Karma Don't Deny Me

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Karma, Don't Deny Me[1]
Series
The Other Side
Original Broadcast Date
7/30/2000
Cast
Larry Block, Jack Kornfield, Mike Meloan, Joe Frank
Format
Karma Style, 60 minutes
Preceded by: Karma For Dollars
Followed by: Pledge Drive Rough Cuts

"There's a particular woman who lives in my building."

Karma, Don't Deny Me is a program Joe Frank produced as part of the series The Other Side. It was originally broadcast on July 30, 2000.

Synopsis

Larry tells of a neighbor, Shirley, who believes in evidence-free medical 'conspiracy theories', astrology, spiritual healing; Larry gets angry and banishes her from his home. Larry challenges spiritual healers visiting her to treat his dog.

8:20: Jack Kornfield talks about how we ignore the goodness of our hearts.[1]

9:20: Mike Meloan tells of meeting an Indian palm reader. When Meloan won't pay him the fee he wants, he yells, 'Don't deny me!'[2]

14:50: Jack Kornfield talks about dealing with difficult situations by imagining that Jesus/Buddha/Mary shows up to take over.[2]

20:50: Joe tells of his job teaching at a private school in NYC, including Kim and their unfortunate date.[3]

40:30: 'The Earth is 1 of 9 planets that revolve around the sun...' Joe describes the vastness of space.[4]

42:10: A drunk harasses Joe's date.[5]

45:20: Joe observes how small things look from an airplane, contrasts that perspective from how the city appears on the land, goes on to comment on the ephemerality of life.[6]

47:50: Jack Kornfield quotes Longfellow, 'If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility',[7] urges upon us loving-kindness.

56:00: Larry tells a joke about a faith healer.

Legacy Synopsis
  • Larry Block - Woman who lives in the same building is an alternative healer and believes a conspiracy blocks that and Larry argues with he wife about it. Later, Larry has the healers try to cure their dog, but that doesn't help and Larry feels vindicated.
  • Jack Kornfield - A different world.
  • Mike Meloan - Distracted state leads to an encounter with a man who wants to tell his fortune while touching him. Then offers a stone for improved sexual function. Offers $25 for the readings, but the fortune teller points out a price list that lists $60. Stressful ending and possible magic cursing.
  • Kornfield - Meditation on a difficult situation. Divinity within us.
  • Long ago, Joe taught at a school and fantasized about other teachers. Dating Kim the kindergarten teacher (this sequence appears elsewhere also.) Another date with a co-worker and an encounter with a drunk person which ruined the evening. The micro-cosmos and macro-cosmos.
  • Kornfield - Suffering enough - Everyone betrayed - Turning toward forgiveness - Wishing Loving Kindness to All
  • Larry - Tells a story of a faith healer.

Music

Commentary

This episode is 70% recycled material; only the first and last 2 segments appear first (or at all) in this episode.

Footnotes

  1. originally aired in Karma (Part 3)
  2. 2.0 2.1 originally aired in The Nature Of Things
  3. adapted from Pretender
  4. originally aired in Cocktails Before Dinner
  5. originally aired in When She's Asleep, She Looks Like An Angel
  6. originally aired in He Hesitated
  7. in the Table-Talk section of his collected prose