Karma?

[jimmalru80]

Karma just happens.

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

I think Karma is misunderstood. It's basic cause and effect. Experiencing the consequences of your actions. Generally, positive action reaps positive reward. Negative action causes problems. IMO

I agree, as I see these consequences in my life too often.

 

[Mrs.Reese]

I believe. Evil man makes hubby's life miserable for a year. Evil man has huge power trip and must be called the head music teacher. Evil man quits one year later to go to different school district. Evil man is now fired.

 

[BillSears]

 

[rabx5]

I don't believe in karma

 

[tennvalgirl]

"Karma is a ***** and she slaps hard"

nothing to add, I just thought this was one of the funniest things I have ever heard

 

[Tat2ddisneymom]

According to the Law of Attraction, there is no such thing as bad things happening to good people and good things happening to bad people. Everyone gets what they attract.

IOW if I want to improve my situation, I need to first work on improving myself - not those around me. If I spend my days focusing on and talking about how bad things are, how rotten everyone else is and how bad I think things will get, I shouldn't be surprised when I get more bad things happening, rotten people coming into my life and bad future experiences happening to me.

That's ridiculous. Please tell me you don't actually believe that.

 

[Tat2ddisneymom]

BTW, I voted no. I don't believe in karma.

 

[Carly_Roach]

I believe. Evil man makes hubby's life miserable for a year. Evil man has huge power trip and must be called the head music teacher. Evil man quits one year later to go to different school district. Evil man is now fired.

One of the reasons I also believe. I have seen this kind of thing happen so many times. You just have to be patient and stay out of the way.

The whole problem with the "Why do good things happen to bad people?" theory is that we don't have all the facts in the matter (nor should we - it's none of our business). People judge others to be bad when, in reality, that person is probably not as bad as those people have decided they are.

Therefore, when that "bad" person attracts friends, prosperity and love, the judgers are understandably chagrinned because, in their opinion, that 'evil' person doesn't deserves it. Then, by LOA, when they themselves attract a car accident, more negative people or even a debilitating disease into their lives, they are prone to asking, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" They can't see that all along they've been living with the damaging anger that comes from trying to punish other people for not behaving the way they think they should behave.

I think what it comes down to is this: if you'll take your focus off of what other people are doing and put it on your own life and how to make your life better, two things will happen:

Your life will get better and

What happens to other people will take care of itself (good or bad) without you getting your own focus of attraction (karma) tarnished by their behavior.

 

[Charade]

When good things happen to good people, or bad things happen to bad people, you call it "karma". When good things happen to bad people, or bad things happen to good people, you call it "unfortunate". So basically, in a secular context, "karma" is just a label for the roughly 50% of the times when things go the way you would like them to go.

Um, what?

 

[bicker]

The point is that there are two ways of looking at karma: That it is a cause-and-effect thing (false, AFAIC), or that it is simply a way people choose to label the 50% of the times that a "good" person coincidentally had a "good" thing happen to them, or a "bad" person coincidentally had a "bad" thing happen to them (true, AFAIC).

 

[HighClass]

I definitely believe in karma and "Patience is a virtue". They go hand in hand.

Short story-I have been in contact with a neighbor in a setting where she was in charge a few times in the last 9 months. When she disagreed with me a few times, the way she spoke to me made me feel humiliated. I wanted to lash back at her, but quietly did her bidding, not to cause waves.I kept thinking, if this is how she speaks to a neighbor, how does she treat people she is upset with.

She is a teacher.

Last weekend someone (probably a student she disciplined) did horrendous vandalism in her home. I really was secretly glad-it was karma.

 

[smartestnumber5]

Therefore, when that "bad" person attracts friends, prosperity and love, the judgers are understandably chagrinned because, in their opinion, that 'evil' person doesn't deserves it. Then, by LOA, when they themselves attract a car accident, more negative people or even a debilitating disease into their lives, they are prone to asking, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" They can't see that all along they've been living with the damaging anger that comes from trying to punish other people for not behaving the way they think they should behave.

So you just assume anytime anything bad has happened to a person they must have done something horrible to deserve it/bring it on? Seriously? (Are you just trying to stir the pot here, because how could *anyone* actually believe this?)

I notice you didn't answer the earlier question about how you understand torture, murder, and rape of children/babies. I guess you think the child/baby must have done something really bad and brought it on themselves?


Obviously I do not for one second believe that there is any kind of natural justice to the universe (where people get paid back for their good and bad deeds, or get what they deserve or whatever). I know there's a strand of psychological research that looks into the "just-world" view. Apparently many humans have a very deep need to believe that there is some type of natural justice in the world. Thus when good or bad things happen, their tendency is to come up with some (completely ad hoc and not backed up by any evidence) explanation of why the person it happened to deserved it (either they were a good person or they were a bad person).

I would of thought, though, that even with the just world fallacy there'd be limits. I mean, what kind of rationalization could someone give as to why a child deserved to be raped and murdered? (Actually I've heard some pretty crazy one's from my students, but not dealing with Karma. Their usual explanation is that God decided that that child should be tortured and raped so that some other good could come about. So basically God is just using the child like an object to accomplish other goals. Yeah I find that one absolutely nuts too.)

 

[MamaLema]

I love the IDEA of karma, but in my experience I've seen too many rotten people get away with horrible things and not pay the price while victims spend the rest of their lives picking up the pieces.

 

[Camicar]

I don't believe in karma.

I know too many heinous people who have gone to their death beds perfectly happy in their evil and too many lovely people who seem to get 'punished' on a regular basis with health problems and being dumped on by the evil ones.

I think karma is one of those mental constructions we humans create in order to get thru life. It's easier or better to go thru life believing that there is some sort of cosmic equity. But that belief is not a reflection of reality, it's a construction -- an illusion. The truth is, crap happens to good people and evil people get away with their evil.

 

[Carly_Roach]

Obviously I do not for one second believe that there is any kind of natural justice to the universe (where people get paid back for their good and bad deeds, or get what they deserve or whatever).

Which is fine and is what works for you. But this probably explains why you're having such a hard time understanding what I'm saying.

What I'm saying is that those who spend most of their time thinking about negative things, speaking of negative things with anyone they talk to, watching negative things on TV (ever notice how many commercials are for perscription drugs these days?) and doing everything they can to try to protect themselves against the negative thing while all the time fully concentrated on the negative thing, they attract those very same negative things to them. That's the Law of Attraction. Regardless of whether or not anyone believes in it, it's what typically happens.

As far as "reality" is concerned, there is no such thing as one reality that everyone has to live with. Reality is a matter of perception and, as we know, everyone who lives on this planet has a different perception of reality. Therefore, your reality and my reality are vastly different.

Which is fine. We can both easily co-exist on the same planet, on the same continent, in the same nation, state or city and, yes, even on the same internet bulletin board and live happily perceiving our own individual realities.

However, when I read something that I give an opinion on, I'm not telling other people how to live their lives. I'm giving an opinion based on things as I've witnessed them.

Obviously others have different views.

I think it might be that I'm so secure and happy in my views that I'm not really threatened by other people taking affront to them. Maybe that's it.

 

[flying_babyb]

I notice you didn't answer the earlier question about how you understand torture, murder, and rape of children/babies. I guess you think the child/baby must have done something really bad and brought it on themselves?


Not that i believe this ut mabey there being punished for a past life bad. You know in a past life they were a rapist and are getting there due now?

Just a thought, to state again, I DO NOT believe this theroy about past lives is true.

 

[ntsammy5]

Karma chameleon

 

[tinkntraining]

I'd like to believe in Karma, to believe that it exists, because it's a good way to live your life "do unto others....."
But, the truth of the matter is, I've seen some reaalllllyyyy rotten people continue to have goodness bless their lives. If Karma really existed, wouldn't something eventually bite these people on the butt?

While I do believe that goodness attracts goodness, I also believe that sometimes evil gets goodness, too. One of the sad, unfairnesses of life.

If Karma does exist, I can't say I'll be sorry if it bites a certain person on the butt.

 

[smartestnumber5]

Which is fine and is what works for you. But this probably explains why you're having such a hard time understanding what I'm saying.

What I'm saying is that those who spend most of their time thinking about negative things, speaking of negative things with anyone they talk to, watching negative things on TV (ever notice how many commercials are for perscription drugs these days?) and doing everything they can to try to protect themselves against the negative thing while all the time fully concentrated on the negative thing, they attract those very same negative things to them. That's the Law of Attraction. Regardless of whether or not anyone believes in it, it's what typically happens.

As far as "reality" is concerned, there is no such thing as one reality that everyone has to live with. Reality is a matter of perception and, as we know, everyone who lives on this planet has a different perception of reality. Therefore, your reality and my reality are vastly different.

Which is fine. We can both easily co-exist on the same planet, on the same continent, in the same nation, state or city and, yes, even on the same internet bulletin board and live happily perceiving our own individual realities.

However, when I read something that I give an opinion on, I'm not telling other people how to live their lives. I'm giving an opinion based on things as I've witnessed them.

Obviously others have different views.

I think it might be that I'm so secure and happy in my views that I'm not really threatened by other people taking affront to them. Maybe that's it.

Well of course you are entitled to your opinion. I'm just trying to understand what it is.

I'm starting off with the assumption that no one in their right mind would think that a baby/child brought rape/murder/torture on themselves. But it sounded like you were indicating that this is indeed what you believe.

You still haven't denied that you believe this, but your talk about "negative thinking" and negative tv commercials makes me think maybe you only believe in karma for small things, not big things? That just confuses me--I'm not sure why if there existed a magical force that gives people what they deserve it would only work for little things and not big things.

I don't think anyone is threatened by anything. I think we're all a little because you seemed to be implying that anything bad that has ever happened must be deserved or at least, in some sense, brought on oneself (if not it never would have happened). This would mean, of course, that the Jews deserved/caused the Holocaust, that blacks deserved/caused slavery, that Bosnian women deserved/caused their own gang raping, etc, etc.

I'm sure you can see why the kinds of beliefs I've just mentioned are pretty shocking.