Karma is a popular concept, where it is commonly believed to have originated, as well as in the West, where it seems to have found a place in new age and pop ideology. But really, if there was ever a misunderstood term on a global scale, it’s karma. This cannot be entirely attributed to mistranslations across borders and cultures; Back home to the east, misconstructions abound, just as they do to the west. To some degree, the passage of time and the simplicity (even naivety) of human thought can be blamed, but in essence it is the attribution of fear to a concept that exists outside of subjective human experience that is responsible.

Let me clarify.

Karma in its simplest form can be defined as the continuous contract between one moment and another, between one life and another, between one life and another. Working on the basic assumption that we must show what we harvest, karma reminds us that we must live in balance with ourselves, our environment, and everything we encounter and encounter. For many, this contract takes on elaborate interpretations, such as being born as an insect for a certain action or deed, or being relegated to the back bench of the soul realm for a certain thought.

But at its purest essence, karma is never a threat from the universe or the divine to keep us in tow; there is no place for fear in karma, as it is really a fact. If you undertake a choice, action, thought, or intention that is out of sync with the universe, you create a karmic debt that must be undone. Being out of sync is not so much a matter of adhering to an external moral code as being congruent with the inner voice of your own soul and conscience. Therefore, even a seemingly good action can incur karma if it is done for completely the wrong reasons.

But if you make a mistake, I don’t think the universe would benefit much from turning you into a frog or a stone. Sure, I can entertain the idea that this approach may have its purpose and use in certain situations, but since we can never know for sure if this is true and it only evokes fear, I don’t think it’s too productive an idea to latch on to. Instead, the universe is more interested in helping you undo your choices, actions, and thoughts and remove those cracks in your soul field. This can happen in the course of a single lifetime or many lifetimes together.

Karma is thus anchored in love; a love for the entire universe and all that is manifested in it, animate and inanimate. This is a law that keeps the universe in balance; this is a move that rectifies the errors and imperfections in play. Like a mathematical formula, karma is not personal and therefore not to be feared: it is just fair, clear, and healing.