‘I will judge nothing for I can make no assumption based upon such limited perception’ - A Course in Miracles

We judge what we most deny within ourselves and then use it as a way of controlling and manipulating our environment. With judgment we can place a clamp on our energy that suppresses our feelings and projects them out into the world so we don’t have to face them. This isn’t so effective in the long run because they keep coming back up anyway when someone/something triggers us. And when they come up, they are still at the same age as when we hid them away which is why we might suddenly find ourselves acting rather childishly.  

The minute we play judge and jury we pollute the situation with fear. Everything we judge to be wrong in the world, we’re actually adding fear to it and thus perpetuating it in some way. Our judgement of ourselves (beating ourselves up) extinguishes our worthiness and stunts our growth.

When we judge we send a message to the universe which says “I don’t understand this, please help me understand”, so we will eventually become what we judge so that we can learn to understand it. When we come to a true understanding of why something’s occurring the way that it is (compassion), it becomes impossible to judge it.  We realise that everyone is doing the best they can.

The key to releasing the judgment is acceptance – of ourselves, others and the situations we find challenging, which means accepting ourselves exactly as we are, for this is the place where all healing begins, where we love the unlovable.

Beyond judgment lies discernment (a quality of love) which is having an objective viewpoint without condemnation, self-righteousness, judgment or emotional charge. We don’t have to approve, just see things as they actually are without making something good or bad, and move into the understanding that everything is simply different.  We have preferences without expectation or attachment to the outcome. It’s just the truth and based on this truth, we set appropriate spiritual boundaries (See Energetic Hygiene resource).

Everything in life can be seen as a curse or a blessing. We deny this when we label what happens to us as either good or bad. The following old Zen story illustrates this lesson most effectively.

A farmer had a horse but one day the horse ran away, so the farmer and his son had to plough their fields themselves. Their neighbours said, "Oh, what bad luck that your horse ran away!" But the farmer replied, "Bad luck, good luck, who knows?"

The next week the horse returned to the farm bringing a herd of wild horses with him. "What wonderful luck!" cried the neighbours, but the farmer responded, "Good luck, bad luck, who knows?"

Then the farmer's son was thrown as he tried to ride one of the wild horses, and he broke his leg. "Ah, such bad luck," sympathized the neighbours. Once again, the farmer responded, "Bad luck, good luck, who knows?" 

A short time later, the ruler of the country recruited all young men to join his army for battle. The son, with his broken leg, was left at home. "What good luck that your son was not forced into battle!" celebrated the neighbours. And the farmer remarked, "Good luck, bad luck, who knows?"

When we move beyond judgment it can feel like we have dropped a huge burden. We release the need to control and allow everything to simply be as it is. In its place we discover calm assurance, understanding, empathy, compassion, and a lightness of heart and spirit. A most liberating way to experience life indeed!

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