Witchvox Article

Author: Cate Cavanagh
Posted: July 9th. 2006
Times Viewed: 1,798

�And it harm none� is our common mantra during ritual and prayer, and just as often �for the greater good� is another. As a Witch and Pagan with a strong Wiccan background philosophically, I believe these are safety tenets preventing all of us from manipulating circumstances, even subconsciously, that might incur a karmic debt to ourselves.

I was raised Catholic, and truth be told, I even wanted to be a nun in my youth. As a Catholic, the safeguard against going to �Hell� was confession. If one died without confession or last rites, then the �karmic debt� was be Purgatory, that in-between place where one would remain until debts were paid, after which point entrance to �Heaven� would be granted.

I bring up my religious upbringing because in all of the religions and nontraditional beliefs I have studied, this payment for �sins� is a common feature: in Buddhism, for example, �purgatory� amounts to Bordo land, and there are the fire and brimstone teachings we are all aware of, but there are also beliefs that teach the soul will �sleep� until ready to awaken and begin anew.

So what does all of this background have to with work for the �greater good?� I call myself Witch, but I am also (what I coined) a �Quantum Metaphysician.� On my journey of evolving into this state of being, I evaluated �and it harm none,� �for the greater good,� karmic debt, and other similar beliefs extensively. (My book, Gifts of the Spirit, studies karma in great detail. Please see below for instructions on getting your free copy.)

Simply put, �karma� is payment for past errors or noble work. Most people have come to associate the word with bad luck. Karma, despite what many may think, is not random. Somewhere along the line we put an effort into our own karma. I write extensively on the topic of energy conversion, which is the foundation of my spiritual school, Quantum Spirituality, the Science of Change. In my work, I ask readers to look at how we affect such conversion and subsequent outcomes by our deeds, our thoughts, our words or choices. Our deeds are what we actively do. Lying and then being discovered in our lies is an example of how karma can play out, for who would trust a known liar ever again?

But, as a Quantum Metaphysician, I concluded life could be a matter of the choices we make: whom did we decide to marry? Whom did we decided to leave? Did we relocate? What did we choose as our livelihood? Why did we make these choices? The result of these choices is karma.

What if, when we were still spirit-fluff, we decided we needed to learn a new experience as a challenge to our soul�s muscle? What if, at that time, we realized we may not have been good people in our past lives and chose to pay our debt? What if we decided to pay that debt in the next lifetime rather than wait until further down the line? We have then selected a life theme. (We also could have chosen success because we want a �vacation� from spiritual growth or a reward for much spirituality learned.) But, let�s stay with paying our painful �debt.� We may have chosen illness, poverty, or an untimely death. Why would we choose this painful purpose in a next lifetime? Perhaps in our spiritual evolution we opted to learn how fixed and resolved our true souls can be in unknowing lifetimes and to determine whether or not we have learned enough over many reincarnations to master our spirit power.

Many people believe that the goal of the soul is to join the Godhead (the Universe, the Creator, Heaven). This theme is in Hinduism, Buddhism, and others. What would be the purpose of this joining? To be part of the �Creator,� divine healing and nurturing, the power of the divine and possibly even creation itself. If we look at the perfection of the earth, mankind�s interference aside, it is perfect. It functions on it own, heals itself, and regenerates itself. Even climatic cataclysms are all part of healing. As its children, might we not also have all these inherent entitlements? The same can be said for the Universe. Therefore, must not we, as spiritual forces, aim to perfect energy management in the form of spirit power as we strive for the ultimate goal of joining the divine to better perpetuate this power? Cannot mastering the molding of a lifetime be worth the pain in the infinite run? So, although we all may have a karmic debt, what part of our lives is truly karmic?

I have seen many use karma as a �crutch.� From people believing �it is the will of God� to �for the good of all,� sometimes it is overlooked that, yes, we make our own karma�by our wishes, deeds, and by our lack of doing anything! We may all reach an awareness of what our karma is supposed to be, but can we know every instance? Does living in hardship mean this is our real karma for the rest of our lives? What if the real karma comes in as a result of what we choose to do about our hardships? What if it is karmicly in our power to change our lives for the better, insofar as karmic commitment is not concreted in our present existence? Don�t we, as beings with untapped spirit power, have even a responsibility for mastering whatever can be mastered in our lifetime and changing our circumstances? Is this not also a karma that can impact on the next life as well?

What if the real �test� for our souls and spirit power is whether or not we recognize the goal of mastering and creating or recreating a preferred reality? What if our karmic entitlement is actualizing a life�s potential?

Can this be done while �harming none� and �for the greater good?�

Having the eclectic background that I do, I believe firmly in maintaining a belief system. We must all have some moral compass, or even the science of reinvention will fall into the realm of Chaos, and that is a dangerous place. But if, as I teach, there is science in all things magickal, we can begin to look at entitlements in life as a matter of quantum physics that does not have to take from someone else at all for us to improve ourselves and our lives.

We all know we can harm with magick, but where does it say helping others or ourselves for that matter is unethical?

For every instance in which we use the karmic crutch for a reason to not to act in our own best interests or the interests of someone in need of help and healing, are we not also incurring a karmic debt for not honoring ourselves enough or for not applying the gift of healing we have been given?

How does healing come into this discussion? As with anything karmic, death can be or not be a matter of a lifetime�s run. But can any of us really know? I, myself, have had several near-death experiences, for example, and although they were what I call �optional exit points, I chose for them not to be. Working to heal someone of a terminal disease is not against the greater good, for as our Deities determine, we cannot work against the greater good, anyway. But what if we and the person we are working to heal are to be messengers of hope and living proof of spirit power? Is it not also true, then, that by not acting to create a change, we are toying with karma and the debt we could incur by allowing our fear to prevent us from bringing light to someone�anyone?

Some Pagans, because of concerns about karma, live their beliefs with as much grace as possible. Not all are meant to be �movers and shakers,� and this is a blessing, for those who walk the neutral, peaceful path are as important to the whole as those of us called to more dynamic forms of service. But, fear of repercussions or karma need not be part of resisting one�s potential magickality, for in the end �the will of God� and �the greater good� will win out.

Copyright: April 30, 2006

ABOUT...

Cate Cavanagh

Location: Livingston Manor, New York

Website: http://www.catecavanagh.nethttp://www.quantumspirituality.tripod.com

Author's Profile: To learn more about Cate Cavanagh - Click HERE

Bio: Cate Cavanagh is an author and Witch. She is offering her widely acclaimed book, Gifts of the Spirit, for FREE! Please visit catecavanagh.net for information on this free book and other free books.

Send your request for this book to: catecavanagh@gmail.com

Also please visit quantumspirituality.tripod.com for information on Quantum Spirituality, the Science of Change.

Other Articles: Cate Cavanagh has posted 5 additional articles- View them?

Other Listings: To view ALL of my listings: Click HERE

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