Trust issues

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Oh man, I'm sorry I flaked out on you, saying I'd be back yesterday. I don't know what I was thinking; after lunching w/veritable strangers, doing the social thing, I'm usually not up to conversation the next day. And I wasn't. I hope you're not too upset or disappointed w/me.

And now I'm packing to go away for 3 weeks on a working retreat... but if you want to talk a bit more, I'll be here this evening.

I wanted to talk some about karma, not in the pop culture sense, but in the traditional Buddhist sense, which is different & I find it helpful, tho' not always easy. Let me know if you want to go there.

Otherwise, I hope you can find more trustworthy folks online & maybe have a little more understanding about why people might lie. Fear is just one reason, of course. But it's one that is often able to change, based on how we work w/it, both in ourselves & w/others.

OK. Glad we connected.

Karma... the official definition: karma is a special instance of the law of cause & effect that applies to the mental environment of a deluded sentient being.

A few explanations so this all makes sense... Buddhism by & large holds w/cause & effect, which is why it doesn't have a big tussle w/science. Karma is about how we experience our world, which is through our minds. Mind is not just intellect, but sensation, emotions, everything we cognize or know. If you check, there is nothing about your life that you know any other way than through Mind. Mind is not the same as brain, but the consciousness & experience of the whole of your life.

Deluded sentient beings are basically everybody; if you're not a Buddha, you're deluded. The basic delusion being referred to here is the ignorance of how things actually exist. For the purposes of our discussion, we'll keep it on the more superficial levels & not get into the BIG metaphysical stuff.

Karma is talking about how we shape/create our experience of the world, & how in turn we are shaped & created by those experiences. The English saying, "What goes around, comes around" sort of points to the same thing, but karma is more extensive than that.

Most folks seem to understand karma on an extremely superficial & somewhat mistaken level. For example, let's say you walk out to the car & it has a flat tire. The average person might say "Oo, bad karma." Wrong. Your karma is how you respond to that flat tire. If you fly into a rage, THAT'S bad karma. If you shrug it off, or maybe you're even a little happy 'cause you didn't REALLY want to go to the dentist, that's better karma. If it's your dad's car & you've been wondering how you can repay him for all his many kindnesses, so the opportunity to change a flat for him is wonderful, that's fantastic karma.

With me so far?