Monday, October 22

Is Karma The Cause Of Ill Health

Wealthy Times

When I published magazines back in the late 1990s a theme I often went on about was how 'our thoughts, words, deeds, actions and beliefs of yesterday have created the life we are living today.' The clipping above was from Wealthy Times in March 1997.

I still believe something along those lines involving Karma. So when things are going well for me, it's because of how I've dealt with life in the past and conversely when things aren't doing so good it's my own fault. I don't blame God or the world at large.

This is all well and good but what about health? I wondered about this following my recent operation. Had I done anything wrong to make my health suffer? After all disease means a lack of ease: dis-ease.

The Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes makes suggestions as to the cause of various ailments. Here are a few examples. I'm not, by the way, saying that I necessarily agree with these.

Headaches: Confused, worried, anxious, tense thoughts.

Constipation: Often due to a belief in limitation or burden.

Growths, Tumours, Cancer: Destructive emotions, desires or ideas, unless neutralised, will grow into some bodily condition.

Hay Fever: Nervous persons, and those whose work is largely mental, are most often attacked by hay fever.

Kidney and Bladder Disturbances: All kinds of kidney troubles from worry, anxiety, fear and criticism.

And so on and so on.

Gill Edwards in her book Stepping Into The Magic has similar ideas. A few examples taken at random:

Ulcers: Fear, being driven, being a perfectionist, feeling unworthy.

Inflammation: Suppressed anger.

Stiffness: Being inflexible, stuck in your ideas.

You get the picture, both authors claim there are reasons for any ill health we may suffer.

This got me thinking and wondering if health is purely down to Karma and maybe the displeasure of the Cosmic, or perhaps carried over from a previous incarnation. I was undecided about the answer and by 'chance' (yes, I know there's no such thing) picked out a publication from the 1970s from a pile of Rosicrucian writings I have on file. This, of course, just happened to be relevant to what I was pondering.

Discussing the same question the writer came up with the following:

"... Thus we must admit that by science or logic alone we can neither understand nor predict the course of any single human life, because we always reason from insufficient data.

However, as mystics we can experience within ourselves the condition and the motives of our Brother by loving sympathy that 'assumes' and achieves identity with him from the inside, through our common tap-root.

Without this 'knowledge through compassion' it is presumptuous to pass judgement on anyone and, even more so, to measure spiritual advancement by physical condition or material success.

Socrates, the wisest man of his time, was poor and reportedly ugly. In modern times the great scientist and humanist Charles Proteus Steinmetz was a hunchbacked cripple. Under such circumstances, it is reassuring to remember that, according to a wise old professor, most of the world's work is done by people who are not feeling well!

By human reason we cannot discern whether misfortune and sickness are due to accident, heredity, present guilt, or past Karma, or whether a karmic condition is meant as retribution, as a lesson, or as a spur to greater effort.

To sum up: Mastership is not proved by worldly success nor disproved by misfortune. It is shown by the ability to overcome difficulties and to use all of life's vicissitudes - pleasing and painful, good and bad - as stepping stones to further progress."

Though there is a lot in what the likes of the Science of Mind suggest, it's probably more than what they write. Any emotion, especially a negative emotion must have an effect on our physical bodies but I think it's simplistic to think it is the only reason for any ill health. It can be a combination of several things as the Rosicrucian quote suggests.

In saying this we can, no doubt, help ourselves by right thoughts, words, deeds, actions and beliefs - which puts me right back to the position I was spouting at the beginning of this post!

Life is full of circles and cycles.

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4 comments:

  1. dont think i like the idea that its my fault i havent been so well recently its much easier to blame something else but life is full of cycles. hope you are on your way up

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  2. I think the quote in the above post is the one I would pick-
    " By human reason we cannot discern whether misfortune and sickness are due to accident, heredity, present guilt,or past Karma,or whether a karmic condition is meant as retribution,as a lesson,or as a spur to greater effort."

    My older brother was born retarded right from birth,and sometimes I wonder if it's a karma-tic thing or not,but I realize that is a bit presumptuous of me to go off on those tangents when I should just be worried about playing the game from where I am.
    Sometimes a headache is just caused by not drinking enough water,or worrying over things that aren't worth worrying over,more than karma.
    All we can do is look after ourselves as best we can and try and be positive,but I don't think we should take it as a failure if we succumb to disease or death,maybe it's just the role we chose to help us learn something,or help others learn something in life.
    I think the best approach to take from our point of view in the world is like that infamous bumper sticker reads "S#!% Happens!"
    At least it stops us from making judgements that may be way off base.

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  3. Great post, Mike. The points you make are similar to those Louise Hay makes in her book, You Can Heal Your Life. And we all hope you're on the mend and flourishing!

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  4. My choice quote of this post is:

    "... Thus we must admit that by science or logic alone we can neither understand nor predict the course of any single human life, because we always reason from insufficient data. ..."

    Health and wealth are two things we leave behind when we pass on. I currently have a swollen foot from a bee sting - and I planned to shop for wedding/dancing shoes tomorrow.

    Consider the energy in your life today, that is promoting your healing, in comparison to how well you may have healed from the same illness 25 years ago.

    Karma may be more than what happens but also when - and what we do then. Great Post!

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