Pandemic
The current world-wide state of affairs is a consequence of usย being grossly disconnected from fundamental laws of nature such as the governing system of Mother Earth and Mother Divine (consciousness).
It is a moment for us to face the current state in which the collective consciousness is in & what nature is trying to tell us, and repay the debt we have within ourselves and with each other.
-
We have toย face all of this not with fear, anger or trepidation of the future, but with an open heart, and trying to envision the type of world in which we want to live once we come out of all of this; then let our actions guide us in that direction.
We have been placed in a very constrained reality right now andย been given time to go into ourselves and confront who we are, what matters and the pathway to our own liberation.
Relatives That Are In The Very End Stages Of Life
Dylanโs & Jonniโs experience with close relatives that dropped their bodies.
Being able to understand that the body will be dropped when itโs ready to be dropped.
Theย peeling away of theย panchakoshasย เคชเคเคเคเฅเคถ: the five energy bodies that cover theย atmanย of every living being.
-
The fiveย koshasย (a.k.a. sheaths) are:
-
Annamaya Kosha (Physical Sheath)
-
Pranamaya Kosha (Vital Energy Sheath)
-
Manomaya Kosha (Mental Body)
-
Vijnanamaya Kosha (Wisdom or Awareness Body)
-
Anandamaya Kosha (Bliss Body)
-
Karma & Reincarnation
Ourย karmaย conditions the possibilities we have for our next incarnation.
Jonniโs recount of the moments before his last incarnation.
RESOURCES
1 Giant Mind Websiteย HERE
1 Giant Mind Podcastย HERE
1 Giant Mind Meditation App onย Apple App Storeย andย Google Playstore
Jonni’s Current Group Meditation Linkย HEREย (every Tuesday at 7pm AEST)
SUPPORT THE SHOW
Pleaseย leave me a comment belowย (I love to read every single one).
SUBSCRIBE
iTunes, Spotify,ย Sticher,ย Google Play
