Theos-Talk Archives (May 1997 Message tl00276)

Experience is a much faster way of creating or dispensing of karmic
effects.  For example, on the internet, you deal with people in a very
distant way, therefore largely avoiding conflicts and biases that could
result from personal contact.  As an experiment, notice the difference in
your feeling if you were to talk to a person with eye to eye contact, and
if you were to converse avoiding eye contact.  Another factor that is
avoided is forced instantaneous reaction.  If your world is largely based
on virtual reality, you will not train yourself  to react properly in real
time situations, when all your senses are picking up either positive or
negative stimulations.

In a spiritual group setting, that minimizing of karmic effect means the
minimizing of personal growth (even if the REAL experience was a negative
experience, it was a strong learning experience).  It also means the
minimizing of effect such a group can have.

Thoa