How do we find out when a situation in our lives has a particular karmic characteristic?
Lucille Yaney, a psychotherapist who believes in reincarnation, says a pattern of emotional overreaction, for example, including unexplained fears and phobias, is a clue. 'If someone reacts more violently than they should in a particular situation, they may be reacting to past situations from this life or past lives,' says Yaney, who has been providing therapy for more than twenty-five years. 'The present circumstance provoking the reaction is not nearly as threatening as what happened in the past, but we perceive it and react to it as we did originally.
For example, if we were tortured in a previous life, we may now find ourselves in a situation where we respond to criticism as if we were being attacked or tortured. 'In such a case, we may be reluctant to stand up for ourselves,' Yaney explains. 'Perhaps we have an excessive need to please others. Or we cannot stand up for ourselves when critically questioned. Instead, we always assume the position of victim, become defensive, clam up, and 'die,' so to speak.
'Another sign that we are dealing with issues from past lives,' Yaney says, 'is the ferocity of our emotional relief after we have resolved a situation.' 'It only has to be something very small that we've overcome,' she says, 'like, for example, confronting someone we were afraid of. But when we dare to do this, we feel extraordinarily relieved. It's as if all the energy we used to suppress memories from past lives is now no longer blocked and is now at our disposal.'
While it is not necessary to know the details of our past lives to successfully work through our karma, we must have the will to observe ourselves and see how we react to events. We must be willing to understand that there are no accidents or coincidences in life. Everything we experience happens for a reason. Each confrontation gives us the opportunity to resolve the karma in the best way. For example, there may be as many as six different ways to deal with a situation and all of them may produce some good karma and a good feeling, but only one of them will be the best solution for you, and you will feel that.
For example, let us assume that in a past life your mother was a child who abandoned you. Now your mother is getting older and needs special care.
'Because you abandoned your mother in the past, you will now feel a strong compulsion to personally care for her, while your siblings do not have those same feelings,' Yaney says. 'Your siblings may be fine with handing over the duty of care to someone else, even putting her in a good home where she is well cared for. As a matter of fact, if your siblings have urgent professional contributions to make to the world, they would be doing themselves and others a disservice by going to care for their mother.'
You could sense your karmic obligation by observing how you felt in this situation, Yaney says. Because of your karmic responsibility, you would presumably feel strong and energized by your personal care for your mother. As for your brothers and sisters - whose main obligations lie elsewhere - they would feel bitter and unfulfilled if they had to take on that care. So our duty can be very different from someone else's, even though we are in the same situation.
It all depends on our karmic history. Our task is to use our free will to follow the inner guidance that will lead us to the highest choice.
Source: Karmalessen.com . Follow these lessons to transcend your past and transform your future.
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