Theos-Talk Archives (September 1997 Message tl00189)

>Interesting comments. Possibly true. I think it depends on a person's
level of
>evolvement. As we progress, we become more individually responsible for
our
>actions and bear more karma individually. How else could we emerge from
the
>collective soup?

Absolutely agree. Emerging from the collective soup is our big 
developmental task right now. The basic idea, and this comes
from Ken Wilber, is that we begin in an unconscious collective,
emerge into an individuality, and then rise into a conscious
collective (Wilber's pre-trans and post-trans paradigm).

>I don't know about producing no more karma than a lion or bear. An animal
has
>instincts to kill based on its necessity to survive. Man, having
>consciousness, is not so dependent on instinct and bears the burden of
making
>choice - so he probably always has some personal karma.

Unfortunately, there are many people who kill from fear who are
not much more evolved than an animal. Karma, at least mental
or psychic karma, is only really effective after establishing a
conscience. It is the conscience, a result of moral development,
that produces most personal karma (karma in the sense of
punishments and rewards). You are quite right that every time
we make a decision or choice, we make new karma. 

Jerry S.
Member, TI