Karma कर्म, a concept that is often misunderstood by most, commonly translated as “action that binds”, and it is basically any action that is determining our direction or pathway in life.
When it comes to those we call our family, our karma acts as the underlying universal intelligence that bound us to these people.
Understanding this concept, how to transcend and work through our already existing karma and how to avoid creating more of it, is a fundamental aspect of the path towards liberation or moksha, as called in the Vedic sciences.
In this episode we not only dive into the concept of karma, but also explore how it intertwines with our familial relationships and how one can work through one’s karma to reap the benefits of a frictionless life (kriya क्रिया).
ABOUT OUR GUEST: JONNI POLLARD
Jonni Pollard, program founder and head teacher of 1 Giant Mind, is a world-renowned meditation teacher who has studied how to unfold human potential for over 20 years under great masters in the East and West.
His programs, including 1 Giant Mind’s Learn Meditation app, have taught more than 250,000 people how to meditate.
Jonni is at the forefront of authenticity in the meditation teacher landscape, making practical translations of ancient teachings for a modern lifestyle.
An Introduction to Karma
The traditional definition of karma कर्म is “action that binds”.
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Any action that is determining our direction or pathway in life.
Karma is the underlying universal intelligence that ensures everything stays on track moving in the direction of its final destination (liberation [ moksha ] or dissolution).
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Consciousness is like a river moving towards the ocean; and karma acts like the riverbanks that guide the water (consciousness).
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It is a non-punitive, definitive, strong boundary that nature provides for consciousness to evolve.
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It is only through swelling that a river manages to escape the limits of its banks. In the same way, when one achieves higher states of consciousness one is able to transcend karma and move past its limits.
Karma and Dharma
Karma is the force that drives dharma धर्मा into action.
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Dharma धर्म is an individual’s duty in any given time that leads to the evolution of the individual soul & the collective consciousness simultaneously.
Our dharma becomes the healer of our karma and everyone else’s karma.
An Introduction to Family Karma
Family karma is the bond (or bondage) that ties us to souls that we have traveled through many incarnations with, to the point where we are bound not only spiritually but on a genetic level.
It is the karma of families that is the most powerful, impactful and more challenging to resolve, and yet it is also the most liberating when we get to the root of the challenge it presents us.
The various degrees of intensity family karma can take.
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For some it may be a strong force that can be either loving, fierce or both. For others it may be a very mild force that doesn’t seem relevant at all.
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The intensity of this karma may fluctuate during a lifetime/lifetimes.
Managing Difficult Family Relationships
When going through periods of intensity that present a real challenge to us, the key is to surrender to it and embrace everything that this period is and entials.
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Patience and compassion are fundamental.
Understanding the role that every party plays within that relationship and that reciprocity is always meant to be honored.
Setting healthy boundaries that create a sense of separateness that often allows others to have time and space to reflect on the degree to which the relationship is important to them or not, and whether they are willing to accept the terms by which you are willing to interact.
Broken Families
In some cases it seems like the most appropriate thing to do is to simply cut off family members from one’s life. That is not wrong in-and-of-itself.
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If you did decide to do internthis, ask the following questions:
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To what extent does this family member(s) consume your awareness on a day-to-day basis?
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How much time are you involuntarily having to invest in relationships that you have declared that you don’t want to be in or don’t want to have?
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Despite being absent or not participating in these relationships, if you are still consumed by them internally, then that means that the karma is still lively and it is therefore a relevant thing to be addressed.
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Jonni’s method to find resolve in these situations:
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Start by auditing yourself, your assumptions, your prejudices and the extent to which you are seeing these people in their limited conditional state, instead of seeing them in their true light: as divine souls on a journey of awakening.
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Judge the degree to which you are lacking compassion and insight into their condition, along with the extent to which perhaps you might be hypocritical in your judgments.
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Ponder the length to which you would make yourself available if they were to reciprocate in this internal reflection.
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Be honest with yourself and take responsibility for the role you are supposed to play in this relationship. Are you willing to put in that effort? If not then there’s work to be done on your end.
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Effectively make yourself available to the extent that this can be a shared experience.
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If you are willing to be open hearted and put in the effort to heal the relationship but the other cannot reciprocate then it’s ok to set boundaries.
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But don’t take your leave still bounded to your resentment, disdain, self-righteousness and/or feeling like a victim. Let go of all of that extra weight that serves no purpose.
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The Current Global State of Affairs & Its Impact On Family Relationships and Friendships
Families are being torn apart by opposing world-views & lifestyle/health choices.
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What is happening on the planet right now is triggering the deepest primal wounds & fears of everybody.
It’s paramount to allow ourselves to have our own opinion while also honoring that of others, no matter if they are aligned with ours or not
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Projecting our choices onto others is what creates this great divide.
Shifting the focus from worrying about the choices others make, to how our relationships are being torn apart because we can’t see how the fear that underlines our differences is affecting us.
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Being able to see beyond the veil of fear, worry and concern and shedding light on the love that ultimately unites us all.
Letting go of the need to be right in hopes of being able to collectively transcend this divisiveness.
Nature’s Divine Arrangement of a Global Pandemic
The current world-wide state of affairs is a consequence of us being grossly disconnected from fundamental laws of nature such as the governing system of Mother Earth and Mother Divine (consciousness).
It is a moment for us to face the current state in which the collective consciousness is in & what nature is trying to tell us, and repay the debt we have within ourselves and with each other.
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We have to face all of this not with fear, anger or trepidation of the future, but with an open heart, and trying to envision the type of world in which we want to live once we come out of all of this; then let our actions guide us in that direction.
We have been placed in a very constrained reality right now and been given time to go into ourselves and confront who we are, what matters and the pathway to our own liberation.
Relatives That Are In The Very End Stages Of Life
Dylan’s & Jonni’s experience with close relatives that dropped their bodies.
Being able to understand that the body will be dropped when it’s ready to be dropped.
The peeling away of the panchakoshas पंचकोश: the five energy bodies that cover the atman of every living being.
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The five koshas (a.k.a. sheaths) are:
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Annamaya Kosha (Physical Sheath)
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Pranamaya Kosha (Vital Energy Sheath)
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Manomaya Kosha (Mental Body)
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Vijnanamaya Kosha (Wisdom or Awareness Body)
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Anandamaya Kosha (Bliss Body)
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Karma & Reincarnation
Our karma conditions the possibilities we have for our next incarnation.
Jonni’s recount of the moments before his last incarnation.
RESOURCES
1 Giant Mind Website HERE
1 Giant Mind Podcast HERE
1 Giant Mind Meditation App on Apple App Store and Google Playstore
Jonni’s Current Group Meditation Link HERE (every Tuesday at 7pm AEST)
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