Clearly this post is an opinion, like all others, and I may get some backlash for this. I mean, we have heard from many spiritual leaders over these thousands of years about aspects of spirituality talked about in certain circles, and being part of that circle, I just see some terms thrown around that in my opinion, are misguided and mis-used….perhaps even by many gurus of our time. (yeah, who am I to contradict these people we put on pedestals) We have to remember that these gurus and teachers are still human and can indeed use human constructs to explain the unexplainable.
I am delving into Shamanic practices and learning from these shamans the old ways of healing. These ways date back centuries, and delve into many practices that I do intuitively. Learning from other’s is helping me decipher the things I see in my practice and how to help people on a deeper level.
I am a Shamanic Reiki Practitioner, which basically means I am a Reiki Master who also is a psychic medium and can see beyond the veil and interpret the things I see, feel, hear etc to aid in a person’s healing. I do soul healing. I can see their soul, the person they are now, who they were in past lives, and the patterns repeated. I cut cords, I do soul retrievals, I see the past, the future, the present. I see passed loved ones, and people they may see in the future. It’s all very rewarding and fascinating work, and it can be daunting and emotional too.
Now add in the very real possibility that past, present, and future are occurring at the same time. Of course humans have their theories about this, but I think this concept is a bit esoteric and ‘out there’ for some. It is quite daunting, but to prove it false is more daunting IMO.
Which brings me to karma. What I know from my own guides about karma is not what is talked about in spiritual circles. I look at karma as past lives and those people in our life now and in past lives that help us along our path to learn our lessons and evolve our souls. Karma is past lives and how you live in the present; what your lessons are and if you are learning them or repeating them. I certainly do not pretend to know all the answers because as humans we are not supposed to know. Do you ever learn if someone hands you all the answers? No. The universe is not enabling and to some extent is a purveyor of tough love. This is my interpretation, for what it is worth. Karma is simply your patterns, your choices, and the people that were in your other lives and ARE in your life now (and interestingly, they are some of the same people). These people you are karmically connected to. So often I hear: well, I did something bad in a past life so something bad will happen to me in this life to set a balance. “Bad Karma”. I find this to be a misguided interpretation and I’ll tell you why. That balance scenario is more about Law of Attraction than karma, although it MAY have something to do with karma. So I’ll give an example: You murdered someone in this life. It’s a bad thing. That person you murdered, you are karmically connected to. The lesson? Could be many, but perhaps the lesson is acceptance for YOU since (in this scenario) it was a lover you murdered for cheating on you. If you have full acceptance of self, you would realize that person’s cheating on you had nothing to do with you. Cheating isn’t the answer, but neither is murder. If you had full acceptance of self, you would dump them and move on. Your partner as well. (easier said than done, I know, but it’s the Right Action). The question may be, why would you be with someone who cheats on you? Are you attracting people like that? (Law of Attraction) What drove them to do it? (Probably trauma and patterns of childhood for both of you, but I digress). Murdering someone, while there are consequences on this plane of existence, doesn’t mean you will be murdered (in this life or the next) or that “something bad has to happen to you”. Karma is finding the lesson in it for YOU. Even for murder the universe doesn’t throw you into hell. It’s not really like that, at least that’s not what I feel, but I do think you will have work to do for yourself. Personal accountability is a key factor in karma.
This is NOT victim blaming btw. We all have a part to play in our lives, and people come in our lives for a reason. What are they teaching you about yourself? What does that experience teach you? What is your Truth? I have worked with many people who have severe trauma. One gentleman, who has since passed on, was traumatized more than anyone I have ever known. Brutally beaten and sexually traumatized as a child, treated poorly by parents and other family (all in that trauma cycle) and in his short life, I do believe that the trauma he experienced he chose prior to incarnating and that trauma helped his soul evolve on an accelerated basis. He agreed with me. He was a dear person, fraught with emotional debility, but IMO persevered as best he could in this life. He wasn’t a victim, not in his eyes, but surely had issues. His Truth? Well, his family taught him who his real family is, the people who supported him in his life, not his biological family, and that people do care. They taught him about abandonment, love, and what HIS truth is, not what they would have him to believe. Do I think he learned all his lessons? Perhaps not, but he certainly learned a lot.
Shamans believe that we each have a unique story to tell and when we can get beyond the victim mentality and into the story and telling it in a way that removes you as the victim, you can begin to heal not only yourself, but the family karma as well. Not repeating patterns of family is part of this journey too.
Shamans believe the collective is more important than the individual. I am not sure how they came to this conclusion, but I am still learning about this. Since we are all on our personal journey, while we do have a soul family that helps us, it is us and us alone that needs to take the lesson and learn from it, regardless if the others in our circle do. I also am a firm believer that personal accountability, individual rights, and freedoms need to be secured for a healthy society to function and flourish. While the collective is important, and when we were hunter gatherers in small tribes, especially so, but even then individual contributions, rights, and strengths were vital.
The saying “karma is a bitch’ while a truthful statement, isn’t about universal retaliation. The universe, in my experience, doesn’t work that way. We are on our OWN journey to evolve our souls and while we are all connected through energy and helping each other heal on a soul level (and yes, even a cheating partner is helping you heal) our journeys are our own.
The lessons we are here to learn, and the experiences we came to Earth for are many: Acceptance of self and others, Trust, Boundaries, Love, Awareness, among many others. Since universal love takes up the space of the universe, Earth with its many wonders and realities, represents a place where light beings (souls) can experience all there is to experience as a human. It’s a hard, heavy place, but it is also a wonderful, joyful place. In its many facets and levels, we evolve. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
Again, I do not profess to know it all, how could I. I am a spiritual being having a human experience, but what I do know, in my heart and soul, is that we cannot continue to apply a human construct to the universe, which is what I think happens all too often and probably even in my assessment, but I am taking my cues from the universe, so I suppose this is my truth.
Sara Woods Kender
sara@sarasherbs.com
Clinical Herbalist
Reiki Master/Teacher
Psychic Medium
Munay-Ki Attuned
Find me on Substack!
Living In Circle
IPAK-EDU Instructor & Affiliate
Use my code: HERBS1IPAK
https://ipak-edu.org/registration/
Click link for Educational Opportunities
Gaeta Institute
Nature First, Drugs Last
Click the link for 10% off tuition
https://michaelgaeta.teachable.com/?referral_code=G4IDF4
Sacred Tree Herbals
169 Daniel Webster Highway, Unit 1
Meredith, NH 03253
www.sarasherbs.com
Hours:
Wed-Saturday 9:30-4:30