Guilt is an attempt to purchase salvation, manipulate God, and purchase forgiveness by suffering. These attitudes stem from the misinterpretation of God as a great punisher. We think we will assuage His righteous wrath by our pain, suffering, and penance. There is actually only one appropriate ‘penance’ for wrongdoing, and that is change. Instead of condemning the negative, we choose the positive.
To make progress and to change takes more effort than feeling guilty, but, it is a more appropriate response. We note from the Scale of Consciousness that Guilt is way down at the bottom, whereas God is way up at the top. Consequently, wallowing around in guilt at the bottom of the field of consciousness does not get us to the top.
Humility means that we see our own life as the evolution of spiritual consciousness. We learn from mistakes. Maybe the most useful of all quotes to revise whatever the past behavior is, ‘It seemed like a good idea at the time’. Later, of course, in retrospect, it becomes recontextualized and seems to be in error. However, if other people are intrinsically innocent because of the nature of consciousness, then so is the self of the spiritual seeker. The Eye of the I, ch. 9, pg. 193-194.