“And now I’m serving time for mistakes
made by another, in another life time.
How long til’ my soul gets it right?”
-Galileo, Indigo Girls
The theme this week at Sattva Wisdom Center is Karma. And boy is it a loaded one! Diving into it there are so many directions one could take, but I will be keeping it simple in my classes. Karma is action and reaction. The more conscious we are in our lives, the more we will reap what we want to sow.
This week, I enjoyed listening to a podcast on Karma with Vinny Ferraro. I’d never heard of him before, but he is a Dharma teacher who sounds a bit like Andrew Dice Clay. (Lots of F’s, which happens to be my first language, so I felt right at home, though I never curse in the classes I teach).
Some things I gleaned from listening to his talk:
We can use the concept of Karma as a way to judge or blame ourselves and others. Or we can use it to empower ourselves and take responsibility for our actions, past and present.
We cannot go back and change the past, (and forget it with previous lifetimes?) but we would do well to make amends where we can, right now, and to never underestimate the healing power of a heartfelt apology, both for the giver and the receiver.
We can, as my grandmother used to say, “Go in the light that is given us.” We know what is right and what is wrong. We can do what is right in this moment, which will absolutely affect the future.
Collectively we cannot expect to plunder the earth’s resources, to take more than our share, and have no consequences for it. Nor should we use the concept of Karma as a way to dismiss the suffering of others.
The concept of Karma is so vast, but at its most basic and manageable we can tune into our hearts and move through our days practicing Ahimsa, making every effort to do no harm.
That will put us in good stead.
We don’t have to make it so big, and so complicated. We are all works in progress, and can do the next right thing, on the way to becoming more of who we want to be.
My schedule this week: Eastern Standard Time.
Tuesday & Thursday: 4PM Gentle Yoga
Thursday: 9:30, Prayer Infused Vinyasa Flow
Sunday: 12PM (note time change for this week only) Flow Writer, Self-Expression through yoga & writing
Register here.
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