The purpose of each soul’s incarnation into physical form, is to grow, to evolve – and to overcome any karma it incurred in prior lifetimes. It is always the soul’s choice to return to its human body, with the objective of soul expansion. You are always given choices. But understanding how your choices affect your lived experience is fundamental to the concept of karma.

The Universal Law of Cause and Effect gives you the power to create choices in your life that support you. In other words, what you cause a person to experience will be what you will experience. This is the foundation of karma.

In the East, there is karma. In the West, we understand it as the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Not only for the sake of avoiding karma and the lessons that come with it but simply because the goal of your being here is to ‘do the right thing.’

It is important to understand that you create your karma. Karma can be the kind that supports you or it can be the sort where lessons must be learned, to correct the energy imbalance. This is how the soul returns to wholeness. The Universe seeks balance, in all of life. But when we hate, judge, resent, ostracize or harm others, we become fragmented, moving away from our true essence as full, expansive beings of light. And when you know this, you can consciously choose words, thoughts and actions that support the evolution of your soul.

Your intention is what determines whether or not there is an uneven energy exchange. An intention is the reason behind the action. It is the use of your will. In other words, what is your reason for saying, thinking or doing something? Is there an intention to feel superior in your relationships or do you strive for equality in your interactions? Are you reactive, argumentative and impulsive when you communicate or do you aim for peace and harmony? Is there a lack of empathy, even when others experience misfortune, pain or challenge in life or do you instead choose the path of compassion?

You are the masterful creator of your life, as you create your reality with your intentions. Because of this, no two people have the same lived reality. Everything is made of energy, just as you too are a being of Light. And through your consciousness, you shape Light. This is how you have the power to create. So, if you are angry, jealous, vindictive, and intolerant, this will be your lived reality. The Universe then gives you experiences to support your intentions.

Your intentions are the non physical causes that create all of your experiences. The more you grow in awareness of your intentions and your experiences, the more aware you will be of the connection between them. And with this greater awareness, you then have the opportunity to consciously choose experiences you want in life.

Your intentions shape your physical reality. And as a collective, we are evolving from five sensory beings (ie.. depending on the five senses – sight, smell, taste, touch, feel) for survival to multi sensory beings (i.e.. relying on five senses and knowledge of nonphysical beings that support human existence) that are here to embrace love. The more in touch we are with our multi sensory evolution as a species, is the greater our understanding of our interconnectedness to all that is and our impact on the collective.

By choosing loving intentions (i.e.. unity, peace, acceptance, compassion) instead of those that arise from fear (i.e.. impatience, intolerance, indifference, envy) you then become the creator of joyful karma, rather than painful karma. Karma is our greatest teacher. It teaches us that we must take responsibility for the intentions we choose. This is a lesson that is learned at a soul’s own unique pace. And with each choice you make (with an intention behind it) makes more experiences for you that can either bring more love into your life or added pain. It is always a choice.

When you choose to align with the Light of your soul, instead of your ego, you then begin to create a life that is aligned with your soul, rather than your personality. When you align with your soul, this is true power. Arguing, criticizing, blaming or shaming others is an indication that the soul feels disempowered. But when you are able to exercise peace and harmony as a way of being in your life, this is authentic empowerment. This is how you create karma that supports your soul’s growth and evolution.

When you choose intentions of love, you recreate your own heaven on earth, nirvana, as you live in an enlightened state, creating one miraculous moment after the next, void of karmic debt. All that your soul experiences (i.e.. challenges, heartbreak, abuse, trauma) happens for you. These experiences are what your soul asked to go through, for its growth. This is the true purpose of your return. And when you can look at your ex-husband, a boss, co-worker or parent with eyes of compassion, regardless of the pain you feel they brought you, this is true self-mastery. This is a soul transformed. And your karma is balanced.

Very often, our present life experiences reflect our actions from our past lives. If there is abuse, it is likely you were the abuser in another lifetime. If there is infidelity, there is a high likelihood you were unfaithful in a previous lifetime. Or if it is a lesson in self-love, you might have struggled with loving yourself in your past lives. Every lesson you face is here for you to master. In this way, you return to wholeness, the true essence of the soul.

When you come across the outcome of a choice that you created, you then have an opportunity to choose another intention. When you choose the same intentions, you choose the same consequences. In choosing different intentions, you create different karma. No soul is exempt from this process.

Through compassionate life experiences, the Universe gives you opportunities to balance the energy of your soul. In every interaction, there must be an even exchange of energy. If your intention is not balanced with that of your neighbor, this creates karmic imbalance. It moves you further from the nature of your soul.

For example, if you were to judge someone for how they choose to dress, this will result in karma. You might experience situations where you face judgment. The Universe is providing you with an opportunity to recognize you are out of alignment with the energy of your soul and can instead, choose a more loving intention. Every thought, word and action has a frequency. Your aim must be to choose all of your intentions with wisdom.

Any karma that is not resolved in this lifetime, carries over into future lifetimes, if your soul chooses to return. The karma of your soul determines the traits of your personality at birth, including your intentions. When your personality reacts to the consequences of its intentions, additional karma is created for the soul. This continues until you choose to change your intentions. A shift in consciousness is necessary to do so. And in changing your intentions from fear to love, you change your karma.

You can test this out for yourself. If you find yourself criticizing, judging or reacting negatively to others (ie.. spouse, children, co-workers, etc.) look for the end result. Your actions might create a distance between yourself and those in relationship with you – and this separateness could extend to your other relationships. This is energy in motion. Every action comes with a consequence.

See what plays out for you. Is there a pattern that you see in the situations that arise or the people that enter into your life? These are lessons that surface for you to overcome a fundamental lesson your soul needs for its growth. It might be a lesson in choosing peace, equality, compassion or restraint.

There is also a collective karma that exists. Karmic memory is shared, as a family, community, nation – and the human race. Karma is the memory of Life. For all of creation to come into being, there must be a memory of Life. Karma is a memory system and the actions of the collective done around you will impact you.

Women are ridiculed, stigmatized, violated and mistreated every day. And this way of thinking and of being towards women spreads like wildfire, through the collective, creating a collective karmic debt. The stigmatizing of women affects society as a whole. And its effects are felt for generations.

You can change your personal karma and the karma of the collective by adopting a more wholesome way of being. When you choose to become more mindful of your thoughts, words and actions, you shift your level of consciousness from a lower frequency to a higher vibration. This impacts your life and the lives of those around you – and it releases the whole of humankind from the memory of actions that took place lifetimes before.

As you begin to elevate and become more pure in your attitudes and practices, you will naturally have a positive impact on those close to you. We can change the world by changing the self. Change always begins with you. Let us create karma that will serve us in our powers of creation. And may our efforts be felt not only in our present lives but in generations to come.