If you believe in karma does that make you spiritual or religious?

I believe in karma, so I do not do bad things no matter whether I will get caught or not. No lying, no cheating, no gossiping, etc... I even feel if I have terrible thoughts about someone else I will be paid back in some way by the karma that will come back to me.

Does that make me spiritual?

I don't know.

Because karma to me is the energy exchange we have with our environment and all that reside in it, I think of it as more scientific than spiritual. But it can't be verified so that takes the proof out of the equation.

Do you believe in karma?

Is not karma merely accountability....conscious and unconscious accountability for every thought and action?

....and with that accountability comes the KNOWLEDGE?


I am not up for either religious or spiritual connotations and definitions...I prefer it being merely a human trait....and a universal truth.

Like the way Jess puts it.

Karma.....YES

things are going to happen weather you are good or bad...not to take away from dragoness's thought process, being a good person is never a bad thing, but i belive "karma" was invented by people trying to rationalize why bad things happen. i was reading an article about a two and a half year old that was run over by a moose. how would karma apply to that? so in a sense, a belief in karma would imply a spiritual thought process, a higher power that makes things even.

hmmmm....I guess it is the APPLIED belief of karma....depending on belief structures....a possible religious/spiritual spin on karma would be something like... the 2 and a half year old's parents were not being attentive and protective of their child, and as a CONSEQUENCE the child was harmed....THEIR karma as consciously deciding to have a child, and therefore protectors of that child...neglecting their role, their child's safety, they and the child wear the consequences of their actions or inactions....

(possible?)

I believe that Karma is the universal principle that guides our life. Its the great equalizer, It affects us whether we believe in it or not. I also believe in manifest destiny, and that the two are linked. For whatever that makes me

i thought of that too, but all i could think of is why punish an innocent child for something that had nothing to do with the child?
how could the parents protect the child from an act of randomness?
random events always happen, hence the saying:
"being at the wrong place at the wrong time."
consequences for one's actions and inaction's is not really karma is it? if you run a red light and get hit by a car, is that actually karma or something that is bound to happen because your not following the rules?

so that would be a spiritual thought process?

I suppose so Moe...I think Im spiritual, but I dont suscribe to any "religion" I think Spiritual promotes harmony, And religion ( or the misuse of it) causes division. JMO of course.

A car accident....yes I see that as randomness..however, your first example was a moose!...they errr...aren't tiny tiptoey stealthy creatures....I see that as ineptness on the parent's part.

i can't disagree, a two year old needs to be watched all the time,
but the article didn't really give any information on anything but saying it was a freak accident. the boy is ok though. and it is something that you don't hear everyday...lol

just a small part of your overall sweetness...

Thanks Moe. Maybe Im a flower child in my soul but peace, love, grooviness yaknow?

Actually the two year old learned his first lesson of nature. Animals will protect themselves. Maybe he is too young to appreciate it though. His parent weren't too young, they learned it.

That isn't karma at all. That is like you said being at the right place at the right time to experience nature.

lol probably his parents learned more than he did.. but at least he is ok

'Karma' is irrelevant. There are only three forms of discipline, and 'karma' isn't one of them. (1) SELF-Discipline; (2) OTHER-PEOPLE Discipline, and (3) UNIVERSE Discipline.

If a two-year old crawls onto the window ledge of a 10th-floor apartment, it will likely fall to its death because it's too young to apply SELF discipline. If, on other hand, its mother sees it and rescues it from the ledge, it lives because of OTHER-PEOPLE Discipline. If, in the next case, the mother doesn't re-enter the room in time, the baby slips and falls to its death as a result of the application of UNIVERSE Discipline. No 'karma' required.

So I guess some say spiritual some say not.

I just see it as the universal flow of energy, we put out a certain kind, hateful or loving and it will return to us someday. So the more positive and good we are the more of that energy we will have returned to us. It is a continuous transfer of energy from all living things.

So there is no "force" of judgment, it is just the ebb and flow of what we ourselves emit and receive.

That is how I feel it is.

Belief in Karma doesn't make you spiritual or religious. Being spiritual, religious or philosophical might make you believe in Karma.

Christianity, a religion, doesn't proscribe to Karma. Buddism, a philosophy, does, the two aren't exclusive and many are both, if they believe in karma it is likely evidence of their philosophy, not their religion. If a Christian beleives in Karma but doesn't proscribe to any additional philosophy that does, that would a spiritual belief. If someone doesn't have a religious belief or philosophy that proscribes to karma, but they do, it'a also a spiritual belief.


Yes, I do, for all three reasons.

I still love that bumper sticker.

"My karma ran over my dogma"