Methods of settling our karmic debts

There are three methods of settling our karmic debts and setting ourselves free:

1. Practice Of Soul Consciousness

The first method is to increase the awareness of the self as soul and reduce the illusion (false belief) that we are our body. This ensures that all actions come from an inner state of peace, generosity and benevolence (kindness), without any personal gain or conscious desire for any return. This requires the gentle effort of constantly reminding ourselves who and what we are — Soul not body.

Our identification with our body is so strong that it can be drawn like a curtain across our consciousness in a second. The path of a soul who is waking up spiritually is therefore one of waking (awareness of self as soul) and sleeping (under the illusion that we are our body), waking and sleeping. We tend to fluctuate between the two (like day and night) until we find stability in soul-consciousness. This is why it is important to awaken and stay awake, and for that it's important to give our mind and intellect good spiritual food (knowledge) and exercise (meditation) every day to keep them fresh and alert.

Being soul-conscious, and acting from that consciousness, naturally heals the scars (habits and tendencies) left by past negative actions which were based on the illusion (false belief) of body-consciousness. “The evidence that our meditation is working is a lightness of the mind and an increasing easiness in our interactions with others. These are the signs that we are clearing our karmic debts.” It is at this stage when we are gradually transferring ourselves from body-consciousness to soul consciousness that we will often find it helpful and supportive to be in the company of those who are also practicing meditation, learning to be 'soul-conscious' and making the same effort to awaken and to stay awake. It gives us the opportunity to share experiences and learn from others. We will also be less likely to find benefit or make progress in the company of those who continue to focus mainly on the material world and who still see themselves only as physical beings.

The second method of settling our karmic debts and setting ourselves free:

2.Self-Transformation
The second way in which we can begin to clear our outstanding debts is by giving back to those souls from whom we have in the past 'taken' and with whom we now have some 'karmic account'. However, this can take time, especially if we imagine all the souls we have interacted with during many births. We are sure to have one or two people in our life right now who seem to have the capacity to cause feelings of discomfort inside us by simply being in our presence. If we are serious about clearing our ‘karmic accounts’, we will not avoid these people, nor will we go looking for them. Instead, we can use these relationships as teachers and opportunities to learn about ourselves. We can ask ourselves, "What is it within me that is reacting to this person in this situation? Why am I creating this discomfort in their presence?" In this way, we will see and understand what we need to change within ourselves. We understand which sanskars need to be healed and transformed. It will always come down to something connected with our own ego or attachment. Our inner healing will always begin with the 'letting go' of something. When we identify what that is and when we do 'let go', we find it takes the negativity out of our thoughts and actions, thereby breaking the patterns of negative energy exchange with others.

The moment we are aware that our own discomforts in relationships are due to us and not due to others, we are halfway to self-change and the clearing of karmic debts. The next step is to forgive ourselves, for wounding ourselves with our negative thoughts and actions, and to forget the past. When we do this work of inner healing, we automatically change our response to the person or situation previously causing our discomfort. Our new spiritual response is like a new step sequence in our dance with the other person and if we change our step they have to change theirs. Or maybe they are dancing the right steps and we learn to dance the right steps, too. Whatever the case, the saying, "When we change, the world changes', holds true. If they don't change, we will need to strengthen our own capacity to be patient and check that we do not want them to change in a certain way as a result of our own desires and expectations. If we do want them to change, it means we are trying to control them in a subtle way, which means we still have a selfish motive. This always results in frustration and failure as it is not possible to control another human being.

The third method of settling our karmic debts and setting ourselves free:

3. Connecting With The Supreme Source

The third and most effective way to heal and clear the burden of our karmic debt, both inside and outside is through the process of meditation. In meditation, we establish a direct link with the Supreme Soul, the Source of spiritual love, light and power. When we are directly connected to the Sun of spiritual energy, we can allow that energy to heal the negative sanskars (habits and tendencies) within our own consciousness. As our energy changes, through our power of thought, we are able to send out that positive energy towards those with whom we have some difficulty (karmic account).

In meditation, we open to the warmth of pure love and the spiritual light of eternal truth from the Source, healing our own self and liberating ourselves from the illusions (false beliefs) which made us create wrong-thoughts and perform wrong actions in the first place. The illusion was simply in seeing ourselves as limited, physical beings. This led us to believe that love, happiness and peace were physical and to be found externally, which in turn made us use others to get what we wanted.

Healing has taken place when we experience ourselves as souls, unlimited, spiritual beings and children of the Supreme. Healing has become a reality when we rediscover our own internal resource of love, happiness and peace. Only then will we begin to see and perceive others in the same way. This spiritual vision transforms the quality of energy we give to others which then heals and transforms those relationships. Once we have fully healed our self-awareness, we can act as instruments or mediums to bring that spiritual light from the Supreme Source into the lives of others.

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