From Karma to Christ: How One Life-Changing Experience Led Me to Discover True Freedom

 

SIO JAY

For years, I was deeply involved in practicing New Age occultism. I meditated, studied Eastern mysticism, and believed in concepts like karma and reincarnation. It all seemed so profound and enlightening—until one day in 2017, when everything changed. I was unexpectedly introduced to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This discovery turned my life upside down, opened my eyes to the false doctrines I once held, and gave me a fresh understanding of the dangers they posed.

If you’re someone who’s questioning New Age beliefs or curious about how someone can move from one belief system to another, I want to share my experience. The journey from karma to Christ was a big leap, but one that ultimately gave me peace and freedom.

The Vipassana Retreat That Started It All

In April 2017, I decided to attend a seven-day Vipassana meditation retreat. My birthday was coming up, and I felt like I needed a “reset.” The retreat was tough—waking up at 4 a.m. every day, meditating for 10 hours, and staying in silence. But it was also transformative, or at least that’s what I hoped.

The first few days were nothing special. But by day three, I noticed that several people had dropped out. Still, I was determined to push through. After all, I had been meditating for over a year, so I was used to discomfort.

But on day four, something unexpected happened: I began experiencing strange physical sensations and uncontrollable body movements. I also felt an intense pressure in the center of my chest. When I spoke to the teacher about it, she explained that this was my karmic debt coming to the surface, and it would take “many lifetimes” to work off.

That idea struck me hard.

The Struggle With Karma

I had been a firm believer in reincarnation and karma for years. But suddenly, the idea of working off my karmic debt over multiple lifetimes felt overwhelming and unfair. How could I possibly clear a debt I didn’t even fully understand? And how many lifetimes would it take? What would that even look like?

The more I thought about it, the more the whole concept of karma started to unravel. I realized I didn’t want to be stuck in an eternal loop, endlessly trying to pay off a debt I wasn’t sure I’d ever get rid of. I started longing for something more—something simpler.

Little did I know, a solution existed that had nothing to do with karma or reincarnation.

Cracks in the Karma Belief

For years, I’d been following the law of attraction, convinced that by thinking positively and focusing on good vibes, I could improve my life and pay down my karmic debt. But despite my best efforts, my reality never seemed to match the “universal laws” I believed in. It was like I was trying to force a square peg into a round hole.

That’s when the cracks in karma became undeniable. The teachings I’d followed for so long had no solid foundation. No one could prove they’d been reincarnated, and the people teaching these ideas didn’t seem to have any higher authority. There was no governing force behind karma—it was just a concept that sounded good in theory, but didn’t add up in real life.

A Glimmer of Hope: "Do You Know Jesus?"

During the retreat, things only got darker. I began experiencing a kind of spiritual torment that left me sleepless for months. One night, while wandering the camp in a panic, I was prompted to wake up one of my cabin mates. She was the last person I expected to turn to—she spent the whole retreat questioning everything. But something in me urged me to speak to her.

When I told her what was happening to me, she didn’t react with panic or judgment. Instead, she simply asked me: “Do you know Jesus?”

That question stopped me in my tracks. I’d never really considered Jesus in the context of my spiritual journey, but something about it felt right. I began looking into who Jesus really was, and what I found completely shifted my perspective.

Considering Jesus: The One Who Defeats Karma

As I explored the life of Jesus, I was struck by a few key truths. First, over 500 people witnessed his resurrection. Second, he claimed to be God (John 8:58) and said he existed before the world began (John 17:5). But most importantly, he offered an answer to the problem I’d been wrestling with: karmic debt.

In Hebrews 10:10-14, I read that Jesus’ sacrifice was “once for all.” It wasn’t something that would take multiple lifetimes to work through—it was a one-time, eternal offering that cleansed us from sin. In contrast to the endless cycles of reincarnation, Jesus’ atonement meant that we no longer had to work off a karmic debt over lifetimes. It was done.

The Revolutionary Gift of Christ's Atonement

Jesus’ sacrifice was something entirely different. It didn’t depend on how much good you could do, or how many lifetimes you had to live to make things right. It was a “once for all” act that perfected us in the eyes of God. In Hebrews 10:14, it says, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

This idea was mind-blowing. Jesus didn’t just offer us a temporary fix—he provided a permanent solution. His sacrifice meant that we were perfected in God’s eyes, no matter how imperfect we were in life. And that’s what I had been searching for all along: a way out of the endless cycle of trying to pay off an impossible debt.

The Freedom of Grace

If Jesus is who he says he is, then he has the authority to determine what’s right and wrong and how our wrongs should be paid for. His atonement was a real, historical event that canceled our debt once and for all.

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