Theos-Talk Archives (September 1997 Message tl00091)

>If I was entirely free to brush my teeth, and
>I did so only spontaneously and on the spur of the moment, I would
>irregularly brush my teeth.  With a fixed rule, I am more likely to
>brush them regularly.  

Tom, your example shows exactly why rules are so troublesome.
It all has to do with motive. We should brush our teeth when
then get dirty and need cleaning, and not just because its a
certain time of day, and certainly not just because our mother says
we have to. To blindly follow rules makes us sheep. Of course,
in society we have to obey laws and rules in order to peacefully
coexist, because, as HPB says (SD I think), humanity as a whole
is only in its adolescence. A mature person would not need a written
code of conduct, because a mature person would act out of
compassion at all times. Sheep need direction and guidance.
People should not need this, and at some point along the
spiritual Path, this realization dawns and human rules go out
the window as so much unnecessary baggage.

Jerry S.
Member, TI