Changing your Karma

They say your karma is responsible for your good and bad luck. If life is good for you then your actions, speech and thoughts are good. If life isn't so good right now, here are some ideas to improve your karma. Ideas from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal

1) Love the one you're with. That would be you. Accept yourself as you are. When someone offers a compliment, accept it graciously. Don't follow up with a comment that sloughs off the kind words. You don't have to tell everyone your new dress was a steal. And you don't have to announce that your hair looks good today by accident. A simple "thank you" will suffice.

3) Be a more considerate driver. It isn't necessary to yell at the car that just cut you off or wave an obscene gesture at the driver who took the mall parking spot you were waiting for. You're right; they're wrong. Now let it go. And while you're in the mood, let someone out in front of you - if they have a turn signal on or not.

4) Make good on a mistake. True, it's not your fault if the clerk didn't charge you for an item. You're not the person responsible for teaching them math if they gave you too much change. Haven't you ever been pre-occupied at work? Of course you have. In honor of karma, point out the error - even and especially if it's in your favor.

5) Learn something new. The Shambhala Center of Milwaukee suggests taking up the Dharma Arts which includes a number of disciplines exploring culture using a contemplative approach: such as Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging), Kyudo (archery), Dharma art (including dance, movement exercises, feng shui and the like). The center sometimes offers related classes such as Ikebana and Tibetan calligraphy. The Shambhala Center is at 2344 N. Oakland Ave., or check www.shambhalacenter.org.

6) Work with your outer karma. Get a hot stone massage, a waxing or any other sort of spa service at Hotel Metro, 411 E. Mason St. Why there? The hotel's spa is called Karma. Appointments are available by contacting the Karma Spa director at (414) 737-8111.

7) Be happy. Don't wait for a day off or a winning lottery ticket. Start with an hour or try it for 24 hours, but for that period of time just be happy. Be content with what you have and what you are doing. Don't look forward in frustration. Don't look back and burden yourself with past deeds.

"We ourselves are responsible for our own happiness and misery," according to the Web site www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/karma.htm. "We are the architects of our own fate."

8) Donate to a charity. It can be time or money. Or both. There are several bike trips for charities scheduled throughout the summer. It's not the classic example of karma at work, but it's a winning proposition all around since the charity gets a donation and you get in shape.

Check here: www.bikeride.com/calendar/events.asp, then click on Wisconsin in the pull-down menu.

9) Clean up your potty mouth. The Buddhism of Tien Tai includes among its 10 precepts a clean vocabulary. The object is to stay away from talk that is "poisonous and injurious, coarse and rude, hurtful to others, speech that makes others angry and hateful, and speech that is openly or covertly mean, cheap and low, unpleasant to hear, angry and hateful, like a fire burning the mind, tied up in resentment, hot and distressful, impossible to care for or like, and capable of harming themselves and others."

There's more at www.tientai.net/practice/sila2.htm.

10) Know that karma is not an excuse, said O'Connor at the Zen Center. "We always have the ability to alter our karma." The karma scale "can be balanced or wiped out by my current behavior," she said. "You're never just a helpless prisoner of your karma."