religion
Karma And The Law Of Attraction
It is quite common to hear of the ‘Law of Attraction’ these days. However, although the concept has become popularized in mainstream culture, it is actually an ancient spiritual concept. In metaphysics, it is one of the primary Universal Laws.
However, what is less commonly known is that the concept of Karma is secondary or sub-law to the Law of Attraction. The principle of Karma or Karmic Law is found in various religions and wisdom traditions, particularly Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Jainism, and Sikhism. It prevails over multiple lifetimes and is associated with our soul evolution and rebirth.
To understand Karma, it is usually helpful to consider what it is not. Karma is not a punitive concept of punishment for the bad, and rewards for the good. Karma does not ‘come for us’ when we do bad or evil things. In fact, we can potentially resolve karmic patterns within a single lifetime, even before they manifest into actual events and experiences.
Karma is created through core belief patterns we have about ourselves, about life, and the world around us. These beliefs, mindsets and paradigms are often accumulated through many experiences over several lifetimes. And ‘negative karma’ is created when we consistently believe, for example, in things like fear, lack or limitation.
A good example is the Great Depression of the 1930s. During that time, many people focused on lack or limitation. There was a fear of poverty and hardship. These beliefs created many cultural challenges. For example, many parents abandoned their children and families.
This created a karmic paradigm for them, and if that paradigm was not cleared out in their lifetime, it will be repeated in future lifetimes, until it is cleared out. They will reincarnate in the next lifetime with this core belief still attached to their subconscious mind. In their next life they will likely experience abandonment themselves. Their abandonment is not the karma, their abandonment is the result of the actions that were taken as a result of their fear or false beliefs.
My Near-Death Experience
About 12 years ago, right before Christmas, I had a lot going on in my life. I was taking care of my two kids and my brother. My cousin had a three-month-old baby, whose mother was in the hospital with complications due to diabetes. He brought me his new baby and asked if they could stay with us, and if I could care for his son while he worked. He was working the night shift, from around 7pm till 4am. Of course, I said I would help in any way I could.
Between my kids’ and my brother’s schedules, and now this new baby who was colicy, I was exhausted at the end of the second week. Somehow, I also got food poisoning. Never having had food poisoning before, I didn’t know the symptoms and thought I had a touch of stomach flu. Being so tired, I hadn’t realized how sick I actually was. After about 18 hours of fluid loss, I become so dehydrated that I had a seizure. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and I fell down. Apparently, I was clinically dead for around 1½ minutes.
I did not experience all of the typical near-death phenomena. There was not any floating over my body; there was no white light, no tunnel. I was simply here and then I was there. The first thing I remember is walking along a sort of grassy path. I don’t remember turning around to look behind me, but, I just knew that there was a darkness from which I came, back there.
There were two people there to greet me. A woman and a man, the woman spoke to me first, and the man was a little ways behind her. Today, I could not tell you who these people were. But, when I was there, I was so glad to see them. It was like when I had sent my kids to summer camp, and they were gone for all those summer months, and I missed them terribly. It was the same feeling I got when seeing my children for the first time returning home. I had a deep love and bond with these two people.
The next thing I remember is that I was taken to the top of a mountain. There was no journey to get there, I was just there. The only way to describe the mountain is that it was like standing on top of Pikes Peak and looking out. I was so high up that the only thing I could see was blue sky.
The Pagan Origins Of Valentine’s Day
Did you know that the Valentine’s Day that many people all over the world will be celebrating today, has its origins in pagan rituals of the past? This is in fact true of many of our modern holidays. But how did we get our modern day cards, cupids, and hearts?
In ancient Rome, the Festival of Lupercalia was annually celebrated on February 15th. As with similar Roman holidays, such as Ostara (Easter), this was a time to celebrate fertility and love. The deities honored were Lupercus, Patron of Shepherds; Juno, Goddess of Marriage; as well as Pan, a pastoral god who came to be regarded in Roman times as the representative of paganism and the personification of all nature.
In a festival custom that survives to this day in the form of valentine’s cards, young men would randomly draw the names of eligible women from a jar or urn. In the Middle Ages, Emperor Claudius II believed single men made better soldiers so he declared marriage illegal. As a concession, he encouraged temporary romances.
Drawing the name of a lady during the festival determined who a soldier’s partner would be for that coming year. He would then wear her name on his sleeve for the rest of the festival. This gave rise to the saying “wearing your heart on your sleeve.” Whether or not they also exchanged flowers, candy or gifts is uncertain.
It is also interesting to note that Cupid, the son of the love goddess Venus, was not originally linked specifically with this festival, even though he is associated with it today.Venus, it turns out, was particularly fond of red roses and this custom still survives after 2,000 years. As for the symbolism of the heart, this is also an ancient image found across many cultures, including Greco-Roman, Indian, and Meso-American. Instead of romantic love, it was often used to represent rebirth, purity, and spiritual love.
Faith Is My Armor Of Light
When I had just completed high school, I decided it was time to venture out into the world, get an apartment and just experience living all on my own. So, one month after graduation, I let my butterfly wings soar and found a little place about a few blocks from where I grew up.
One night something happened I will never forget, even though it was 30 years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday. Someone brought over an Ouija board! I was brought up to believe that the Ouija board is a portal to the lower realm and negative energies, and that sometimes who you want to connect with isn’t always who actually comes through. My friends and I asked the board who we were talking to and his name was George.
The part that really creeped me out came later, after everyone had gone home. I was cleaning up. My apartment was on the third floor and as I was looking down at the four corner intersection below, there was a car sitting under the street light. An older, bald man rolled the window down and leaned over to look up at me through the passenger window. “I’m George”, he said. I was so creeped out!
My roommate was gone and I was exhausted, but I couldn’t sleep. Lying in my bed later, I was trying to make sense of it all. I looked across the room and the light coming in through the blinds made it so I could see the hallway and the doorway. And there I suddenly saw the shape of a man; the figure of a man that was so dark, but you could totally make out it was a man standing right there in the doorway! I will never forget his voice. “I will never leave you, nor forsake you”, he said. Amazingly, I felt immediately comforted.
The church I grew up in was directly across from my new apartment. And I just knew that he was an angel, letting me know that through my faith I am protected. I was never again scared to be by myself.
Telephone Call From The Other Side
When I was 16 I was really into going to church, trying to find myself and meeting girls! Why not? I was young and still trying to figure out life.
One day in church, while the congregation was singing a hymn, I kept smelling cigar smoke for some reason. It was as if someone was blowing it directly into my face, and it kept getting stronger and stronger.
I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face. I hoped that it would help me to get rid of the smoke. Shortly after the smell disappeared. I decided to keep this experience to myself and not tell anyone.
After the long ride home, I remember getting out the car and finding my father in the kitchen. He asked me how church was, and whether I met any girls (he would always giggle when asked me that). Suddenly the smoke smell was back, and it was even stronger than the first time. The phone rang. It was my grandfather, but we got disconnected.
Dad asked me who was on the phone, and I told him what happened. A few minute later the phone rings again. This time it was my uncle. My dad was visibly shocked while speaking to him.
My dad then asked me a very odd question. “Are you sure you just spoke to your grandfather on the phone?”
Dad asked me who was on the phone, and I told him what happened. A few minute later the phone rings again. This time it was my uncle. My dad was visibly shocked while speaking to him.
The Symbolism Of Wedding Ribbons And Cords
In a recent reading, I had visions of a wedding and a shotgun! I did my best to diplomatically convey what I was seeing to the client. I also mentioned how I saw lots of colored ribbons, and a rather large gathering of people of all ages and cultures.
He laughed, and said that two years ago, he felt a strong urge for himself and his partner to get married. They both came from large families and wanted to make sure that certain ailing, elderly members would still be able to attend and join in the celebration.
He also said he was so glad spirit prompted them to marry sooner than later, because the pandemic would have prevented not just the large gathering of guests from attending, but also many from traveling from various corners of the world as they had done. Apparently, the ribbons I saw related to the traditional pagan handfasting they had chosen as the ceremony for their special event.
The handfasting ritual had always fascinated him, because of his own Celtic origins and he explained how both his and his partner’s hands were bound together with a ribbon during the vows and exchanging of rings. I later learned from a Pagan friend that cord is sometimes also used for this purpose in such a ceremony.
In many traditions the use of colored ribbons and cords is of spiritual significance at certain ceremonies, especially weddings. They are typically used to physically connect the couple, or they are placed in or around an altar. The cord is a symbol of the lifetime bond the couple is entering into.
For example, a wedding cord, also known as the ‘wedding lasso,’ is used in some Catholic wedding ceremonies. It typically consists of a loop of rosary beads made out of white satin or silk, and formed into a figure eight shape, and placed around the bride and the groom after they have made their vows.
The Old Man And The Christmas Bells
With Christmas upon us I have been hearing church bells every Sunday in recent weeks, just like in my younger years. Going back to those years in my mind, I can remember being very young when my mother was stopped by a man who told her he was the new pastor at this church far from our house. He looked younger than my parents and he asked my mother if we had a church that we go to. She told him we did not and the man gave us an invitation to attend his church.
Since this church was reasonably close to where I grew up, it was fun to walk there at first, but after a while it seemed like forever. But my mother made a promise to us kids that after church we could get a soda pop or an ice cream cone if we were good. Mom knew how to persuade us kids to go to church without a fuss.
When I first looked at the church is seemed big, but it looked very different from the Catholic church across the street. We opened the doors and were greeted by two old ladies who handed out the programs for the service. They also told me that I would meet my mother down here in the same place after Sunday school.
Next I met my Sunday school teacher. His name was Rusty and since I was the ‘new kid on the block’, he introduced me to all the other children. Since I didn’t know any of them, I didn’t know what to think. Then Rusty started with the lesson and once again it seemed like forever for Sunday school to be over.
Later, I met mom downstairs and as I was walking down the hall a older man greeted me. I greeted him in return, not thinking much of it. After we had been seated and the pastor opened with prayer, I remember looking around and noticing that the old man was not sitting in the same pews anymore. He seemed to have left.