After thousands of hours studying yoga teacher training and yoga philosophy, I understand karma very differently than how it's often described. I don't see karma as something we're earning or paying off from a past life, or as a system of rewards and punishments for "good" or "bad" behavior. To me, karma is about lessons carried forward—patterns, insights, and unfinished learning that continue across lifetimes. It's not moral bookkeeping. It's evolution. An action rooted in karma, in my understanding, is one done in good faith and selfless kindness, without expectation of outcome or recognition. One example that stays with me is when I taught yoga for free at a halfway house for women newly sober. Many of them had never been exposed to yoga and likely never would have been. Watching their faces as they realized their bodies could move in ways they didn't think possible—feeling breath, strength, and presence—was profoundly moving. There was joy, surprise, and a sense of reclaiming something that had felt lost. That experience was fulfilling not because I "earned" good karma, but because it felt aligned. It felt like participating in something larger than myself—offering access, dignity, and embodiment where it hadn't existed before. For me, developing good karma isn't about being good. It's about showing up with sincerity, humility, and service—and trusting that the lesson unfolds from there.
Hi there, I'm Jeanette Brown, a relationship and leadership coach in my 60s. In my world, "good karma" isn't mystical points in the sky. It's what happens when you leave people and places a little better than you found them, especially when nobody is watching. One way I try to build good karma is practicing repair. If I've been sharp, distracted, or unfair, I don't wait for time to soften it. I return and I name it. A simple, clean apology. A changed behavior. I've seen over and over that the universe feels less hostile when you stop leaking unfinished business into it. Years ago, I mishandled a conversation with someone I cared about. I didn't yell, I didn't explode. I did the more socially acceptable thing. I went cold. I told myself I was "protecting my peace," but really I was avoiding discomfort. It came back around. Mutual friends felt the tension. Opportunities dried up. The relationships around it got tighter and smaller. That was "bad karma" to me. Not punishment, just consequence. The "good karma" version was when I finally reached out, owned my part without defending it, and asked what repair would actually help. It didn't fix everything overnight, but it changed something in me. The next months felt oddly lighter. New connections appeared. Old ones softened. The best part was internal. I stopped carrying the weight of my own avoidance. If I could give one practical principle, it's this: be the kind of person who cleans up after themselves emotionally. Keep your promises. Speak honestly. Make amends quickly. Do one quiet act of kindness each day that you do not announce. That's how I understand karma, as a lived practice, not a belief. Thank you for considering my perspective! Cheers, Jeanette Brown Founder of JeanetteBrown.net
I was raised in a mixed Ashkenazi Jewish and Buddhist-influenced household, so conversations around karma came up often--but in different ways. One idea that stuck with me was the notion that your intentions carry as much weight as your actions. In my own life, I've found that clean, honest intent--especially in moments where it'd be easier to cut corners--has consistently led to better outcomes, even if not immediately. One example was early in our R&D process at Happy V. We had an opportunity to speed up a formulation by using a cheaper, low-grade ingredient that still technically met legal requirements. It wouldn't have raised any red flags on a label. But the science didn't back it, and it didn't align with our commitment to efficacy. Walking away from that option felt difficult short-term, but it deepened trust with our partners and medical advisors, and ultimately led to a better product. For me, that's what good karma looks like: the compounding return of choosing integrity over convenience.
I was raised with Eastern Orthodox Christian roots, where the idea of "karma" isn't explicit, but the principle of reaping what you sow is deeply embedded--what you put into the world eventually comes back. One practice I've kept is being fair and transparent in team decisions, especially when something goes wrong. I've seen this build real trust among engineers, which later pays off when deadlines get tight--they stay committed because they know I've got their back. As for personal testimony: I've rushed code to meet a deadline before, knowing it wasn't tested properly, and it came back to haunt me with a production outage. That experience taught me: shortcuts might buy time today, but they cost you tomorrow. Clean code and honest collaboration might not get headlines, but they quietly accumulate good "karma" every sprint.
Developing positive karma by compassionate activity and deliberate intention is one of the most effective strategies. In many spiritual traditions, especially those with roots in Eastern philosophy, karma is influenced by our intention and energy as much as our actions. We serve society as a whole when we behave honorably, generously, and with genuine regard for other people. I have personally witnessed how even seemingly innocuous gestures of compassion can have unexpected ripple effects, and instances of impatience or ego tend to resurface as opportunities for personal development.
Personal Development Expert | AIPA Method Creator at Senad Dizdarevic
Answered 24 days ago
Karmic Organization created a false karma system to manipulate humans on planets. They were the creators of all incarnational scripts for enforced incarnations of humans from the higher planets to humans from the lower planets. The karmicons, karmic cons, determined in advance, even 100 and more years before the birth, everything. E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. From the first breath to the last word. That means that there is no karma in play, good or bad, as our lives were fully predetermined, including "good" or "bad" karma. You are good, but only if they made you good. You are bad because they forced you to be bad. Part of their manipulation was a heinously promoted karma system encouraging people to fight for good karma, and even to try to win an incarnational lottery with a better life in the next incarnation. For the time being, the only way you can at least change a little bit of incarnational script for your life, and gain "good karma", is, to awaken into Pure Awareness. Your body, place of living, and some other things will stay the same, but you will be a different person with a completely changed core identity. By the karmic yin-yang formula, everybody was a mixture of good and bad personal characteristics. Good in the morning, bad in the afternoon. With a new, and aware personality, you erase all karmically predetermined and enforced bad characteristics, keep only the good ones, and add even better ones. You learn to use your mind and stop it at will. At stabilization, you exit the mind permanently and move to Pure Awareness forever. As a Being of Pure Awareness, Love, and Wisdom, you live in inner silence, peace, and bliss. For awakening into Pure Awareness, use my AIPA Method. Read more here: AIPA Method for Personal Development: Awakening Into Pure Awareness for Ultimate Self-Realization - Review and Comparison, https://www.letterstopalkies.com/aipa-method-for-personal-development-awakening-into-pure-awareness-for-ultimate-self-realization-review-and-comparison/ Senad Dizdarevic Senad Dizdarevic is a journalist, personal development expert, and author of the AIPA Method, specializing in Awakening Into Pure Awareness, faith deconstruction, and identity reconstruction for religious believers, ex-Christians, atheists, and self-development practitioners seeking profound inner transformation.
Even if it's small, give back what you borrow. In my family, negative karma usually starts when people don't pay attention. You borrow something and don't remember to give it back. You say you'll be there, but you don't show up. These things aren't crimes, but they do wear people out. To get positive karma, you need to keep your word. If someone lends you something, give it back in better form. If you say you'll help, do it. I sent a thank-you card with a book back to an old teacher years ago. He suggested me for a project that changed my career months later. That was a surprise to me. But I think people remember the ones that do modest tasks. The universe might, too. It's not about being flawless. It's about being reliable for other people. That's where the nice stuff builds up.