On my post, Child Abuse: Severe Emotional Abuses I Suffered, a reader posted a question about whether my abusers are still “alive and well” but not incarcerated. As far as I know, none of them ever did any jail time for what they did to my sister and me. However, I have made peace with this, and I want to share how.
Those of you who were moved by my discussion of reincarnation will probably find this very useful. Those who think I am off my rocker for believing in reincarnation will likely find this post and my next one to be a little nutty.
A fundamental part of being a human being is needing justice. People who do good things are supposed to be rewarded, and those who do bad things are supposed to suffer. Unfortunately, the world is filled with examples of where this is not the case.
If I based my need for justice on this lifetime, then I would likely never move past my hatred toward my abusers. I define “forgiveness” as letting go of the bitterness. Without justice, I do not believe that I could accomplish this. However, my beliefs in karma and reincarnation have enabled me to accept that my abusers will pay for what they did to me, which has enabled me to let go of my bitterness.
I believe that, after we die, our spirits rest. Then, our spirits must experience how our actions in our last lifetime affected others. So, I believe that when each abuser dies, he will have to feel the same pain that I felt and know that he caused that pain. While in spiritual state, I believe that each abuser will feel an enormous amount of remorse for the pain he inflicted. In my next post, I will share how I came to this belief.
I do believe that there is karma in this life as well. My mother/abuser feels pain because I am no longer in her life other than sending the occasional letter. I have told her not to call or visit me. I do not do this to hurt her: I do it to protect myself. However, this choice has the effect of hurting her, and I believe this is part of her karma and learning her life lessons. You cannot treat another person any way you want and then expect to have that person continue to give you love and energy. My mother lost a lot when she lost me.
Photo credit: Lynda Bernhardt
Blooming Lotus 
Convincing oneself that it’s a just world – I can see how this would help not only in situations like yours, but any number of terrible situations that afflict people. The problem is that in life as we know it, it’s clear that justice doesn’t always prevail. And the evidence for reincarnation isn’t strong enough to convince most people. Belief in heaven/burning in hell plays a similar role to reincarnation justice for many people, but again, the evidence isn’t compelling. Those who believe this were usually raised in the belief.
I’ve had a lot on my plate too. Personally, I’ve felt that my unconscious mind is often way ahead of my conscious mind and that the things I tell myself matter much less than insights that emerge in their own time.
Yes, I agree about the insights that come, particularly during or after meditation. I find that my intuition never steers me wrong.
I came to the acceptance/belief in reincarnation through my intuition. I fought this belief for a long time because of my Christian background. However, I have since learned that reincarnation was originally part of the Bible but removed from the version that churches use today. I find that interesting because, in my opinion, reincarnation explains so much more and makes many of God’s decisions make more sense, such as His order to obliterate all societies living in the Promised Land. That order sounds cruel if all of those people are now burning in hell. It sound pragmatic if those people’s spirits will come back without the influences of those evil cultures.
Take care,
– Faith
I don’t know if I believe in reincarnation, but I do believe in karmic justice. I believe that whoever hurt me will be hurt.
And I’m so sorry about your dog. I can’t even imagine.
I strongly believe in karma. As for reincarnation, it makes more sense than heaven and hell to me, but I don’t really believe that there is any afterlife.
But what goes around, comes around, doesn’t it?
Lisa S.
[…] karma after child abuse, Reiki, reincarnation, reincarnation after child abuse In my last post, Justice, Forgiveness, and Karma after Child Abuse, I shared that I have been able to forgive (which I define as to let go of the bitterness toward) […]
“As for reincarnation, it makes more sense than heaven and hell to me…”
Me, too. I always had a fundamental problem with the “pass/fail” test of heaven and hell.
– Faith
[…] past lives and how we are on this earth to learn life lessons. I have written about how embracing a belief in reincarnation has freed me to forgive my abusers (which I define as letting go of the […]
[…] the concept of reincarnation has been incredibly healing for me, especially when it comes to justice and karma. Some of you might think I am “out there” with this blog topic, but bear with (or skip […]