While Karma and reincarnation are not the same ideas; although many feel they are interchangeable, they do have a cause and effect relationship. Karma is the principle and cause of the effect (result) which is the Reincarnation. In other words, if you believe in Karma you must, as a result, also believe in Reincarnation. Reincarnation is the reason that Karma is possible.  Both of these concepts are as old as the human race or since man has become a thinking animal. The essence of our Spirit/Soul, now those two words are interchangeable, requires that we each confront these concepts if we are to evolve as intelligent self-actualized humans.

    Much like morality, faith is a cognitive process that evolves from a religious experience. It is a developmental process that changes as we evolve as humans and in maturity from the adult experience. As a person gains more experience in trying to reconcile their religion with daily life as they experience it; their faith starts an evolution to higher and higher levels. Paul Tillich (1958) says; “All humans need to have faith in something, whether that something is a god figure, philosophical principles, country, or simply oneself. Faith gives humans a reason for living their daily lives., a way of understanding the past, a hope for the future. It is whatever each person really cares about, his or her ultimate concern.” In the intelligent mature adult’s understanding of Spirit, faith ceases to be a matter of acceptance of the usual order of things and becomes, instead, an active commitment to a life goal and lifestyle that differs from that of many other people. It is a personal faith in what makes up his or her unique philosophy. The evolution of your philosophy is a product of your thoughts, experiences, goals, and commitment to life. It is where you are on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in your odyssey toward self-actualization.

    Many feel the Ostrich approach is the safest and easiest course to follow. But burying your head in the sand and not facing this inevitable question will mean you have not met your ultimate destiny as ordained by your higher power by whatever name you call it. As matters of the Spirit are difficult to prove using the scientific method it must not be true and therefore, we shouldn’t consider it.  Maybe you say; “If I can’t touch, feel, see, or hear it; it doesn’t exist. This is the materialistic view that science has used to keep everyone under their control and keeping them on their self-imposed pedestal. Now I’m not anti-science; I consider myself a scientist, but I believe there are area’s where science can only muddy the water. Spirit/Soul may be just such an area of inquiry. 

    Then there are those who sincerely believe that their religion teaches that Karma and reincarnation are a viewpoint of another religion and therefore, not true and if we wish to go to the promised land we must not fall to the temptation of inquiring into other viewpoints. This is the thinking that has caused so much grief throughout history. Religion should be a personal quest; we must each earnestly search for what has meaning for life to each of us. When you find your own belief structure be willing to change as you mature and evolve, but remember that everyone else has the same right to their own search. You will notice the title says “worthy of consideration”. These are my views and I offer them only if you wish to consider them to form your own philosophy. All I ask is that whatever you believe if it fits within your personal odyssey in life then Great, go for it. If you haven’t found this philosophy that works for you then I hope you will start the search now. You will be much happier for the effort expended. 

    If however, you want to seek answers to the many ” Why’s” you will face in this lifetime and thereby lead a fulfilling life content in the feeling that all is well with the world; then you must confront these basis concepts. You must arrive at a determined answer that give meaning and sense to your life. One way to begin the journey into recognizing the real spiritual you is to mediate about it. In the quiet of your mind and heart the answers will come to you. You must start though with an open mind so your spirit guide can communicate with you. You have to listen to that still small voice that is within each of us. 

    Let me help by giving you some “food for thought” as a starting point for your meditation. Remember I’m not trying to condemn if you don’t believe as I do; all I really want you to do is to seriously search for the answer that will fit you and make sense to you in your life. Thereby, making your sojourn on this planet a happy and fulfilling experience. Don’t start with any preconceived ideas; what works for you is what is important. 

    The Bible says; “As a man soweth, so shall he reap”. I can’t imagine a better description to explain why we must understand and consider Karma. Nature/God/Cosmos/Life all are ruled by the laws of Cause and Effect. Ever since man began to seek answers to his world he has known that every cause always has an effect or result. And under the laws of Physics that result will always be the same. We were given “free will” so we have the choice; we can choose the result we want then our challenge in life is to determine and follow the path that will bring us our desired goal (result). We each make hundreds of free choices every day and the results of those choices will manifest itself in our lives. Maybe not immediately but eventually. Hence, this is the fact on which the concept of Karma evolved.  The choice is ours but we also have to bear the consequences of those choices. We are always reliving the results of choices we have made before. 

    So, if you don’t like your world, don’t blame the world, God, your neighbor, the system or anyone else; just quietly in your time of meditation seek the answer to “when did I first make the choice to have this result?” Obviously, if you made the choice to begin with, you can also make the choice to change it; and thereby change your Karma. You can’t change the past, Karma has taken care of that, you will have to accept your Karma, but you can control your future. The choice is yours to make. 

    Now in the Law of Karma there is no mention that the results of choices are immediate. We can’t say “Oh dear I goofed, let me take my punishment and get on to something with a happy ending.” What we need to do is to understand the lessons from that poor choice which put negative credits in our  Karma bank account and then make some positive choices to balance out that negative debit. You will have a successful and happy life if your Karma account remains in a positive position. Remember, death does not close out the bank account. Because you are never in a zero position. Hence, you need reincarnation to reap the results of your bank account during this lifetime.