Since I mentioned “karma” in another post I thought I'd explain this concept the way I understand it. I've studied Buddhism so this is where my knowledge on the subject comes from.

The original meaning of the Sanskrit word “karma” is “action”. This probably doesn't tell you much though, so a better translation for the purpose of this article is “causality”. The law of “cause and effect” is always active in the universe – everything we're experiencing right now is the result of previous actions and what we do, say and think in this very moment determines our future. The world is always in perfect harmony, whether we feel that way or not :)

Not every “effect” we are experiencing now has it's cause in this lifetime
It's really difficult for most people to accept this idea. “That's not fair! Why should I be judged for something that I did in another life and that I don't even remember!” :) Now, I gotta admit I don't remember my previous lives either. :) Therefore I just want to humbly offer the most reasonable explanation I've come across so far: rather then a concrete being, each of us really is an endless stream of consciousness that is constantly moving from one form to another. Thus passing karmic impressions from one lifetime to the next doesn't seem so unlikely. As for not remembering what we did in a previous life...well, we don't remember what we ate the other day either, but nevertheless it is now part of our bodies. Think about this for a moment.


Common misconceptions
-Karma means fate
Of course you can define words as you please. However in the kind of worldview I am trying to describe here karma is actually the opposite of fate. Fate implies that everything is predefined, that some god-being has decided what my life should be like and there is no way I can interfere with this plan. Karma on the other hand suggest that we are free and we are creating our own destiny, moment by moment.

-Karma implies that we are being judged by a supreme being
No, we are not being judged, karma is NOT a system of punishment and rewards. It's not performed by some deity. Instead, our own actions leave impressions in our minds, and these later manifest in our lives as events in harmony with the actions.


How we create karma
According to the eastern philosophy four conditions create a strong karmic effect:
-we understand what we are doing
-we consciously want to do something
-we do it or someone else does it for us
-we are happy with the result
The example that is often given here is killing another being. If for example someone is out hunting deers, then they clearly realize what is going on, they also hold a conscious intention of killing and they probably rejoice once it's been accomplished . This is sowing the seed of future suffering.
On the other hand, when someone drives his car and runs over a deer that just came out of nowhere the “scar” in mind is much weaker – yes, the deer is dead but it wasn't consciously intended and the driver probably isn't happy about it.

Karma and the law of attraction
I think that both are connected but not the same thing. Karma explains how we create impressions in the mind. Using the law of attraction we can “attract” to us the best already available impressions and avoid unpleasant ones. Eventually though each impression will find it's way into our reality, unless we purify our minds through compassionate thoughts, kind speech and good actions, as well as meditation.