How to Create Good Karma

When a bird is alive, it eats ants. When the bird dead, ants eat the bird. One tree makes a million matchsticks. Only one match stick needed to burn a million trees. Time and circumstance can change at any moment. Do not devalue or hurt anyone in life. You may be powerful this time, but remember: Time is more powerful than you. So be good and do good.

Buddha

The word Karma comes from the ‘sharmana’ tradition, the ancient religious movement in india from which Buddhism derived. The term literally means ‘doing’ or ‘action’, and in Buddhism means that the moral quality of one’s actions in one lift, affects the quality of their rebirth into their next.

Karma is no longer limited to religion, however, and is now a popular concept recognised by many different people and cultures. Most people have a favourite quote or saying about Karma, such as ‘what goes around comes around’, or ‘treat others how you wish to be treated’. In modern Western culture, Karma is seen less as a concept of causation and more of a supernatural force.

Essentially though, Karma is the law of moral causation, meaning that you get what you give; the energy you put out into the world, is what you get back. People tend to see Karma as a bad thing, focusing more on the negative consequences of negative actions, and using the concept as an excuse to get revenge on those who have wronged them. However, Karma is about balance, and is equally about positive and negative consequences. It is much more productive to focus on good Karma, and the positive consequences of good behaviour.

 “How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.”

― Wayne W. Dyer

We create our own Karma; whatever we send out into the world, we receive back. Here are some simple ways you can create positive karma for yourself, whilst making the world a much happier place.

• Smile - Simple, but effective. If you walk down the street with a scowl on your face, people will automatically feel defensive and act in an unfriendly way towards you, reflecting your own body language. However, of you smile at strangers, cashiers, anybody you meet, they will more than likely automatically smile back. As Mother Theresa said “peace begins with a smile”.

• Be kind - Be kind to those you meet. Practice patience, especially when in frustrating situations. Give up your seat to somebody more needy on the bus, hold the door open, pay for the person behind you in line for coffee; every little helps. The more positive energy you send out, even in small bits, the more you will get back.

• Meditate - It is easy to have ill wishes against those who have wronged you, but you will often find that those negative thoughts will affect you a lot more than them. Instead of wasting your precious time and energy hating your enemy, use it to do a simple meditation and send love and light their way. As Abraham Lincoln said “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”
• Pay it forward - An old concept which has gained popularity in recent times is the idea of paying a good deed forward; when somebody does you a good deed, instead of repaying them, you pass the good deed on to somebody else, and they pass it somebody else, and so on. An extremely simple yet effective way of spreading goodwill and joy.