Karma, Again

Intension:  Something done on purpose; something specifically designed or thought out; planned.

"As we intend and then act, we create karma; so another key to understanding the creation of karma is becoming aware of intension.  The intention or attitude that we bring to each situation of life determines the kind of karma that we create.  The intentions in our hearts are crucial.  When we pay attention, it becomes possible to become more aware of our intentions and the state of our hearts they arise in conjunction with the actions and speech that are our responses.  It is not possible to change the patterns of our behavior or create new karmic conditions until we become present and awake at the beginning of the action.  The development of awareness in meditation allows us to become mindful enough or conscious enough to recognize our heart and intentions as we go through the day."  

Jack Kornfield

A friend of mine brought up the fact that the intent behind the Seventh Step is that I humbly (humbly!) ask (a request!  not an order!) my Higher Power to remove the character defects that stand in the way of my usefulness to others.  It says nothing about all of our defects being removed or when they're going to be removed or if they're going to be removed at all.  When I talk to people in recovery I like to share struggles and difficulties that I have, persistent anxieties or shitty behaviors that I repeat over and over again.  I'm a lot better than I used to be.  I'm pretty good.  I'm not great, but pretty good is a lot better than I used to be and I still fall short every single day.  Anyway, I'm very familiar with the concept she referenced but it's a concept that I forget repeatedly.  This is one of the reasons I come to meetings - to be reminded of things that I know but have slipped my mind.  This morning I pick up my Daily Meditation book and that exact same phrase is the subject of the day's reading.  I laughed out loud.  I used to call these occurrences serendipity or a coincidence but I no longer think that way.  

To continue this withering message barrage that was striking me full-force the reading in my non-Alcoholics Anonymous book was all about karma.  Karma means "action."  I did not know that.  I placed the concept of karma into the Woo Woo category of concepts, kind of esoteric and mysterious and kind of bullshitty.  I understood karma to mean that if my behavior was bad in a previous life then I'm come back as sea slug or a mosquito or . . . well . . . Little Stevie Seaweed.  Now I understand it to mean that there is a constant, on-going interconnectedness in my world that I cannot see and can only dimly understand.