Karmageddon

To the mainstream western thinker "karma" is thought to be a eastern version of "what comes around, goes around". An additional aspect glommed onto the concept of karma is the theology surrounding reincarnation. Succinctly, the western thinker puts 2 and 2 together to form this: "what comes around goes around... and if it doesn't get you in this lifetime, it'll get you in the next". Of course, in either of these descriptions, the western thinker typically harbours an incredibly inaccurate and simple interpretation.

If I understand the larger concept, as recently described in part by a close friend of mine, Karma is to be considered at a cosmic level, whereby ones obligations, whether actively or passively "consented to" cause threads of obligations/debts to extend to and fro the parties involved. Now it is very difficult to move out of our more traditional mode of western thought, wherein mysticism has largely been exculded from our consideration of what is and is not "real". In the west, although this too is a simple interpretation of the western mind, we typically see things as cause and effect... and normally only consider the "tangible" - nary the mystical. Even in Aquinas' relating of the spiritual to his audience, he speaks (or is translated into) language in which "bodies" impact one another to some result. Or "actors" or "movers" intercede, mingle, push, pull, etcetera. Now my argument is not with St. Thomas at all. He clearly had a grasp of the come-uppance in a much more robust sense than "what comes around, goes around" sort of modality. His was much closer to my understanding (which is minimal) of the concept of karma than today's modern minds can conceive.

So, how does this obligation/indebtedness work? I do not know. But I can relate some of the concepts to you in English as I understand them to be having discussed it at some length with said friend who is much closer to grasping the concept than I.

Here is an example: your friend comments to his girlfriend that he can get you to help her find a job. Even without your knowledge, you have been karmically indebted to the girlfriend of your friend.

Here is another example: you sell something to someone. You are karmically bound to that person (stranger or no) for some period of time (possibly forever?) until somesuch occurs or the relationship is diminished in some cosmic fashion.

More close to home: you agree to do something for someone.

Even more interesting: someone gifts something to you. Or, you apologize to someone. Or, you say to someone "I owe you such-and-such".

The point being this: if this Karma thing has legs, it is important to "simplify" as you can. To cast a "small shadow". Because we haven't even begun to speak about the "energetic" issues Karma introduces into the concept... or how people through their expectations of you/for you relating to who you are and who they think you are... how they talk about you, etcetera, can impact your karmic situation.

I would put activities like blogging, emailing as risky... myspace.com or facebook.com just plain crazy to engage in. Maybe I should kill off my interactive online profile altogether.