Understanding Karma
Over the last couple of days, I’ve been rereading Gregor Maehle’s commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (just as a side note: Gregor and his wife Monica are the teachers I’ll be doing a training with in Bali next month).
If you haven’t heard of the Yoga Sutras, they are by far the most important text on yoga. The sage Patanjali compiled all the fundamental knowledge of yoga into four chapters and 195 stanzas, mapping out a system that leads to liberation—that is, breaking out of the wheel of karma and rebirth.
Lately, the term karma has gotten a lot of attention in pop culture (Taylor Swift’s “Karma” is just one example), and the idea of cosmic retribution has entered our everyday language (think of Justin Timberlake’s famous quote, “What goes around, comes around”). However, most of the time when we talk about karma, we use it to soften the blow of a bad experience or to make ourselves feel better after someone has wronged us (“Karma will get them”). In our Western way of thinking, we rarely extend this concept to ourselves—to something that encourages us to reflect on our own choices and hold ourselves accountable.
While the Yoga Sutras explain karma in a much deeper way (including the belief in multiple lifetimes), I’ve come up with a very simple definition that applies to our everyday lives:
Karma is the present result of our past actions and decisions.
Let me explain. Look around—at your friendships, your partner, your job, your hobbies, maybe even your fitness routine and diet. None of these things were just magically manifested into your life by some higher force. At some point, you made a choice—to take up a hobby, to go out with that person, to say yes to that job—and in doing so, you set a series of actions into motion that created the life you are currently living.
I’m saying this because karma, for the most part, is not something that happens to us. It’s something we are actively creating every day. Your choices are far more powerful than you might realize.
There’s a quote from Caroline Myss that I like very much:
“Everything in your life right now has already happened.”
All the people, situations, and experiences surrounding you—whether you like them or not—are the results of past decisions. But here’s the beautiful part: now it’s up to you.Right now, you can make new choices. Choices that can bring you closer to the life you truly want to live.
Trust yourself. Your future is being shaped today. ✨
P.S. Not sure what you really want in life? I have an online course, Manifest the Life You Want, that helps you figure it out and set out on the path toward the life you truly desire.
