Tag Archives: Karma

Where has all the compassion, love and respect gone?


MP900427611Where has all the compassion, love and respect gone? People seem to be colder at heart and have only interest in themselves. Compassion is a key part of being human and respect is like the super lube of society. Without one or the other the world begins to become chaotic . Seems selfishness and the lack of respect for others is becoming the driving forces of the world we live in. Thing about selfishness is it is the seed to other things such as lust, greed, envy and vanity. I was brought up to respect elders, authority and have compassion for those who are less fortunate and in need. I was also taught that everyone is equal in the eyes of God and no person is greater than another. I never could see how anyone could find pleasure or some kind of satisfaction in causing physical or emotional pain to others. To help others and to make them smile or to make them laugh is the right path to follow and can be quite rewarding emotionally too.

MP900427738It seems Karma does exist in one form another, what you sow you shall reap and what you give you will get back seven fold. So when you show compassion it will be shown to you and when you give hate it will come back to you. It may take years but you always pay for both the good and bad you do in life. I just don’t understand why for some people being compassionate and carrying a heart of love is such a hard thing to do. Is it fear of being considered weak or the chance of being hurt by others? No matter how tough or how compassionate you are, you are going to be hurt from time to time in life its part of being human. It could be they have a deep wound or emotional pain blocking them from becoming what God had planned them to be. I wish everyone could be compassionate, understanding and full of kindness and we all could follow the teachings and examples god gave us through Jesus.

MP900289198There were many great prophets, philosophers and sages god gave man, he gave us great philosophies and examples to follow through them all. He just wants man to be kind, compassionate and forgiving towards each other. Far as the many branches on the tree of life and the many religions spawned on our planet, let each person choose their path and be good to one another. We all have freewill and the right to choose which religion and or faith we want to follow. We shouldn’t force our belief on others or judge them if they choose differently than ourselves. The judgment of who is right and or wrong is God’s alone, not that of man’s. We of different religions and faiths can get along and even be friends, I have many friends that are of different religions and faiths than myself and we have no hatred or distrust between us because of our differences of belief. We have respect for each others beliefs and live with each other in friendship and peace.

“ Learn from the wisdom of the old and the innocent truths of the young.”

Raymond Barbier

The life you live is yours to live as you choose


IMG_1077 There is two ways one can go through life, one is going through life reacting to everything and everyone. The other is to walk through life as an activist,this means basically  being the cause of events in your life not being the effect. You can either ride the waves made by others or make your own. The problem with riding others waves is you have no idea where you will wind up most of the time along with the fact your life will be at someone else’s mercy. Riding your own wave you at least know where you aimed to go and the results will be yours alone. A good example of riding other people’s waves is when you are around someone who is persistently grumpy you tend to reflect the same attitude over time. You could have chosen to be happy or blissful instead, you choose how you feel at any given time. Even in times that are bad you can choose not to let the circumstances to control your emotions.

Though sometimes one must allow the circumstance to control their emotions at least for a short period. Circumstances such as the death of a love one is one of those times. You must grieve in order to have closure and so you can move on. But this should be as short of time you can manage for grieving too long can become depression. For the most part though you are in charge of how and what you feel. This only so once you realize you can choose to act instead of react to the world around you. There are two schools of thought on life, one is the school of destiny and the other is the school of Karma. The first school Destiny is the ideal that all things are predetermined and that there is no freewill or choice in what happens or what your final destination will be. The school is Karma, the idea that each thought and or action you take is what determines the outcome of your life.

Karma is the school of thought that supports the idea of freewill and self-directed paths of life. This is the school of thought I tend to believe in since I do not believe that we are totally predestined nor that we are without freewill. I will set aside the fact maybe some things may be predestined to a point but still we can choose how, when and why that predestined event happens. But far as our final destination is life, that is solely our choice as well as how we live that life. Being an open-minded Christian by faith I can see the idea of karma to a degree playing out in our scriptures. Freewill is the gift god gave us and we are responsible for both the good and bad we bring into the world. The wage of sin is death and the wage of goodness/righteous living  is life.

The life you live is yours to live as you choose, no one person can deny you the right to be happy in life. Others can only influence you if you give them the power to do so. Do not allow others to kill your happiness nor allow them to push on you there negativity. You only live this life once so make it the happiest and most peaceful one you can.

Just Some Thoughts That Came to me, Right or Wrong they are mine to share.
Raymond Barbier

For the physical is self minded and the spiritual is selfless


p10234  There is always a constant battle going on within, the physical and the spiritual struggling for absolute control. The lack of balance within is what creates the power struggle and unless the balance between the physical and spiritual self is restored all will remain in chaos. Though the body may be considered nothing but the vehicle for the soul it is also our primary way to interact with the physical world. In the physical realm both the spirit and body are equally important and necessary for our existence. So balance of the two are essential to the fulfillment of our time in the physical world.

One should take care of their spiritual needs as well as the physical. The body needs food, exercise and rest and so does the soul. If you don’t feed your soul it will starve and if you don’t exercise it, it will become week and unhealthy. Even setting a day aside for you to put the spiritualistic aside to let it rest is good. Feed your soul the scriptures of the religion you follow and exercise the soul through following the rituals of your faith. Be it meditation, prayer, fasting or serving the less fortunate it does not matter as long as you do it with conviction and sincerity.

For the physical is self minded and the spiritual is selfless, so the balance of both is the key to living and the secret to being happy. Put more emphasis on the quality of what you have in life more so than the quantity, for materialism leads to a more self-centered than selfless life. Plus all the material wealth and possessions one has can be lost or stolen, the peace, love and happiness you possess can not be stolen only given away. The love you give away usually will return to you exponentially down the line and  it is not always returned from the one you gave it to.

Try not to judge others, but if you must do it so with a light heart for how you judge others is how one day you shall be judged in return. This is why compassion and understanding is a must in one’s life, for if you show compassion to others then you shall receive compassion likewise. It all boils down to the idea of karma or the old saying what comes around goes around. the idea of karma is supported by The third of Newton’s laws of motion of classical mechanics. The fact that forces always occur in pairs. Every action is accompanied by a reaction of equal magnitude but opposite direction pretty much sums it up.

Well enough of my Spiritual Nonsense for now.
Seek the truth (for yourself) and it shall set you free.

Raymond Barbier

Karma, Choose your words and actions wisely


Karma as action and reaction: if we sow goodne...
Image via Wikipedia

Everyday is a new beginning that brings with it another chance to change your life and the world you live in. The things you have done and said are now the past leaving you open to make better choices today. You must leave the poor choices of yesterday behind you along with the negative thought processes that can hold you back from progressing forward. Learn from both the mistakes and the good choices you have made in the past, so you can avoid the pitfalls of yesterday and embrace the fruits of your good decisions.

As both nature and science have proven that the actions one takes creates an equal reaction. Sometimes our actions can effect others around us greatly and other times it only effects us. We are responsible for our words and actions so we should think before we choose which action to take. The harm we can cause to others will eventually come back on us in one form or another. This is also true to the good we can do for those around us. Do good or evil and you will reap the rewards of the seeds you have sown.

This concept is known as karma, Karma is basically the idea that what comes around goes around. Here is a definition of karma from Wikipedia

“’Karma’ is an Indian religious concept in contradistinction to ‘faith’ espoused by Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), which view all human dramas as the will of God as opposed to present—and past—life actions. In theistic schools of Hinduism, humans have free will to choose good or evil and suffer the consequences, which require the will of God to implement karma’s consequences, unlike Buddhism or Jainism which do not accord any role to a supreme God or Gods. In Indian beliefs, the karmic effects of all deeds are viewed as actively shaping past, present, and future experiences. The results or ‘fruits’ of actions are called karma-phala.

So think before you say or do something, you never know what the consequences may be. Choose wisely and you will find good begets good.

Enough Rambling for now

Peace, Raymond Barbier

Right and Wrong, The Conflict within us all.


The Resurrection from Grünewald's Isenheim Alt...The conflicts we suffer within us are there to serve us by giving us eventual direction in life. Morality versus Self Gratification is usually the main conflict that stirs within our inner selves. To know what is right and wrong comes with penalties, Every selfish and inhumane action we have tends to carry a heavy cost with it. But in turn the selfless and compassionate actions too carry a reward if not sometimes a price. Though I would rather pay the price for doing what is right than for what is wrong, usually my selfishness gets in the way at times. The internal conflicts within us are basically the battle between right and wrong.

Being human sometimes it is very hard to decipher what is right or wrong because there are so many fine lines between the two. Usually as a rule is if it causes harm to another person then it is considered wrong, If it benefits the other person or everyone then it is considered good and or right. Though there are some situations that these rules would not and could not be applied and that is when I myself just try to find the least hurtful and or damaging choice. I try to live by the ideal that if you make others happy along with helping  them to the best of your ability while avoiding doing any kind of harm then you have chosen the right path. This includes ones own self, Respect is not to be a one way street and neither is compassion.

I guess the inner conflicts within us all will continue as long as we struggle to balance the needs and wants of the self with the needs and wants of others. Right and wrong, Good and evil are concepts mankind embraced in order to find a means in which to better society and help the progression of civilization.

The creator (GOD) gave us the code of conduct known as the ten commandments to help guide mankind to a better way of life and he also sent Jesus Christ as a teacher and savior. Jesus came to not only fulfill the law but to teach mankind forgiveness, compassion and the true spirit of love. He showed all of us by example his compassion towards the sick and the sinners he came across in his time here on earth, He taught us to forgive and to turn the other cheek along with to love one another.

To be selfish and without compassion is to allow yourself  to be surrounded by those whom have little regard for you or your survival. As the old saying goes “Birds of the same feather flock together”. So you will become surrounded by others who are much like yourself and you will be treated like that which you treat others. I also belive that if you do someone harm eventualy through a chain reaction the harm will come full circle back to you. This of course works with compassion and selfless acts,they also will come around in full circle eventually. This is the concept of karma and  the only problem with Karma is sometimes its instant and sometimes it takes a lifetime, but eventually what comes around does go around. So I guess there is wisdom in the old saying " Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’".

Well enough of my Ramblings for today
May peace fill your heart and compassion be your guide.
Raymond Barbier