Karmic Clearing, Kundalini, and Grace

Be sure to check out Lisa’s new book and corresponding web seminar, both of which include tools relevant to this article.

Karmic clearing is one of the topics I am asked about the most often, and with us emerging from Mercury retrograde and Scorpio Sun over the next few day (both energies conducive to karmas arising in order to be cleared) I thought it was a good time to write about it. I mostly stay away from the word ‘karma’ in my teachings and writings because it has become so widely used with many different interpretations. It is a complicated subject, with volumes of intricate teachings within Eastern wisdom traditions covering the types and intensities of karmas based on whether they are generated by action, thought or word, and based on our level of regret or attachment.

I find that within the framework of the energy body, when most people use the word ‘karma’ what they are really referring to is closer to the Eastern idea of ‘samskaras’ – longstanding reactive patterns embedded deep in the psyche that feel like they play out over and over. They may play out externally, for example as a pattern of choosing the same kind of romantic partner or work situation, with the same kinds of issues arising repeatedly, even though initially each partner or job seems completely different. Or they may play out more internally, as a particular anxiety or weight of unworthiness that feels like it is always there, even when we had thought we had overcome it, but then come to realize it is still driving us.

If we are involved in any kind of personal growth, healing, or spiritual path we are likely working to change these patterns moment by moment through developing our awareness of them. These patterns define our ‘default’ when responding and reacting to the world. Through self-awareness and mindfulness we enable ourselves to override these defaults, to see them as we are triggered, and choose a different response. But that’s not easy. We often feel we are taking one step backwards to move two forward (if we’re lucky!) We have to be very vigilant to create the ‘space’ between our default reaction and our normal response, so we have time to choose something different. That space is a reflection of Source (by whatever name you choose to use for this) – it is the space in which we are free, not defined by our past conditioning, able to choose.

Working at the level of our energy body has a lot to offer because we can speed this process by loosening or even liberating patterns where they are stored as root structures in our karmic body. Although there are many different mappings of the levels of our energy bodies, using the simple three level one I laid out in my Chakra Levels posts, these kinds of patterns are stored deep down in the second level. We can deconstruct these patterns through various kinds of energy work and modalities, replacing them with new healthier patterns (an upgrade!), or in some cases just deconstructing them with no need to replace them, as they are just blocking the light. When this happens the natural light at the center of each chakra, at the heart of our entire being, shines through unobstructed. This kind of deconstruction is usually what is referred to as karmic clearing in energy work – deconstructing and/or replacing deep-seated negative thought or emotional patterns at the energy body level.

But we can also go about changing these patterns another way – by bringing light straight through from the innermost level of the chakras. This kind of light, the kundalini, liberates us. It is like a light bath, clearing obstructions as it flows through. Meditations and practices designed to activate the flow of kundalini function in this way, and while it is usually talked about in terms of rising from the root up, in fact kundalini can flow through from the innermost level of any chakra. Sometimes the effects are jarring in the short term, as issues may rise to the surface for us to deal with on some other level first – mind or body, internal or external – before we can truly let go of the deeper issue. These physical or psychological ‘symptoms’ are like messages encouraging us to pay attention, and clear on a more profound level.

There’s a third way these patterns can be rewritten or released, and this is through grace. Grace can really be seen as a spontaneous kundalini experience, and depending on your spiritual beliefs you may view grace as a gift from the divine, a deity, or a teacher. In any case the experience of grace is as a gift – a gift of light dissolving and embracing you, taking what is unneeded or causing you pain, and showing you the true light of your own being in the process.

Whether spontaneous grace or sought through practice, when the light moves through us it can bring about remarkable change very quickly. Near death experiences or spiritual epiphanies from which someone emerges forever changed are examples of the light literally remaking someone from within. Old negative patterns can disappear overnight. Most of the time though, change happens more gradually even when the kundalini is involved. We heal and awaken over time, becoming more and more immersed in the light, with the experience of many stops and starts.

Whether from karmic clearing, kundalini rising, or grace, when karmic patterns are loosened or released at a deep level of our energetic structure, we have a profound opportunity to transform – and we often have trouble taking advantage of this. It’s not uncommon to feel like we have made a profound shift, or experienced a deep realization, for several days (or even weeks or months) only to later revert back, lapsing into our old patterns. What pulls us back? What keeps us from letting go of the past?

The reasons are often individual, but here’s a few of the most common beliefs or issues that can cause us to reverse a shift:

• Viewing karma as punitive. Our entire culture is based on reward and punishment, starting from when we are young children seeking our parents’ approval and continuing through into most school and work environments. In addition, most religions have some version of divine ‘reward’ and ‘punishment’ written into their theology (at least at the exoteric level.) Until we have truly let go of this, we are likely to have difficulty accepting and allowing light to remake us because we believe we must pay for our mistakes, and this never feels ‘done.’ Feelings of unworthiness are often a reflection of this belief, rooted in the sense we ‘deserve’ to feel bad or even that we are intrinsically bad. Releasing this whole structure, the entire idea of a universal reward and punishment system, is key to allowing the light to remake you. You deserve not by virtue of what you have or have not done, but simply because you are. You are light.

 

• Denying the body and pysche. So often spirituality and spiritual healing are presented as a transcendence of the body and ego. The whole idea of ‘self-improvement’ is founded upon the belief there is something ‘wrong’ we need to fix. Most people feel there is something wrong with their body or ego. If you’ve experienced trauma, especially physically-based trauma such as physical abuse or sexual abuse, patterns of disassociating from the body may come into play as well, and can play out on very subtle levels. Embracing the body and psyche as that which awakens and heals – rather than as that which must be overcome to do so – is key. Then the shifts can filter all the way through from the innermost core of our being, the most subtle level of light, into the densest level – our body. This is NOT to say however that disease or illness is a sign we are blocking the light – that is a terrible form of victim-blaming. Physical issues are much too complex to reduce to this. But embracing our body in whatever its state recognizes that the light comes through no matter what, it is not dependent upon our health (though often our health will be positively impacted.)

 

• We don’t practice what we’ve realized. When we have a spiritual realization or dissolution into light, we have to continue to reinforce it. If it has released a deep-seated pattern or belief, we have to be very vigilant and let any residual thoughts or emotions reminiscent of it go, and repeat this consciously for awhile before the pattern entirely dies. And we have to practice bringing the light back through us too! Even in cases of grace, it’s important to engage in something that will help you maintain that connection and grace stream, and allow it to continue to work its magic on you.

 

• We’re afraid. We often cling to our old habits even when they are hurting us because they are familiar, and we fear the unknown more than anything. This is when reminding yourself of what you are gaining, rather than what you are losing, is so important. More freedom, ease, joy, love, calm, wisdom – these are what arise when the light comes through us, and when an obstruction to it is cleared. Cultivate and rest in these. Allow them to complete the work for you.

Wishing you much success in completing whatever shifts have arisen for you so far this season. May they complete as we reach the Solstice and year end, and may you know yourselves as light always.