Amore wrote:SPG wrote:I haven't been able to word the spirit in some clever phrase, but the Golden Rule is basically the Spirit of Christ, the spirit that allows things to work and be created. When this rule is broken, karma basically kicks up in the consciousness demanding atonement or breakdown and destruction. Of course, forgiveness, kindness, humility, all play a part in the balance. But I have heard this put a different way, "do unto others, for it WILL be done unto you."
I believe in a type of karma or spiritual cause-and-effect, but I wonder how it works. Is it based on action, intent, the joy or pain others feel because of us, or what?
Cause and effect is part of it. But cause and effect are sort of physical. Like hitting a beehive with a stick.
But I think there is a "god" layer to karma. I believe the whole system is based on consciousness and that there many layers.
To be a little gross, but say that some innocent 8 year old boy, exploring his environment, stumbles upon some baby ducks. Not really knowing better yet, attacks them, kills them. He might not ever feel bad. He might have grown up killing dear, sheep, and stuff, and never thought twice. But his mother pulls him aside and tells him that it was wrong to kill innocent animals.
Now, there could be dozens of physical karmic reasons why killing baby ducks is wrong. Maybe the ducks were to be food later and the family goes hungry. That could be a cause and effect. But the higher consciousness of the mother, (hypothetically) conveyed the needless pain. The boy will feel bad and feel that some of the pain through guilt.
In my belief, even if the hypothetical mother wasn't present, there is a consciousness that will remember that pain. That same consciousness is tied into ours but we don't feel it because of the veil. That consciousness will try to teach us. It will try to make us feel bad for wrongs we have committed. It will try to make us feel guilty for needless pain we caused.
But, there is a judgment. Say that instead of a boy, it was a hungry wolf that killed the baby ducks. That wolf would never feel the guilt. The higher consciousness probably wouldn't expect the wolf to feel bad.
So guilt is definitely tied to identity. If someone knows better, or should know better, the memory of pain will follow them until it is acknowledged. If it is acknowledged quickly and easily, it can be over quickly. But if the person resists acknowledgment, the memory can haunt them for a longtime.
Confession has a mystical power, used and recognized several healing systems. Even if you admit the wrong in your head, the release may not come until you confess your wrong to another living person. In a sense, this is the higher consciousness holding the memory and the energy of the pain until you confess it as wrong. Not just confess it as in bragging, but confess as in you know it was wrong.