AI,

Is it "good" to get to a point where one no longer reacts? I feel that it is.

And would you please tell me what the two ways are to do this (with the common ground of mindfulness)?

I appreciate your explanation of progress as both with the mind and the heart. I think I needed that bit of clarification because I was seeing them as one thing.

As for shame - I think lots of people have felt this. To differentiate it from guilt, I would say shame is a state of being -- I am "bad", whereas guilt is more, I did something wrong/bad. I agree that shame is not a valid concept, and thankfully, intellect helps me untangle it and see that it is invalid and helps me overcome it.

It helped when you said, to hurt another, and act accordingly is a function of the heart, rather than mind. Because as I said, I was not seeing heart and mind as separate. It makes more sense now. So you let your heart guide you in matters of emotion or feeling, and your mind guide you in matters of logic, puzzles, math, etc.?