Overcoming Guilt

Cover via Amazon

In his book Power vs. Force, David Hawkins outlines the various stages of human consciousness and places them on a scale of one to one thousand the highest being Enlightenment. Though the lowest level of consciousness lies at Shame; not much higher than that is Guilt. For instance if after eating of the Forbidden Fruit, Adam and Eve first felt Shame over being naked, they followed it up with a good dose of Guilt over disobeying. This concept of Guilt, this consciousness of Guilt, has permeated our collective consciousness ever since.

Especially in the Judeo-Christian culture, the concept of Guilt is rampant. As I stated in another blog, for Christians, Guilt is where the philosophy begins. “All have sinned…” is the message Paul gives us in Romans, and it is that idea which has historically been used to convert people to that particular religion. I don’t wish to argue the merits of the religion here, but suffice it to say that bringing a person into a consciousness of Guilt where the levels of conscious power are so low allows for great manipulation and control.

In America today, and in the Western culture that we are spreading, the concept of Guilt is rampant. The covers of our tabloids seek to find it in all of our celebrities. It seems that we’re often obsessed with finding it in others because we long so badly to escape from feeling it ourselves. We may love our neighbors as ourselves, but when we’re mired in our own Guilt, that doesn’t amount to much. Guilt is the bedrock of our Capital Punishment system, whereby we are so consumed with the idea of punishment for wrongdoing that we mete out sentences that do nothing to actually deter the crime but only address and feed the nature of Guilt, thereby expanding it and drawing us deeper into its confines.

But for those who find the power of Forgiveness, by whichever means, when they are able to let it burn within their own hearts and purge the Guilt that has plagued them and then spread that light to others, true change can occur. Just as Guilt can force coercion and control, Forgiveness has the power to foster freedom and choice.

I believe that the concept of Forgiveness is finding new footing in our society today. I believe that we are overcoming the age old concept of Guilt as the millstone around our necks. I believe that we are getting to the point where we can love our neighbors as ourselves, and love ourselves as we truly deserve to be loved.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Power vs. Force (inkensoul.blogspot.com)

A strange place to start a philosophy...

Image by annamatic3000 via Flickr

When I was an evangelical Christian, we had a system by which we would share the Gospel of Christ with others (although it is based on a book written by Paul). We called it the Romans Road.

The first step on the Romans Road is taken from Romans 3:23 – “All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.” In one sense, this seems to be a starting point of shame, something I once considered to be a horrible place to start a philosophy. However, on the other hand, it is a tenet of equality. For if we look out into the world around us, when we often see people who enrage us with their selfishness, stupidity, fear, and violence, this verse reminds us that we are all in the same boat.

We have all forgotten the spark of divinity which resides within us. As Marianne Williamson put it, in archery, to "sin" is to miss the mark, and we have all done it. Not one of us has been at our best one hundred percent of the time. Very few of us fully dwell in the Presence of God.

So as we make our way down this road of life together, let's remember that we've all fallen at one time or another. Let's give each other a hand up when we're able instead of opting for the compulsion to shame.

I also find it an interesting correlation that the first of the Buddhists’ Four Noble Truths is that “All Life is Suffering.” While the rest of Noble Truths and the steps along the Romans Road differ greatly in their unfolding, they both start with the idea that we are lacking, handicapped, and in need of a new understanding.

I’ll be writing more about the rest of the Road as well as the Truths in later blogs, but I wanted to point out that two of the largest religious traditions in the world start out in relatively the same place. And while I want very badly to dismiss the idea that we are lacking and realize the perfection of the Universe, I can’t help but look around at the state of the world and realize at least some truth to this idea.

We’re engulfed in wars and battles of ideologies. We’re wreaking havoc on the environment. Our economic system is in turmoil. We’re almost defined by our addictions. And I just have to wonder if it is our nature to live our this idea of our necessary suffering and separation from God, or if our belief in this idea is creating the fact for us.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Was Jesus Buddha or Buddha Jesus? (unbiasedtruth.net)