JUDGEMENT

We are taught by our gurus, saints, avatars and most spiritual literature, that we must give up judgement in order to be free. We might ask, free from what? The answer is the ego. The ego runs our life until we realize how, painful, it makes our life. It tries to keep us separate from all others and all creation. It continually attempts to define us as separate or special.

We discussed, in a past blog about, the ego's use, of its place in the world; how it constantly urged us to measure ourselves against all others. This measurement extends to occupation, religion, race, class, wealth, body size, attractiveness, nationality, and it goes on and on. These judgements create a huge fabric or matrix, that encompasses our minds and traps us into beliefs and ideas that keep us separate. With some reflection and watchfulness, however, we can extricate ourselves from these preordained judgements. We can see how crazy they are. We know all people are equal. We know all people are worthy. We know the separation is artificial. We know we are one. We are free then; right?

Well......... the ego has lots of tricks up its sleeve. The ego's most basic function is to protect us from danger. This protection has become wildly distorted to include anything, we may not agree with. The ego wants to keep us, in its little box, defined by what it thinks we are. We develop all kinds of little beliefs that fly, under our radar, of being judgements. They can be anything; e.g. people who put cream in their coffee are not real connoisseurs of coffee. If they are not, real connoisseurs of coffee, they can't be as good as us. We meet someone, or some one in our family, is 'guilty' of this habit. We make these judgements automatically. We think they're just observations. We certainly don't think we are better. We all vary in how many of these little propensities for judgement we have. Some of us are layered with these little statements. It, basically, has to do with the ego's convincing us that we are right about something.

Wow! We can find this a daunting task. When are, our opinions and observations, just opinions and observations, and when are they judgements? Good God! Yes, we might need him, here; or Allah, Great Spirit, The Source, All that is, Krishna or what ever pops in our mind when we are flummoxed. No matter what we call it, your Higher Self, God, whatever. Help is available. These little judgements {actually there are no such thing as little judgements- all judgement separates us} are often seen as inconsequential. We don't realize the impact they have.

How do we know we are judging? When we make an observation; we may note the other person has different taste, preferences, wishes, dreams, etc, than we do. We may wonder if we would like or not like their choices. We see that they are on a different path. That's it. No better or worse. No inkling of thought in that direction.

When we make a judgement; there can be smugness, lip curling [on the inside or outside], irritation, dismissiveness, some inside response that says 'one is better than the other'. The ego is tricky. The smugness, we might feel, can be very subtle. After all, we are right aren't we? Whenever, we feel uncomfortable on the inside we are generally involved in an egoistic program. We are ensnared in some kind of judgement.

What can we do? We can know that we do not have to be right. We can know that, any other's thoughts, feelings, opinions, and ideas are no threat to ourselves. So much of this type of judgement is an attempt to protect, who, we think we are. We need no protection.

Much of the solution has to do with learning to live in the present and letting the past go. All these mechanisms have their origin in the past. The past is a heavy burden. We can lay it down. Would it be so hard, to accept, that we know nothing? Accept, what is here, now? All our preconceived ideas are faulty.

The solution, of course, is love. When we are secure in our own worthiness and lovableness, it won't occur to us to judge. I ran across a phrase, yesterday.  "Be the change you want to see". At first it may seem like practice. It may seem like we are, just, practicing loving everybody. It may seem that we are, just, practicing being non-judgmental. Love is the most powerful force in the universe. If we practice it - it will be real. Love takes over, when it is invited. Invite Love in. Judgement will become a memory.

Love and Peace,  Gregg.