Positive energy
What, if any, is the relationship between the law of attraction and cultivating positive energy and the idea that we create our own reality and karma?
I have many years ago independently come to believe that we do, in fact create our own reality and that on which we focus our attention and interest we attract to ourselves. Simultaneously, I struggle with this idea, probably because I have been a social worker in the field of child welfare and an activist for peace and justice for many years. I cannot resolve this concept with the abuse of children, or children who contract deadly diseases, or who starve to death. Thank you. - Rocci Hildum
Nagapriya responds:
Although the idea that we ‘create our own reality’ may be popular, even among Buddhists, this notion requires qualification. A traditional Buddhist view might suggest that we are born into this world owing to previous karma but this does not mean that everything that then happens in it is a direct result of our previous karma; that would be deterministic. It may be more useful to think of our world as co-created and to regard our experiences as interdependent. One of the consequences of this is that others can impinge on our lives for good or ill. The fact that someone may harm us, or that we may catch a disease, need not necessarily mean that we ‘deserve’ this outcome, only that we live in a world where such things are possible.
While our conduct is likely to influence how others relate to us, it does not fully determine this. For instance, a generous person may well attract reciprocity, but also fall prey to exploitation. This exploitation may not result from their past bad actions but more from the fact that some people are good at spotting a free meal ticket. At the same time, our karma will play a role in determining how we deal with any potential exploiter.
I think that if we want a good index of the kind of person we are, we need only look around: who are our closest friends? What is our partner like? What are our kids like? Our interpersonal relationships should tell us a lot about the kind of life we are living. But no matter how compassionate we may be, we are still susceptible to illness, death, and many other unwelcome outcomes that are endemic to the human condition. Moreover, our very compassion may attract us to situations of great suffering, not because we deserve to suffer, but because we want to alleviate it.
