https://enlighteninglife.com/persecution-karmaBefore I start this article and podcast I want to caution you that I will be blunt and direct. This is not a nice or an easy topic and I take issue with people who abuse their power and authority, especially in the spiritual community, to take advantage of others.
I see it all of the time, smart, talented, spiritually competent people who have wonderful and powerful gifts to share with the world are stuck, procrastinating, anxious, confused, doubtful of their abilities, and are afraid to step forward. It is not entirely their fault because there is a very strong incentive for them to hide instead of shining brightly, to fear the consequences of sharing from their highest self, of being public and out in the open. They are afraid of the consequences that include betrayal, judgment, persecution, and worse. It’s a very real fear with a very real foundation. And it’s time to address our persecution karma.
You know that this lifetime is one of many and if you are present here today as a spiritual teacher you have powerful gifts to share with the world. The problem is you have been down this path before, often with terrible consequences. You have known persecution from people you trusted and loved, you have been reviled, defiled, judged, imprisoned, and worse. You have lost everything, had everything taken from you, been imprisoned, seen others persecuted, judged, and betrayed for their association with you. The persecution fear is real but the question today is not ‘will it happen again’ but when does it stop limiting you?
In order to address our persecution karma we return in each lifetime and we bring our persecutors along for the ride. Our objective is not to be persecuted yet again, but to change their actions and to heal the relationship. We want to bring them to another level where they do not persecute us and to end this karma. It sounds good in theory but the reality is often much different, as you know.
In this lifetime in particular, because it is the lifetime in which we have decided that we will end our karma, we have chosen our most powerful and strongest persecutors to accompany us so that we can end this persecution karma and really shine brightly. That was the plan. Instead, we have become victims to their power plays, jealousy, meanness, judgment, and power schemes yet again.
Now our perspective of persecution karma is that we experience it in our family and with partners and friends and that is partly true. But what about the other types of persecution karma? Have you ever had someone you worked with do their best to discredit you or get you fired? Have you been betrayed by the friend who stole your partner or someone you cared for? Have you ever been let down, judged, or been attacked by a spiritual teacher or mentor? These are all forms of persecution karma too. Let’s take a look at this life milestone energy and the millstone it presents us with.
There are different ways we experience our persecution karma in our lives today, from our family, from those we put our trust in, and from our own spiritual community.
Unfortunately for those with the persecution karma, the experience begins in the family, in childhood. The time of our life when we expect to be surrounded by love, support, generosity, and kindness, is often just the opposite. If our soul mission is so important in this lifetime, wouldn’t we want the best possible foundation for it and have a loving, supportive family? You would think that would be the case and it isn’t. But we do get a chance to get a firsthand experience of our persecution karma and that is how our spiritual learning in this lifetime begins.
How many of you had parents who did their best to silence you, to dim your light, to destroy your confidence and treat you as an outsider? I know many of you and this is your story too.
Since family is our first experience of our lifetime karma then it makes sense that this is where we will experience our persecution karma. It expresses itself in many different ways. How many of you had a jealous, critical or domineering parent? Probably most of you.
How many of you did not feel welcome, integrated, or aligned with your immediate and extended family? Probably most of you.
How many of you were seen as the outsider or the ‘different’ one by your family? Probably most of you.
How many of you knew intuitively that you could not shine your light or be powerful and successful because that would be a source of persecution and judgment by your family? Probably most of you.
How many of you had a mother, father, or sibling who saw you as a rival and was in constant competition with you? Probably many of you.
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