In an etymological sense, the word ‘repentance’ traces to something like ‘turning around, a complete reorientation’ hinting then perhaps at adopting a loving , joyful viewpoint of the Inner Self. Nevertheless, as it is used today it means quite the opposite of that, meaning a duty bound, vengeance full orientation of the limited and linear type of reality view, loosely translating as something like ‘in the past you created for them reality that they did not like so now to make it even they must create for you reality that you do not like’
The idea of artificial guilt -the same as blame - is based on the impossibility of the idea that one can assert oneself though action or choice into creating someone else’s experience. And in terms of self – that anything can happen that does not emerge from one’s focus.
Also if being responsible is equaled with readily identifying with blame being directed at self then the idea of being responsible for everything one experiences might not seem like a lot of fun. Meanwhile the very existence of any reality is so wonderful that responsibility is basically what fun is.
It appears to me that in the more basic terms of the Inner Self there is no guilt, that is such emotion can not be generated, much less maintained, from the point of view of love and joy, while at a focus where no inner senses are awarely utilized – the idea of natural guilt appears to be generated as a counterpoint to it. Anyhow, here are some Seth quotes on that.
”To that extent natural guilt projected man into the future. This is of course a learning process, natural within the time system that the species adopted. Unfortunately, artificial guilt takes on the same attributes, utilizing both memory and projection. Wars are self-perpetuating because they combine both natural and unnatural guilt, compounded and reinforced by memory. Conscious killing beyond the needs of sustenance is a violation."
"Natural guilt is also highly connected with memory, and arose hand in hand with mankind’s excursion into the experience of past, present and future. Natural guilt was meant as a preventive measure. It needed the existence of a sophisticated memory system in which new situations and experiences could be judged against recalled ones, and evaluations made in an in-between moment of reflection."
"(Long pause at 9:56.) So controls were needed least the conscious mind, denied full use of the animals’ innate taboos, run away with itself. Guilt, natural guilt, depends upon memory then."
NoPR Part One: Chapter 8: Session 635, January and 24, 1973
"The fact is that man began to believe in demons when he started to feel a sense of guilt. The guilt itself arose with the birth of compassion."
"Guilt is the other side of compassion... Guilt in that respect therefore has a strong natural basis, and when it is perverted, misused or misunderstood, it has that great terrifying energy of any runaway basic phenomenon."
"Demons of any kind are the result of your beliefs. They are born from a belief in “unnatural” guilt. You may personify them. You may even meet them in your experience, but if so they are still the product of your immeasurable creativity, though formed by your guilt and your belief in it."
"If you shed the distorted concepts of unnatural guilt and accepted the wise ancient wisdom of natural guilt instead, there would be no wars. You would not kill each other mindlessly. You would understand the living integrity of each organ in your body and have no need to attack any of them."
NoPR Part One: Chapter 8: Session 634, January 22, 1973
"The simplicity of natural guilt does not lead to what you think of as conscience, yet conscience is also dependent upon that moment of reflection that in a large measure sets you apart from the animals... Conscience arose with the emergence of artificial guilt..."
"Now: Artificial guilt is still highly creative in its way, an offshoot made in man’s image as his conscious mind began to consider and play upon the natural innocent guilt that originally implied no punishment."
"...You are most likely involved with artificial guilt. Even if a violation occurred, natural guilt does not involve penance..."
NoPR Part One: Chapter 9: Session 636, January 29, 1973
"… early given the idea that a portion of your personality was guilty and therefore you were relieved when you were told that there were methods whereby you could receive this guilt. You accepted, for example, the penances and so forth because as a child, given the idea of guilt, you wondered what punishment would befall you..."
"… Now, if the guilt is severe enough, as unfortunately it often is, this pseudo-guilt, then the young adult will do almost anything to relieve it..."
"... Guilt will not help you; it is only a hindrance..."
ECS2 ESP Class Session, June 30, 1970
"Torrow for example let him without guilt let the day be used to putter in the bedroom, play with poetry, do what comes naturally without a sense of guilt."
TPS2 Session 621 (Deleted Portion) October 16, 1972
"And I tell you this: there is no guilt. And I tell you: there is no guilt… You create the idea of guilt. And when you believe in guilt, then you create the penance in accordance to how strongly you believe in the guilt."
ECS1 ESP Class Session, October 14, 1969
"“Ask, and you shall receive.” Christ well knew that that statement was indeed true, but men who condemned themselves, who considered themselves sinners, would not know what to ask for, except punishment to relieve their guilt. Hence he stressed time and time again that each person was a child of God."
TPS4 Deleted Session January 9, 1978
"I am well aware that strong elements of your civilization are built upon ideas of guilt and punishment. Many of you are afraid that without a feeling of guilt there would be no inner discipline, and the world would run wild. It is running quite wild now — not despite your ideas of guilt and punishment, but largely because of them..."
"... It may not be so obvious that many of your present actions are caused by a belief in guilt..."
"... You may then try to discover what the charged event was, but in such a case your trouble is a belief in guilt itself."
NoPR Part One: Chapter 4: Session 619, October 9, 1972
"Once you realize that your guilt has no basis then it can dissolve... You are creating the guilt, and through understanding you can learn to dissolve it for it will simply vanish."
ECS2 ESP Class Session, August 18, 1970
"Self-disapproval in that context became a virtue, for indeed survival depended, it seemed, upon constant self and tribal evaluation. None of this has anything to do with natural guilt, as described in Personal Reality. Now man does feel a certain amount of natural guilt when he loses his identification with nature, for that identification leads to intuitive connections with nature’s greater source."
TPS4 Deleted Session January 21, 1978
"One belief, of course, can be dependent upon many others, each generating its own emotion and imaginative reality. The belief in illness itself depends upon a belief in human unworthiness, guilt and imperfection, for example."
NoPR Part One: Chapter 4: Session 620, October 11, 1972
"In the name of God, of course, the artifacts of civilizations have been destroyed, libraries ruined—and when such harm is done, in the name of God, then men are trained to feel no guilt."
TPS5 Deleted Session September 13, 1978
"It is, of course, important that both of you keep your spirits as high as possible—yet be understanding with yourselves when you do become blue, and don’t add new guilt on top of the momentary sadness."
TPS7 Deleted Session December 2, 1983
"Before children are acquainted with conventional ideas of guilt and punishment, they realize that it is easier to bring about good events, through wishing, than it is to bring about unhappy ones"
NoME Part Two: Chapter 4: Session 824, March 1, 1978
"The belief in guilt therefore would be a cementing structure that would hold together other similar core beliefs, and add to their strength."
NoPR Part One: Chapter 3: Session 618, September 28, 1972
"Even the weight of guilt is better than no feeling at all."
NoME Part Three: Chapter 9: Session 863, June 27, 1979
"You cannot divorce your private value systems from your health, and the hospitals often profit from the guilt that religions have instilled in their people."
NoME Part One: Chapter 2: Session 814, October 8, 1977
"There should never be a word in any language that means repentance. There should only be a word that means, “I bless,” for when you bless you do not need to repent. And when you accept a blessing, you do not need to repent. For when you realize how to accept a blessing, there is nothing to repent. Love of All That Is requires simply that you become open as air, for when you are open as air then the joy of All That Is flows through you indiscriminately, and there is nothing to repent. You only need repentance when you do not know joy. For within joy and within All That Is there is only glory that is only consciousness and song. There is only blessedness."
ECS1 ESP Class Session, February 25, 1969
"Those who believe in reincarnation will ask, “What about past-life beliefs? And even if I forget the idea of guilt, am I bound to follow the rules of karma?”"
NoPR Part Two: Chapter 19: Session 667, May 30, 1973
"The basic idea of karma is not punishment. Karma presents the opportunity for development; to make use of opportunities that were not taken advantage of, to fill in gaps of ignorance, to enlarge understanding through experience, to do what should be done."
TES8 Session 388 December 20, 1967
"Now karma does not operate in terms of cause and effect though it seems to you that it must. Instead, you see, all your acts now affect all of your other reincarnational selves both, in your terms, past and present. Now you have settled upon one mathematical system to follow in your universe. Along with it you have settled upon one line of reality. This you endorse as reality, and anything outside of it does not have your stamp of approval, so therefore, it seems to you that it cannot exist, in your terms."
ECS3 ESP Class Session, May 4, 1971
"There are, in fact, so many distorted ideas connected with the concept of reincarnation in general, that I think it far better to simply concentrate upon the idea of multiple existences… In greater terms, you are working “at all levels” and at all of your own existences at once, even though it is useful sometimes to think of reincarnation as a series of lives, one after the other."
WTH Part One: Chapter 4: April 2, 1984