Theos-Talk Archives (November 1995 Message tl00259)

ET
If 20000 years ago someone killed us we can change ourselves today so that
the
event of being killed is not the same and therefore *for us*
the past has changed. The person that killed us though remains
unchanged regarding that "past event" until or unless we interact
with that person.

Between us and our killer we have the totality of our shared
past stored in our karma with that person. The karma is not a
fixed quantity of reward/punishment but is rather a living
connectedness a living dynamic relationship that we have with
the other person.

RI
Practically speaking perhaps karma need only be regarded as uncorrected
tendencies for specific types of semi-Self indulgence. Genetic twins born at
the nearly the same astrological moment could thus be regarded as starting
out with roughly the same "karma." The only difference--and it is a big
one--between the twins would be in their degrees of Self-awareness. This
would change the level animating physical desire-feeling desire-mental
mental Spirit-mental and Spirt at which Self Undifferentiated
Consciousness will become completely transformed into semi-Self delusion
differentiated consciousness. One of the twins might regularly lose all
Self-awareness when he or she started to eat a bowl of ice cream; the other
not until he or she started to share an idea. In the former case the
temporary egoic delusion is of the nature "I *really am* the taste of
chocolate chip"; in the latter "I *really am* what I think I know about the
subject of reincarnation."

Naturally complete semi-Self indulgence at any level usually brings negative
consequences and of course Self-awareness is never so perfect as when we
are suffering. Increased diffidence because of learned lessons may be the
mark of the "older soul"; kamikaze-like boldness in semi-Self adventure the
"younger." Shit like "bad" karma may be found everywhere and in many
disguises; however perhaps it is not really necessary to think that it
"belongs" to you--no matter who killed whom 20000 years ago. Undoubtedly
the important thing is to become the more Self-aware twin who egoically steps
in less shit and thus *becomes* less of it.

However if we get rid of the idea of trans-personal karma we would still
need some explanation or mechanism for how/why a particular Chunk of
Atma-Buddhi in a particular Degree of Self-awareness would stay together for
another lifetime--and certainly all of the foregoing pretty-much flies in the
face of what many theosophists have said about the "Causal Body" etc.
doesn't it? It also comes very close to suggesting that an
increasing/decreasing "Degree" of Self-awareness is the only thing which can
be carried into a new life and out of the old. There is not very much homey
trans-lifetime romance or "connectedness" to be found here is there? But
on the other hand it would ease our burden of having to seek out and
interact with every unperfected "soul-bundle" we have encountered in past
lives in order to consumate some sort of karmic zero-sum game. Who knows?
Perhaps in the short- as well as the long-haul karma can't come Where we're
going. . . .

Best wishes

Richard Ihle