What Is Family Karma?

We may have incarnated into a family for certain lessons and experiences they provide. They may pass down traits, negativities, traumas and shortcomings to us and other family members from generation to generation.

We can build up a lot of 'cause and effect' within a family. Family members have certain collective beliefs, behaviors and energy patterns which we adopt because we are totally immersed within that family environment. We perceive these as normal because children are very impressionable and soak up their environmental conditions and beliefs like sponges.

So whatever the beliefs, values and behaviors are held by a family, we take on similar traits. They cause us to feel and behave in a certain way. Their 'causes' have a lot of 'effects' on us. Plus our behaviors cause a lot of effects on them.

So, a family holds a collective vibration that is passed from generation to generation. Karma is all about cause and effect, and our family causes many effects on us and we cause many effects on them.

For example:

The spiritual path promises us mental, emotional and physical healing, plus ways to view the world in new ways that ultimately lead to peace and happiness. The trouble is, these concepts can lead to a state of avoidance in our lives, excuses for bypassing important matters, unhelpful thoughts and emotions.

It's important to avoid this states of avoidance or 'bypassing'. One who considers themselves to be 'spiritual', might worry that if they don't appear at peace, happy and balanced, then they might be perceived by others as:

- Not spiritual enough.
- Not practicing properly.
- Unbalanced and ungrounded.
- Not a good healer, teacher etc.

​​Spiritual bypassing is a way of avoiding unpleasant emotions. We might prevent ourselves from experiencing and facing past traumas and psychological wounds that desperately need healing, in favor of maintaining a state of artificial positivity all the time. Even when we are dealing with upsetting events as they happen in our lives, we still may try to force a positive attitude on ourselves rather than facing and processing the experiences head-on.

This is a good book on connecting with your emotions rather than bypassing them: Emotional Intimacy: A Comprehensive Guide for Connecting with the Power of Your Emotions​.

​This is different from practicing detachment from outcomes of circumstances and events, where we try not to pin our happiness and emotional well-being on outcomes in our lives. If we do experience sadness or upset in the present moment however, we must be present in those emotions and work them through. Bottling them up and repressing them in the subconscious mind is a ticket to emotional problems later on.

Examples Of Spiritual Bypassing:

1. Rather than detaching from outcomes, we put on a happy face and repress sadness. We must face sadness if we have it.