Guilt and shame after sin

My observation of people tells me they rarely if ever do things they really think are sinful. The only exception is probably giving in to sex urges, so people would be a lot happier if they realized sex is not a sin, although of course infidelity is. Maybe giving in to addictions such as gambling and using food for comfort rather than nourishment fall into that category to, but only a little.

Criminals can kill people without the slightest qualm; con artists regularly take money from the elderly and destroy what is left of their lives without giving it a second thought; people easily gossip about others and then secretly do the same things, without even noticing. In other words the serious sins are done and no one feels guilty or shame or remorse (until they are caught, and then these emotions are usually fake).

Our conscience can be good or evil, and in most it is a mix, of personal predilections, cultural norms, and no doubt personal experience. That is karma -- the fact that the more you do good the better your person becomes, the more you do evil the worse it becomes.

The key is not guilt or shame or whatever, but mindfulness and rational thought about what you are doing and its effects on others and on yourself.