Theoretically, how does one clear karma?
To clear karma, we must free our unspent energy before we spend it to create more, which means surrendering our attachments and desires, and transcending our resistances and fears. But this isn’t an external task; it can all be accomplished within. Paramahansa Yogananda once said, “I believe you can destroy any karma you want to. If you close all the doors and windows in a room, darkness is there. But if you bring in the light, that darkness is gone instantly.” The light he’s referring to is awareness, which dissolves the pain-body’s darkness.
The strength of our awareness determines how deeply we can penetrate, illuminate, and integrate our karma. As noted previously, each karmic seed has three layers tied to the mind-heart-body system, which means karma spans three dimensions. Like a laser’s focus cutting through material, the intensity of awareness governs the extent of karmic elimination. A faint glow exposes the physical layer (body), a stronger ray pierces the subtle layer (heart), and a powerful beam burns the causal layer (mind). By directing the light of awareness to each one, we release and integrate its energy, transcending the prior karmic sheath and intensifying the laser. Eventually, it slices through even the mind to unveil being (spirit), ushering in Self-realization.
Practically, how does one clear karma?
Unawareness creates karma, and awareness clears it. This is because when we’re unaware, the mind races, the heart closes, and the body tenses, which blocks the flow of life energy through the system. Conversely, when we’re aware, the mind quiets, the heart opens, and the body relaxes, creating space for life energy to flow in and out of the system.
More specifically, relaxing the body allows tensions to release and an attunement to the subtler realms to occur, opening the heart allows feelings to circulate and integration of information to take place, quieting the mind allows our thoughts to fall away and insights to arise, and being aware allows these three processes to unfold as intended. Therefore, focus your awareness on these three aspects of your being in order to let them settle, and this will allow the subconscious energies in/as the pain-body to rise to the surface of consciousness and dissolve. But if you find that, over time, passively observing doesn’t allow the mind-heart-body to settle, then try actively relaxing, opening, and quieting for similar results. For a bit more information on harmonizing our multidimensional nature, feel free to visit my articles on The Self.
Are there specific techniques you recommend for clearing karma?
There are many. Since awareness of our internal environment is the universal solution for clearing karma, then every religion, spiritual practice, therapeutic modality, metacognitive method, and mindfulness discipline that cultivates inner awareness offers some karma-clearing technology. The key is finding what intuitively works best for you and then making it your own. Here’s a relatively simple, direct method to start with…
The Passive Karma-Clearing Technique:
- Begin by calming the nervous system and naturally slowing the breath down through whatever relaxation practices you prefer. This is your baseline.
- Then sit comfortably in a low-stimulation environment, like a quiet, dark room with eyes closed and no distractions. Prioritize comfort over posture to stay relaxed but alert.
- Scan the body to release points of muscle tension and contraction.
- Shift your awareness to a witnessing state by intuitively taking a step back behind the body-heart-mind, or zooming out so that you sense you’re a neutral observer on the outside looking in. This anchors you in awareness and creates internal space.
- From the witnessing state, observe the activity of the body-heart-mind with complete objectivity, as if you were looking at a stranger. This will allow your system to settle and open up. Watch thoughts pass through the mind, feel emotions arise through the heart, notice sensations emerge in the body, and let the breath rise and fall on its own – without any judgment or control.
- Don’t indulge in or avoid anything you experience in the field of your awareness. Don’t attempt to resist or change anything. Stay present with what is, letting everything unfold naturally. Remember that you’re the witness, not the thoughts, feelings, and sensations being witnessed. Even better, realize that you’re the field of pure awareness in which all activity occurs. This will allow subconscious energy to be processed and released.
- Practice as long as possible and, over time, adapt this technique for daily life and every moment.
If the passive technique isn’t your vibe, then try a more active approach. Follow the same steps, but instead of just observing, focus on a situation that activates internal disturbance of some kind. You can even create a few lists: one for past traumas, one for present triggers, one for future fears, and one for unfulfilled desires. Rank each list from least intense to most intense, and then work through each item in order. See below, and please proceed with caution and care (If you have a history of trauma, then it may be prudent to work with a professional to prevent retraumatization, or be sure to have a solid psychological foundation in place before engaging with this technique).
The Active Karma-Clearing Technique:
- Relax the body, slow the breath, and quiet the mind as best you can.
- Choose a discomforting or distressing situation to think about: a past trauma, present trigger, future fear, or unfulfilled desire.
- As you pull this up in your mind, notice thoughts, images, beliefs, emotions, and sensations tied to this situation, dropping any mental defenses hindering your awareness (for more information on how to do this, visit my articles on Defense Mechanisms).
- As you hold the situation in mind, locate any contractions that appear in the body (there is usually some form of tension in relation to a karmic experience). With awareness, consciously relax the tension in those areas as best you can.
- Feel for the emotions or energies beneath the tension, letting them expand freely.
- As you continue to hold the issue in mind, observe without indulging, avoiding, or altering anything. Stay aware, relaxed, and open. Let the body express safely if needed.
- If you’re stuck, then create space by stepping back to a neutral witness state.
- Watch the energy flow and fade as it travels up and out of the chakras.
- For extra help, place your hands on your knees or shoulders and tap rhythmically, alternating left and right repeatedly.
- When you feel finished, check your progress by revisiting the trauma, trigger, fear, or desire. If the situation feels neutral with no activation of disturbance or tension, then it’s safe to say the karmic impression has been cleared. If you still find some discomfort, then keep going until the charge is gone.
If the active technique still leaves you hanging, then fortunately there are many other ways of clearing karma. Here are more options to consider:
Alternative Karma-Clearing Methods:
- Universal Practices: concentration on the third eye; consciously fulfilling and renouncing desires; contemplation; devotional prayers and affirmations; emotional releasing; energy healing; facing fears; loving-kindness in thought, word, and deed; meditation; non-attachment; practice of the presence of God; pranayama; psychotherapy; selfless service; trauma recovery; witnessing consciousness.
- Signature Practices: Adyashanti’s True Meditation; Byron Katie’s The Work; Carl Jung’s Shadow Work; David Hawkins’ Mechanism of Letting Go; EMDR; Michael Singer’s Relax-and-Release; Paramahansa Yogananda’s Kriya Yoga; Ramana Maharshi’s Self-Inquiry; Tara Brach’s Radical Acceptance.
And the list goes on…
What does it feel like to clear karma?
Everyone’s experience of clearing karma is different, and it may or may not include the following: heat or coolness; energy pulsating, trickling, or flowing; energy rising, expanding, or dissolving; emotions intensifying or dissipating; involuntary movements; tears or shaking; nausea or queasiness; insights or realizations; visions or inner sounds; bliss or euphoria; magnetic pulling inward, outward, upward, or downward; sensations of involution, absorption, or dissolution; kundalini stirring; chakras activating; and more.
How do I know if karma has been cleared successfully?
In the short-term, it might be difficult to sense if you’re clearing karma successfully because you may be in the middle of processing something, but in the long-run, you’ll begin to notice decreased: suffering, ego, tension, defensiveness, attachment, resistance, reactivity, judgment, disturbance, negative emotions, and dis-ease. Instead, you’ll experience increased: awareness, stillness, peace, humility, ease, lightness, relaxation, calmness, neutrality, energy flow, understanding, clarity, acceptance, openness, love, compassion, joy, connectedness, and well-being.
…continued in Part 3…