by Frank Thomas

Created on: June 22, 2009   Last Updated: June 23, 2009

The word Karma is Chinese in origin and means "Action". Chinese thought always operates on many levels, and so a correspondence of meaning is implied. Thus you get the ideogram of Yin and Yang - action and re-action.

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This a fundamental law of motion, and pertains to energy as well. Also pertinent is the concept, "As above, so below". That is to say, the laws which govern the physical world originate in the spiritual world. By extension, the physical world is a manifestation on a lower plane of spiritual truths and realities.

The Causal Plane is that realm of pure spirit where all energy which has been manifested in the material universe begins the process of compensation, or balance. The Causal Plane is made up of archetypes, which are the models of life and the manifested universe. These archetypes exist there without the limitations of time and space. In other words, everything in the Causal Plane occurs instantaneously as dual aspects of the same phenomenon - cause and effect as one; energy in a state of constant self-compensation, or balance. This state of being is the ideal of truth as we know it.

Energy Models from the Causal Plane descend into the manifested Universe as creativity or inspiration. They are the perfection of form, coming as a response to the existing conditions which we create by our actions, and even our desires, here in the physical world. These are ideals and models of behavior and interaction which we all know "instinctively" through our spiritual contact with that world.

The energy we create here in the physical Universe also ascends into the Causal Plane. There is a give and take as energy flows back and forth between the worlds. That is to say, whatever we do in this world excites a response in the Causal Plane which of course is perfectly balanced and equal to our actions. This is the primary phase in the law we know as Karma.

After the energy ascends into the Causal Plane, and is adjudicated by its equal and opposite form or energy, the corresponding reaction of the Universe is then redirected toward its source. The energy descends into the manifested Universe in a circuit not unlike an electrical current. The Universe then manifests the balancing energy in a way which involves the source of that energy. That is to say, we encounter what we have created - we reap what we have sewn.

The Universe manifests a lesson, or set of circumstances, which gives us a choice. The manifestation can take any form - as a person or people, or as events which put us in a position of choice. The people or person may embody the idealism we exhibited when we created the original energy. Our choice is that we can either grow and overcome through understanding and acceptance, or we can react blindly and thoughtlessly to the perceived threat, and create more karma.

There, of course, is also good Karma which results when we react with virtue to the challenges which meet us, which in turn leads to more good karma.

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