*if* no guilt; *then* no emotion; *else* sociopathy; *endif*

I had someone tell me that they don't believe in guilt and they don't allow themselves to feel it. How is it that you can choose from the broad spectrum of human emotion and deny one?

Guilt is essential to the function of the moral compass. It's the emotion that does not allow you to kick a kitten when you're mad at your wife. It is the *conscious* feeling that what you're doing is not right, will cause harm and should not be done. That you are committing a breach of conduct. It's also the *conscious* feeling of pain after you've done something that wasn't right, caused harm and shouldn't have been done.

Ex: You drove your backhoe through your neighbors lawn when you were drunk. You were caught up in the emotion of the moment. That heavy weight in your gut the next day? Guilt. Guilt. Guilt.

Guilt is what makes us seek atonement from the wronged, the slighted, the overlooked and the hurt. To be guilty is to have done wrong. To feel guilty is the awareness of having done wrong.

It is just as possible to give up feeling guilt as it is to give up anger. The Dalai Lama feels anger. So did Mother Theresa. How they channel that emotion is the difference between being a cognizant human and being empty. Disable one emotion, others won't function well. Everything is a bit off. The less you feel, the less human you are. Is that really what you wanted?

I think it's a mistake to lump actual guilt in with self reproach (which is feeling of guilt and/or culpability for offenses *either real or imagined* brought about by inadequacy). This is not true guilt. Self-reproach comes from outside/other sources. True guilt comes from within. From the soul. the heart. the mind. It does not come from your mother. Distinguishing between the two makes the diffence between a happy self-aware life and suspired mediocrity.

Guilt is the due north on the moral compass. It's the built in boundary map for the human race.

Oh, and that crap that comes from your mother/catholic church/ethic group? You can unlearn it. Try therapy.