Discovering Karma

A series of dreams propels Martin on a journey of discovery and, while he explores new times and places, he discovers his true self. It is the journey of everyman.
 
 First Martin's dreams call him to a certain, undiscovered beach in Hawaii where he meets his teacher, Kahuna.

Agreeing to step into the unknown, he finds himself transported into Britain in 464 AD. The Roman Empire is in decline and new invaders are coming from Caledonia.

Martin has much to learn about human nature in early Britain.  Firstly Martin witnesses the brutality of war and is led to wonder why evil exists. Martin discovers that he himself played a disturbing role in the cycle of violence. In other words, he is implicated in the question which bothers him. 

Martin realizes that the anger and brutality which appall him are not outside himself and his own mind. This has implications for how we live in the world.

For instance, we can also acknowledge our own shadow sides in order to transmute the negative tendencies of the mind.
  
Martin learns to move away from the victim role, and to take responsibility for his actions and their consequences. In other words, he explores karma - the law of cause and effect.

Literally, karma means action. The depiction of karma in Dreamaker differs from the traditional Hindu version, though Fedan is a devotee of Raja Yoga founder Yogananda (who wrote Autobiography of a Yogi.)

Yogananda teaches that for every action there's a reaction and we carry the effect with us until it is "paid."

It may be years, it may be lifetimes. Some people carry this idea to the extreme, refusing to help people because they would interfere with the person's karma. 

The portrayal of karma in Dreamaker is slightly different. Fedan suggests that our consciousness constructs our reality. When we change our consciousness it changes our circumstances, so our world changes and our karma changes, with no lingering effect.

My personal teacher, Amma, who was chosen as one of the three representatives of Hinduism today, says there are three levels of karma. One is heavy and inescapable and the other two are lighter and can be changed through karma yoga (selfless service) or grace.
 
Another of my favourite thinkers, renowned psychic, Mary Browne, believes we cannot erase bad karma but we can learn from mistakes and begin, in this moment, to create good karma. In her book, The Power of Karma she, like Fedan in Dreamaker raises the question of responsibility:

"We can't excuse ourselves from social responsibility. We must do whatever we can to help the world around us. Any nation or empire built on injustice will sooner or later collapse. No action of service toward another is unimportant. We must ask ourselves if it's a person's karma to be hungry or if it is our karma to feed that person."

She hints that karma is not just a punishment, as many assume, but something closer to dharma, the Buddhist concept of one's life path.

Years ago, when I asked my meditation teacher about clearing karma he, like Mary Browne, said that it is not quite like that, for our karma is our dharma, our work in the world.

Mary Browne was horrified when one of her clients announced that she's spent a fortune on a "karma cleaner"! Mary asserts that our old karma cannot be cleaned but our future and present can be improved. We are constantly creating new karma, not just living out past karma.
 
In the book The Dreammaker there is a poignant scene, when Martin, in a state of internal anger, is about to get beaten up by a gang. Initially, he feels sorry for himself but then Kahuna intervenes and averts trouble. The Kahuna shows Martin how he himself created the scenario. Violent thoughts within his mind invited the gang to enter on cue.

The message is that we create the world in which we live, whether unconsciously or consciously.  Like Martin, we often find ourselves repeating the same old 'patterns.' How to stop? We need to go to the root of the problem. First, we must see it. This, in itself, may bring transformation but sometimes it is not enough to see. So what to do?

Here are some of my personal ideas for changing karmic patterns:
 
1) Apologize to everyone you have hurt through insensitivity. If the person in question is dead or otherwise unavailable, do this internally. This can be a healing process, laying the past to rest and moving into the now. We can't change past karma but we can create new karma through present action.
 
2) Go to a gifted practitioner for shiatsu, cranio-sacral work, ayurdeva, psychotherapy or acupuncture. This is not enough in itself but can support the enquiry and re-alignment process. 
 
3) Give or receive energy work such as reiki or pranic healing. Practice chi gung or tai chi to adjust your energy body. Complement these periods of meditative movement with periods of just sitting with the spine straight. Again, this won't necessarily "clear" karma, but at least you won't be accumulating new problems and will gradually prepare your system to contain more light. 
 
4) Go to the City of Refuge (Big Island, Hawaii). This is an ancient site of forgiveness and spiritual renewal and the energies are still powerful today. In ancient times, it was a place where sin was forgiven and a new chance was given after a period of purification. If someone was about to be punished with death and they managed to escape and reach this sanctuary, they were safe and could work with Kahunas to begin a new life.

In fact, the whole island is a place of rebirth. It is the newest land on earth, freshly formed from lava. One crater is the home of the explosive, Polynesian volcano goddess, Madam Pele, who is rather like the Hindu goddess Kali, destroying and creating life. Coconut Island, near Hilo, is also an ancient site of forgiveness and spiritual renewal and while it seems ordinary, with families picnicking and swimming there, it is an excellent place to re-connect with your intrinsic path. 
 
5) Do karma yoga (selfless service). This can take many forms e.g. working with people who are hungry, sick or poor and giving from your heart, like Mother Teresa. 
 
Dreamaker points in the direction of going within and finding your own inner guidance to heal your karma. In fact, Fedan enacted this process in writing the book for it is largely autobiographical and began with a real dream that he had of early Britain which he later found to be historically accurate. 

Dreamaker; A Mystical Tale is available from Amazon, 2002. The author's website is: http://grigorfedan.com/