Good Karma, Bad Karma &
The Law of Cause and Effect

Law of Cause and Effect Many people think of karma as the cause of what happens to you in this life, resulting from the actions and behaviors in previous lives. But really this is just the beginning of how Good Karma and Bad Karma are viewed from a Spiritual Healing perspective. The Greek philosopher Socrates argued that all events of the world had a rational cause. He stated that we may not understand the principles that controlled the events of our lives, but there is always order and reason to everything in life. This method of reasoning became known as the “Socratic Method of Argument” and eventually came to be known as "The Law of Cause and Effect". This simply states that there is a reason for everything. For every effect in our lives, there is a cause, or series of specific identifiable causes. Spiritual Healing & Cause and Effect So now let's bring it all back home. The Law of Cause and Effect says that there is a reason for everything. Karma is simply the Law of Cause and Effect, but applied to the principles of reincarnation. Most of us are aware that many, or most, of our issues and challenges start in childhood. When working with people I'm always using the C&E principles. And just as Socrates argued, we usually aren't aware of the reasons for the circumstances or events in our life, but the reasons do exist. Many of my clients are surprised to find that the relationship problems that they have as adults have a lot to do with how their parents interacted with each other. They're also surprised to find that the beliefs they hold about money are passed down from their parents, even though they have been much more financially successful than their parents. Yep, there are reasons for every effect, even when we don't know or understand the principles behind the reasons. Good Karma Many spiritual teachers claim that karma is like debts owed. Sometimes there are positive debts, "Good Karma," and sometimes there are negative debts, "Bad Karma." But ultimately there is no "Good Karma" because, like any debt owed, it still is just a debt that has to be repaid. An example of "Good Karma" is when we do good deeds with the expectation, implied or explicit, of some kind of reward. This is like the pay-in-advance principle. By having the expectation of repayment, we're setting ourselves up for the debt to be paid back later, either in the future of this life, or in a future life. The trap then becomes when the expectation remains unfulfilled. It becomes our own expectations that tie us to people, places or events lifetime after lifetime. I'll sometimes have clients that feel that their children owe them for all that they've done and the sacrifices that they've made. As a result, the parent is left sad and unfulfilled when their efforts go unrecognized. Again, it's the "expectation" that creates the karma. And it's these same unfulfilled expectations that lead to unhappiness. For one person it may be a child and for another it may be a spouse, lover, business partner, etc. The answer, of course, is when doing good deeds (such as acts of charity) to do so without expectations. This attitude leads to no karmic affects. So even "Good Karma" isn't something to be desired in life. The enlightened view is always to neutralize all karma. Bad Karma Contrary to common misunderstanding, Bad Karma isn't when you do something bad to someone then they will do something bad to you. Bad Karma is when you do some Action to someone and you then feel guilty or responsible for committing that action. The important point here is that it becomes your own So if you do something "bad" to someone, and if you feel responsible for what you've done, you've now incurred "Bad Karma". If that person whom you did something "bad" to feels the need for revenge, the two of you might even plan a life together where he has the opportunity of taking his revenge and for you to be released from your guilt. Guilt, Blame, Shame or other emotions that keep you indebted to repay for the actions that you've committed, even when those actions are from a previous lifetime.