[Mark Lapierre]

Originally Posted by Dannyboy1

What I understand is something you cannot know, so your comments are guesses.

Absolutely. But educated guesses. You're welcome to correct them if they're wrong.

Originally Posted by Dannyboy1

You can determine right or wrong without emotion.

Completely without emotion? If so, how would someone learn what's right or wrong in a way that doesn't cripple their ability to interact with other people (as in those whose ability to experience a full range of emotion is disabled by brain damage)?

Originally Posted by Dannyboy1

I never said guilt was wrong and we should never feel it again.

Not in those words. But the implication is clear in the words you did use. I'll highlight a few phrases to make it clearer:

Guilt serves no productive purpose to someone who's not run by ego. Once you realize your ego caused you to do something wrong, if you can do something to rectify it, you should. You should not feel guilty. It serves no purpose but to punish you for something you already realize was wrong. Even if there's nothing you can do to rectify the situation guilt serves no purpose. In fact, it just makes things worse. It causes you to feel bad and pass on your negativity to others and be unproductive. Apologize and learn from your mistake and renew your commitment to living in the now and not to be a slave to your ego.

Those are all damning statements. And while my caricature of the connotations of your words was admittedly exaggerated, it's not much of a stretch.

Originally Posted by Dannyboy1

You've read into what I said with your own thoughts.

Indeed I did, but not only my thoughts, but the verbally expressed thoughts of others. Your words suited the framework that many other similar words and matching meanings have built. Perhaps your understanding is different to those that have come before you, but so far you haven't shown that that's the case.

Originally Posted by Dannyboy1

We should observe the guilt without letting it take us over, then take the appropriate action.

This is a very different statement from "you should not feel guilty". However it's the interpretation I responded to when I said you do kinda have a point. I then pointed out why that advice is inconsistent with the statements that "guilt serves no productive purpose to someone who's not run by ego" and "you should not feel guilty".

Originally Posted by SirBishop

I myself feel guilty about things which I feel should not make me feel guilty. When I feel guilt over things which I feel should not produce guilt this leads to negative self talk and lowered self-esteem. So if I stop doing things which make me feel guilty I am really avoiding doing things which are normal and should not produce guilt in the first place and which are sometimes not even possible to avoid. To me this is negative. A perfect example is when I notice an underage girl's sexual appeal (16 years of age or what have you). This makes me feel guilty and wrong, but fact of the matter is that underage girls can still be sexually appealing. Is it something I should feel bad about? I don't think so, but I do anyways. This leads me to begin thinking there is something wrong with me mentally, when in reality it is just normal male response to stimuli.

Ahh, a different situation than when your actions lead to guilt. In this case your entrenched, mostly unconscious belief that underage girls should not be seen as sexually appealing is in conflict with your belief that that attraction is natural and therefore not a bad thing. But in this situation your guilt can still highlight the beliefs which may need to change. And thankfully it's not true that this example is impossible to avoid. A focus on and experience of more acceptable forms of sexual stimulation would be likely to reduce the appeal of underage girls. Maybe not completely, but at least enough to further reduce the guilt you feel because of any lingering attraction, and though it hopefully isn't relevant, it could also reduce any small chance of acting on the attraction in a way that could hurt someone. And if the guilt continues to bother you there is always the option of professional help, the acceptance of which is in no way a confirmation that there's anything mentally wrong with you.