"Unethical" behavior, is it truly a hindrance?

[pfletcha]

                 As a recovering drug addict that's somewhat accustomed to a life of deception, I've recently acknowledged that old habits truly die hard. To this day I've never stolen from anybody personally (besides 60$ from my parents like 10 years ago), and yet I'm still struggling not to shoplift small pocketable items (mostly food) from retail establishments. And just yesterday I managed to scam both kroger and western union out of 30$ due to an error on their part. However I've had a guilty feeling in the pit of my stomach all day today from it.

                 I'm not telling you any of this because I'm proud of it. at this point it's become something of a pathological urge to steal, even when I have money or don't need it in the first place. To me stealing candy and burritos is akin to pissing in the ocean, ie  its too petty an act to actually negatively harm society in any way. I've never been able to snuff out my guilty conscience entirely with it, but isn't the guilty conscience, ethics, social norms etc. all just an illusion born from a lifetime of conditioning and being raised in a conservative family?

                 So Is it possible to lie and steal while doing the enlightenment work? I remember Leo saying you could become enlightened and still rape children if you wanted (!) But someone try and talk some sense into me if  possible. And would I eventually need to make amends to these businesses, like they do in the 12 step AA program? Your thoughts plz

[Nahm]

@pfletcha Can you be enlightened and steal, lie, and rape children - or not?   You.   Can you? 

[Leo Gura]

@pfletcha You can't in the sense that it isn't aligned with Truth and Love, and you do it unconsciously.

See, if you were deeply conscious, those habits would break your integrity and connection with the Truth.

If you lie and steal while doing enlightenment work you will not get very far. Your lying and stealing will catch up with you. Karma 101.

That guilt you feel is your soul telling you that you are not living up to your highest potential as God.

[Shadowraix]

@Leo Gura Careful with the guilt thing. You can be conditioned to believe something is wrong and feel guilt over that. It's a survival mechanism. 

[Nahm]

Lol. Is guilt ethical? 

[Mu_]

5 hours ago, pfletcha said:

                 As a recovering drug addict that's somewhat accustomed to a life of deception, I've recently acknowledged that old habits truly die hard. To this day I've never stolen from anybody personally (besides 60$ from my parents like 10 years ago), and yet I'm still struggling not to shoplift small pocketable items (mostly food) from retail establishments. And just yesterday I managed to scam both kroger and western union out of 30$ due to an error on their part. However I've had a guilty feeling in the pit of my stomach all day today from it.

                 I'm not telling you any of this because I'm proud of it. at this point it's become something of a pathological urge to steal, even when I have money or don't need it in the first place. To me stealing candy and burritos is akin to pissing in the ocean, ie  its too petty an act to actually negatively harm society in any way. I've never been able to snuff out my guilty conscience entirely with it, but isn't the guilty conscience, ethics, social norms etc. all just an illusion born from a lifetime of conditioning and being raised in a conservative family?

                 So Is it possible to lie and steal while doing the enlightenment work? I remember Leo saying you could become enlightened and still rape children if you wanted (!) But someone try and talk some sense into me if  possible. And would I eventually need to make amends to these businesses, like they do in the 12 step AA program? Your thoughts plz

Why not just change the habit that causes the discomfort, rather then ponder if its just conditioning/illusion from being raised in a conservative family or what ever?  Do you really want to put a lot of effort going down the road of unwiring this plausible conditioning (perhaps its not conditioning and its your soul and greater sense of good) so that your reward is you can steal without feeling guilty? hahahahaha..........

Imagine I stole from your house a few items every day, that were very small, no big deal right, and it made me feel a little guilty.  Instead of changing I rang your doorbell and said hey I'm stealing your stuff and its making me feel guilty, but will you please tell me its just a illusion and no big deal so I can continue doing it.  Hahaha, how would you respond......

Edited June 1, 2019 by Mu_