Karma and Self Responsibility

Does Jesus’ dying on the cross absolve everyone from taking personal responsibility for their actions? If one listens to the TV ministers, and born again Christians the answer is yes. Of course the TV ministers expect you to send them money to become “born again”, and the churches expect you to donate money to them to be accepted; but is this really the case? Does accepting Jesus as your savior absolve you from all of your sins and give you the green light to go to heaven after death no matter what you did before?

I grew up a Catholic and the nuns always taught us that no matter what we had done we would be forgiven of these sins simply by going to confession, and doing what ever penance the priest gave us. Well I never killed anyone, or robbed a bank, so I have no idea what the penance would be if I had; but I can’t imagine that saying 10,000 “Our Fathers” (The Lord’s Prayer), 5,000 “Hail Mary’s”, and 2,000 “Act of Contrition’s” would truly be enough to go to Heaven. We were also taught that it was very important that a priest be summoned to give “The Last Rites” to someone on their death bed so that the dying person could skirt the fires of hell upon death. (I never did figure out how the dying person could say all of the necessary prayers.)

Wouldn't it be idyllic if all of this was true? It would be nice to think that someone’s sacrifice would give me Carte Blanche to do what ever I wanted without repercussions. Think of all the things I could do! All of the lies, the debauchery, stealing, conniving, killing of my enemies I could do. All I would have to do to go to Heaven is to send a check of some of my ill gotten gains to some Church, or minister, or make sure I have a priest handy when I am ready to kick the bucket.

 Sounds ludicrous, does it not? We all can believe what ever we want; and the truth is that most of us will believe what ever is most convenient for us.

The spiritual truth is we are all free to do as we want, and that sooner or later we all will go to Heaven. The catch is that there is a karmic price for every action that we do that cannot be absolved, or avoided. This price will be paid either in this lifetime, or in a future one. As we move up the spiritual ladder of awareness we begin to realize this and we learn to temper our behavior. We begin to ask our self “Is this action worth the karmic price I will have to pay?” This is when we start to take control of our lives, and to grow spiritually.

Do as you will, but know that in the end you will be held accountable. Learn to take responsibility for your actions and grow from them.

My Life Would Have Been Better...If Only

As you get older you realize that maybe, just maybe, you should have actually listened to some of the advice you received when you were younger.

I know I am not alone. We all thought we knew it all when we were seniors in high school, when we were seniors in college, when we turned thirty, when we turned forty...etc. It is human nature to think you know it all, and it is definitely a part of growing up. Oh, to think how much better my life would have been, If only....

If only I had listened to my dad. He once told me; "Son, I love you and want you to be happy. Don't ever get married!" But I never listened to anything that guy told me, I knew it all! Not only did I not listen to him once, but I turned around and did it again! What a dope I am. There are two words that should never be used in the same sentence; happy, and married. These two words are like oil and water, they don't mix.

If only I had listened to my Grandmother. She told me, "Learn to save your money instead of spending it. You'll be glad you did one day." My brother and I both had paper routes when we were growing up. My brother was a saver, and I was a spend thrift. Now, forty years later, after Bush, I am nearly broke, and so is he...Never mind!

If only I had listened to Dr. Timothy Leary. "Tune in, turn on, drop out." I was a child of the 60's, but never embraced his wisdom. Instead I went to college, worked full time to pay for it, and still ended up with the same job I could have got if I quit school after high school. Think of all the wasted years of partying I missed out on. Well, except for the fact that I partied like John Belushi in Animal House for most of my college career. I had a well rounded college education, I worked, I partied, and I actually learned a few things. (But I don't remember them).

If only I had listened to the nuns when I was a kid when they told me "You'll be going to hell one day if you don't straighten up!" If I had listened to them I would have become a priest, and I would never have got married and lived through hell.

Some day I might learn, but I doubt it. I am now an "old dog", and you know what they say about old dogs learning new tricks.

Ain't That Peculiar

Its kind of funny how life is now a days. One day you are told one thing, then the next day, they tell you something different. Who they are I'm not quite sure, but whoever they are, they can't seem to be able to make up their minds.

I remember when I was young, growing up a Catholic, the nuns told us that it was a mortal sin to eat meat on Friday. This meant that if you deliberately ate meat on a Friday, and knew that it was a mortal sin, and did not confess that sin to the nice priest, (who then had you say fifty "Hail Marys", twenty "Our Fathers", and fifteen "Act of Contritions",) and died; you would spend all of eternity being one of Satan's minions.

Around 1971, the Church did an about face on the eating meat on Friday thing; now it was no longer a sin at all, to eat meat on a Friday. I always wondered about the poor souls burning in hell for eating a lousy baloney sandwich on a Friday. Did St. Peter take the elevator down to hell, and proclaim, "Hey, all you guys down here on the eating meat on Friday rap, come on up!" The nuns I questioned about this denied that they ever said it was a mortal sin to eat meat on a Friday. Hmmmmmm.

Last October (one whole year ago!), gasoline was averaging $4.00/gal. We were being told that oil, being a fossil fuel, was limited in supply; and that the cost to explore, drill, import, etc. etc. was the reason for the ever increasing prices. Then the doo doo hit the fan with the economy; people couldn't afford to pay exorbitant prices for gas. The oil companies weren't selling enough gas to keep their profit margins up. Now gasoline is averaging $2.70/gal! Maybe oil wasn't so scarce after all. Hmmmmmm.

Maybe I am too skeptical, but it seems to me that we are being told whatever lie is convenient, to persuade us to do what they want. Want to talk about the bailout for the banks? Hmmmmm. How about the erosion of personal freedoms to keep America safe? Hmmmmm. It seems to me, that the next time they tell us the truth about anything, it will be the first time.

My Life Would Have Been Better, If Only....

As you get older you realize that maybe, just maybe, you should have actually listened to some of the advice you received when you were younger.

I know I am not alone. We all thought we knew it all when we were seniors in high school, when we were seniors in college, when we turned thirty, when we turned forty…etc. It is human nature to think you know it all, and it is definitely a part of growing up. Oh, to think how much better my life would have been, If only….

If only I had listened to my dad. He once told me; “Son, I love you and want you to be happy. Don’t ever get married!” But I never listened to anything that guy told me, I knew it all! Not only did I not listen to him once, but I turned around and did it again! What a dope I am. There are two words that should never be used in the same sentence; happy, and married. These two words are like oil and water, they don’t mix.

If only I had listened to my Grandmother. She told me, “Learn to save your money instead of spending it. You’ll be glad you did one day.” My brother and I both had paper routes when we were growing up. My brother was a saver, and I was a spend thrift. Now, forty years later, after Bush, I am nearly broke, and so is he…Never mind!

If only I had listened to Dr. Timothy Leary. “Tune in, turn on, drop out.” I was a child of the 60’s, but never embraced his wisdom. Instead I went to college, worked full time to pay for it, and still ended up with the same job I could have got if I quit school after high school. Think of all the wasted years of partying I missed out on. Well, except for the fact that I partied like John Belushi in Animal House for most of my college career. I had a well rounded college education, I worked, I partied, and I actually learned a few things. (But I don’t remember them).

If only I had listened to the nuns when I was a kid when they told me “You’ll be going to hell one day if you don’t straighten up!” If I had listened to them I would have become a priest, and I would never have got married and lived through hell.

Some day I might learn, but I doubt it. I am now an “old dog”, and you know what they say about old dogs learning new tricks.