Karma from a Shamanic POV

I believe that free will and karma are tied together. One cannot exist without the other and thus both must be accepted in order to grow, learn and transform ourselves into the image of divine beauty we have forgotten we really are.

The notion of karma can sometimes be confusing. Are these past lives really "mine", or are they an accumulation of energies through the ages that have transformed the vessel that is today called Louise? Where do *I* fit into this picture?

Reading into many shamanic traditions has helped me receive a clearer picture of the past and my role in how my life has shaped out so far. I have come to believe that "past lives" is a misnomer, or rather, a misinterpretation. More and more am I convinced that these past lives are not associated with myself per se (ie. as I come to perceive myself today), but with the defining energies of my ancestors: their actions, loves, battles, victories, defeats, PAIN.

Consider this: if one of your ancestors was, for instance, raped then, if healing did not take place, the terror and fear would most probably be passed on to her offspring. The child would then live in the shadow of the terrible deed done to the parent. If the child, growing older, does itself not heal the fear it grew up with, then its offspring will also receive the same terror & apprehension, and in the same way will pass it on to its progeny, etc. Thus, a line of energy is created which, if unchecked, travels down the ages and reaches YOU, HERE, TODAY.

When I think of my own emotional problems, my thoughts always drift towards my parents' actions, and then I realise that *their* actions are only RE-ACTIONS to their own parents failings.

This is why shamanic peoples (eg. in the Vodou tradition) have rituals of literally travelling BACK IN TIME and releasing/forgiving the ancestor for not having healed and having passed pain through the generations.

Healing means TAKING RESPONSIBILITY for yourself and the pain that has been brought TO and ON yourself. You and I are not our parents, we are not our ancestors, and thus we have a choice (=FREE WILL) to reject pain (=KARMA) passed down through the generations and fork out our own path leading to SELF-KNOWLEDGE (self-realization).

If you expand this, you may come to see that the same applies for society and nations as a whole, as well. Peoples that have suffered in the past (ie. the black race) face the karmic challenge of coming to terms with their past, accepting that events were brought on by specific reasons & circumstances beyond their comprehension (of which their ancestors undoubtedly share part of the responsibility); then transforming the past events into agents of power, and not distruction. This is what FORGIVENESS is all about. One of my favourite quotes actually comes from the movie "Dangerous minds", where Michelle Pfeiffer tells her "under-privileged" pupils: "There are NO VICTIMS in this classroom." Victimisation according to shamanic practitioners equals true powerless-ness.

Thanks for letting me share.

Louise,
Queen of "blah" today ;)

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