Your fate has changed because you have managed to change profoundly

I remember a curious question that a pilot once asked me. We have three things that one should not do before a flight: take photographs, have sex, and receive a salary. Why is that?

«Not just for pilots,» I replied. An acquaintance of mine told me about a young man and woman who were into skydiving. They decided to get married, and before the wedding, they took photos and jumped with parachutes. Both of them crashed. This was about two years ago.

Once, during a lecture, a woman sent me a note saying that her husband was a mountaineer. Every time they took photos before a trip, those particular shots on the film would get overexposed, and the photos would not turn out.

So, when we start any serious undertaking, we subconsciously accumulate a large amount of energy that needs to be properly distributed. That is, a larger share of love and joy should be directed towards God, and a smaller part towards our life and primary instincts. Photography impresses the sense of happiness and devotion to it for a long time. Sex and money enhance jealousy and pride. And in a situation where much depends on a person's inner state, inner disharmony can lead to disaster.

Looking at the road, rushing towards me like a gray ribbon, I remember another situation of 'victim-criminal' that a patient told me about. He was a staunch idealist, believing only in principles. He had looked through my books but could not believe that it was necessary to internally forgive a criminal. His brother was wealthy.

And then one day, he was kidnapped by criminals for ransom. They chained him to a radiator and beat him for two days. There wasn’t a spot on him that wasn’t bruised. The criminals revealed their faces, and he realized he was doomed. Then he heard their conversation. The criminals were deciding how to kill him. That’s when he remembered that one should not hate or judge a criminal. He recalled that a person himself provokes aggression towards himself. He tried to change and began to pray. He prayed all day, forgave everyone, and prepared for death. The next day, the criminals released him.

When he came to the hospital, the doctors said that his internal organs were likely damaged. He underwent a long treatment, and after recovering, he signed up for a telephone consultation with me.

Your fate has changed,' I told him, 'because you have managed to change profoundly. But misfortune still persists. Your readiness to judge is not yet overcome, and worship of the future too. Don't think that just because your life was spared from above, you have absolved all your sins.

S.N. Lazarev, «Diagnostics of Karma, book 12»