To have greater ability to deal with the uncertainty of the times we are in it can be useful to look from a higher vantage point at what is happening.

One of the key cycles that is playing out now is connected to the Roman Empire.

The governmental form of the United States is a copy of the republic ROME devised. The founding fathers of America had great admiration for this system.

When we look at karmic cycles we can examine them from 2 perspectives.

  1. The choices and actions of the past have left a great imbalance, so the karmic situation must be revisited to bring forward a necessary balancing to fulfill the karmic law of an eye for an eye. Where the need for absolute balance dominates.
  2. The other way to understand karmic cycles is that lessons haven’t been learned so they are repeated to give those who are connected to the lessons another chance to learn to choose and act in wiser and more effective ways. This article will look at karma from the perspective of lessons to be learned.

 

The first half of the history of ROME and its rise to be the dominant civilization in the world can be seen as lasting roughly 500 years.

 

This is the time of ROME operating as a Republic. The next 500 or so years is the time of ROME operating as a dictatorship. The time of the Caesars. The shift came about for ROME with Julius Caesar taking power and then later after he was killed, his nephew Octavian, also called Augustus, rising into and consolidating power and ruling for 41years. Caesars ruled in Rome for 501 years until ROME was finally ended as a power almost 500 years later.

 

The shift to the Caesars came about when the executive branch of Roman government (their Consuls, our President) which was meant to execute the will of the Roman Senate (their legislature, our Congress) took on autocratic power. The government functions were reversed where their legislative branch became responsible for carrying out the will of their executive branch. The Roman Senate lost its power and the Caesars ruled.

 

There were many reasons this happened to the Romans but central to their situation was the expansion of their nation into an empire. Becoming an empire brought forward both incredible wealth and incredible challenges. The Roman people changed all their expectations of what their lives could and should be with the great wealth that filled their world. The Roman government struggled to maintain the massive armies that secured all the lands they had conquered. They were continuously under great pressure to maintain and then increase not just the power but the opulence of their society. Individuals arose who possessed staggering wealth and power. The government became paralyzed by political polarization, including numerous revolts. In the 1st century B.C, over a 71 year period, there were 15 rebellions and 4 civil wars before Augustus took complete power.

 

The karma cycles back

The United States has created a huge financial and in many ways physical empire with the most expensive and powerful army on the planet. The populous of the United States has become used to and expects more and more material prosperity. Like the Romans with their gladiatorial games and lavish bath houses there is the expectation of leisure, entertainment, and constant advancement in lifestyle. Like the Romans, in the United States there has emerged a small subset of the population with staggering wealth and influence.

Now numerous souls in the United States and in other countries are getting the chance to learn and choose again, hopefully more wisely than before. The Republic is under assault as it was for the Romans. There is a shift of power from the Legislative branch to the Executive branch. There is a movement towards totalitarianism. ROME emerged from the many small city states of ancient Italy to become a world power specifically because of their governmental system. The same could be said for the United States. Will the people awaken from their distracted state and understand what is happening? Will they insist on their world and their leaders upholding the purpose and principles that brought them into this amazing life opportunity, this American way? We shall see.