Is it possible to manifest your heart's desires despite Karma to the contrary? If you are meant to repay your deeds from past wrongs and to suffer for your past mistakes, how would fulfilling your dreams be possible?

- C.

Dear C.,

I'm sure there are people who have been reincarnated whose Karma can't be fixed with one more Earth Incarnation, but those people are very rare. Charles Manson is probably one of those people - Adolf Hitler would be another. These people have EXTREME Karma.

By contrast, most of us have enough natural good to overcome whatever bad we did in a past life. (Charles and Adolf will have a lot more to deal with if they get another chance to be Earthborn.)

The concept that we carry over the vibrations of our evil deeds in one or more past incarnations is in my opinion wildly exaggerated, and often used as an excuse for unhappiness and bad behavior.

In EVERY incarnation, we are given free will and endless opportunities to grow wiser and improve how we behave towards others. We have endless ways to grow more enlightened throughout the years we are here. Seeking knowledge in order to affect positive change is what is most important.

Each of us has our own definition of suffering, and we all go through hard times. Suffering is NOT a requirement, and continuing to suffer is a choice.

Every choice we make has consequences and may create positive or negative outcomes. Living in Enlightenment (or as close as we can come to it) will erase a lot of bad vibrations that we might bring with us from other lives when we didn't make such great choices. In any case, choosing to eliminate unnecessary suffering from our lives is a wise choice to make at any time in any incarnation.

Karma can be overcome. Aren't we sent here again and again to learn new lessons as well as the old ones we may need to repeat? If we were unkind in a past life, the idea is that we will be given lots of opportunities to be kinder in THIS incarnation. If we made poor choices before, the point is to make better ones now.

Behaving in a good and kind way towards others will cleanse your Karma and make it possible for all your dreams come true - at least the ones you're willing to work to fulfill. If you are truly focused on the dreams you want to make reality, the Universe will back you up all the way, so don't be afraid to ask for help!

Susyn responds:

Dear C.,

Luckily, the Universe has all that worked out so you don't need to worry about it. The lessons we carry into this lifetime along with the new ones we take on are always designed to bring us a step closer to fulfilling our dreams.

I'm sure you can look back to unfortunate circumstances that happened in your life and see that in truth, they actually led you to a better place. You may also be lamenting some events or actions that seemed to hold you back or kept you from getting what you wanted. However, these too will prove to be just what you needed to have happen in the long run.

The idea that we will spend our entire lives atoning for past karma is a mistaken notion. In fact, I've often observed that once a lesson is learned and the karma repaid, our lives can take a miraculous turn for the better.

For example, years ago when I worked for a newspaper, I was a terribly irresponsible employee. I came in late, spent a lot of time on the phone chatting, took long lunches and left early when I could get away with it. After 12 years of this behavior, I wasn't surprised to be laid off during a change in management.

I then decided to attend a vocational school, which involved learning and working at the school at the same time. While attending this school, I was always on time, never missed a day, and became more responsible even though I was paying them to work there.

After nine months, I realized this career wasn't right for me, so I left the school. I pondered the point of my going there and discovered that it was to learn more responsibility and to karmically pay back the time I had goofed off in my previous position.

I didn't have to pay it off for 12 years or at the original company; nine months seemed to cover the debt. Two months after I left the school, I was led by accident to the most wonderful career I could imagine. It has kept me happy for the last 20 years, and I might never have found or been able to maintain it had I not gone through that karmic tunnel to repay my debt.

Trust in the process. With your new awareness about karma, you'll have the ability to move through these situations more quickly.