So many of my clients go into a regression with some fear about finding out what karmic issues they are working on in this life. They assume it must be something “bad” and uncovering it will be a painful experience. Some take on a victim mentality–that something was done TO them by someone else, rather than the other way around, that they did something to someone that they are atoning for now. The truth is, karma is neither good nor bad. It is merely cause and effect–the reap what you sow philosophy of life. It’s about bringing balance into your life. And while some karma may be perceived as painful or cringe-worthy to remember, it is important to understand that karma is not about what was done TO you. It’s about what it does FOR you.

What do I mean by that? Well, let me give you an example from my own life. Back in 1993 while I was still living in Illinois, I met a woman that I later discovered played an integral role in the lifetime we shared in 18th century Virginia, which coincidentally, was the one we were both working on in this life. In our former life, (and later we discovered we had many former lives together) we were very much in love but our circumstances were such that nothing could come of it. This is going to sound like some sleazy romance novel, but it’s true. In the prior life, she was a he, and can best be described as a wealthy diplomat. I was enslaved and owned by his best friend who, in his own way, loved me as well. I’d later find out that our little triad had existed in many prior lives, with each of us taking turns as to who was more in the forefront.

She and I were re-introduced in this life by a mutual friend who was a past-life therapist and was privy to our 18th century lifetimes. When she realized that we may have known each other in that life, she thought it would be a good idea if we met. And the rest, as they say, is history. We were instantly drawn to each other, and despite the fact that we were both heterosexual females in this life, when we were together people commented that we gave off the “vibe” of a couple, and that was true enough because our past-life energy was that strong. But it was hard to hold on to that energy when the universe had something else in mind. As time went on, many of our unresolved karmic issues began to surface. She often would take on the persona of her former male personality with that same air of ego-centric superiority “he” had before. No matter how I struggled to get on equal footing, she continually related to me as the dependent enslaved mistress. As we underwent multiple regressions, and through my soul writing efforts, we got deeper  into our past-life personas and in doing so, brought to the surface multiple karmic issues that began repeating and ultimately interfering in our current relationship. For me, I had to contend with an odd combination of intense love coupled with intense pain. As she continued with her slights and hurtful treatment, my family and friends began questioning why I’d continue a relationship with someone who caused me so much pain. Why indeed? I could plainly see she was doing her best to keep her thumb down on me, taking credit for any success that came my way. She did nothing to help me break free of the bondage of that prior life. Instead, she held it over me. As a result, my love for her became my prison. This went on for years until I reached a point where I could not take it anymore. I ended our friendship and went about building a life without her in it.

Once the decision to break free of my own karmic bondage was made, I slowly began to see success in my professional life that I had only dreamed about before. I realized this level of success would not have been possible had she remained in my life. While we reconciled more than once, inevitably those old issues came up–despite her assurances she had worked on herself and had overcome them. Not so from my perspective.

So while I still hold a tremendous amount of love in my heart for her on a soul level, I know our relationship in this life occurred in order to set me free. It wasn’t about all those things she did TO me in either life. It was about all the things she did that were ultimately FOR me. They were FOR my awakening. They were FOR my belief in myself. They were FOR the development of my self-reliance and the blossoming of my authentic self. I will be forever grateful for the gift my soul mate gave me because I know, on a soul level, she did all of that out of love to help me finally reclaim my freedom.

Think now of someone in your life, or some circumstance that arose in your life, that ultimately led to a shift in your consciousness. If you can recall the originating event in a prior life, you may, at first glance, sense it was something that was done TO you. But was it really? Look at your life now. Look at where that event, or those people, led you to in the here and now. When you see this, you will realize, it was really something done FOR you and not TO you. Thus is the real gift of karmic resolution.