JUDGEMENT, HOW DO YOU JUDGE?

Matthew W. Miller, Msc.D.

Dr. Matthew MillerIn just about every religious or philosophical treatise, there is some admonition or warning regarding judging.  It may be related to some condition in life or some prejudice, but usually, it concentrates on the judging of our fellow man.  Probably the most famous of these admonitions is that which is attributed to the Master Jesus. One version states, “Judge not, lest ye be judged.”  Another says, “As ye judge, so shall ye be judged.”

Although the two versions seem to be quite simple to understand, they have caused many difficulties for people since their inception.  Just the fact that there are two versions that really do not say the same thing could be quite confusing.

In the first version, one might interpret this as meaning that one should never judge anyone or anything.  Easy to say, not so easy to do.  We do some form of judging every day.  Because we don’t want to be accused of something which we consider to be a not so positive trait, we may call this judging by another name– say, “observation”.  We do “observe” people and their actions.  We “observe” conditions in our lives.  We “observe” just about everything that goes on.   And what follows right after these observations?  Well, we judge what we have just observed.    We may call these judgments or observations opinions, but in reality, opinions and judgments are quite similar.  The fact is that much of our understanding of ourselves and others comes from these observations and the opinions we form.  This altogether is not such a bad thing.  In fact, it is one of the tools we use in our process of learning.

How many times have we looked at the actions of a character on a T.V. show and said that the person was just like an uncle” Fred,” or “Sam” at the office?  We often had hoped that Uncle Fred would look at this show so that he could realize what kind of person he is and change his ways.  Well, even if Uncle Fred did look at the show,  chances are that he would not have recognized the character as being similar to himself.

This brings up a very important aspect of observation.  How many times have we been able to see ourselves in the actions of a character on T.V.?  Oh sure, we might tend to identify with the hero or with someone that we would like to be, but when it comes to actions that we disapprove, we usually liken them to someone else and not ourselves.  This is quite normal, in that, we usually do not care to spend much time on our own shortcomings. Fortunately, our higher selves have a different view and bring into our lives those experiences, sometimes a bit unpleasant, that affords us the opportunity to examine those shortcomings. We then begin to make judgments regarding ourselves.  Most of the time we are not too hard on ourselves.  We tend to be lenient and understanding of what might have caused us to be the way we are.  Very rarely are we as compassionate when judging another.

One might say that the degree of severity or lack thereof in self-judgment could in itself be a shortcoming and should be judged accordingly.  Maybe so, however, consider that the compassionate side shown when judging ourselves utilizes a more centered and accurate approach. This is because we have all of the information which caused us to be the way we are.  We are more understanding, which results in a greater opportunity to learn from the situation, and as a result, we become a more well-rounded and happy person.  Now please realize that this is not an endorsement for self-approval of anything we happen to do.  We all know that the law of Karma operates from an impersonal and just position.  When I state that we are more understanding when judging ourselves, I am merely following the admonition given by the Oracle at Delphi, “Know thyself”.

The keywords in implementing this philosophy are compassion and tolerance. This helps us arrive at a centered position and puts us in a better position to receive all information about any given situation and not block anything due to prejudice, anger, or intolerance.

Prejudice, Anger, and Intolerance, let us call these aspects energy — energy of a lower vibration.  Most of our lives are spent enveloped in some form of energy.  We have strong feelings about a situation or about another person. We feel that we have just cause for the feelings we have.  We allow the energy of the situation to enter our beings and affect us in many ways, usually not so positive, however, this is one of the functions of the emotions.  They act as sensors to bring us all kinds of information.  It’s what we do with this information that is so important.  Do we use this information as a justification to give vent to our negative feelings or do we use the information to aid us in our lives? I believe that we all like to think that we would always use the information in a constructive way for the betterment of all but the fact remains that this is not always the case.  That’s O.K.  We are all Masters in the making, not already Masters.

However, what can we do to pursue our objective of using the information in a positive way?

There are as many methods as there are philosophies and religions; however, there is a common thread that runs through all of the advice and suggestions given by these philosophies, religions, or councilors we may consult.  This common thread relates to the process of being centered.  This simply means to be in balance.

Just think of how you felt the last time you were either very angry or even very happy.  Probably your inner, if not your outer, emotions were in a real state of excitement.  As is said often, your juices were flowing.  Without getting into the actual physical and etheric aspects of what is taking place in your body, suffice it to say that when very angry, the adrenal glands react with the “fight or flight” response.   This can lead to a misconception of what is really taking place in your life, which of course can lead to inappropriate decisions and actions.

As mentioned before, the key is centering–balance.  Easy to say, but not always so easy to do.  The path to centering ourselves begins in changing the way in which we think.  For example, at the start of this essay, I mentioned the two different views of the phrase attributed to the Master Jesus:  “Judge not, lest ye be judged” or “As ye judge, so shall ye be judged.”

The first of these two phrases have been discussed and I think we realize that it would indeed be very difficult to live our lives without some type of “judging”.  I believe the mystical answer lies with the second interpretation, “As ye judge, so shall ye be judged.”

This second interpretation implies that indeed, as we go through life, we will judge or observe the many actions of people around us.  The difference is that the type of energy that comes back to us is based upon the type of energy we used in judging.  When we judge someone who has violated a law or who has injured another, do we do this with hate and fear, or do we do this with understanding and compassion?  I realize that this last question can raise some interesting emotions.

How can we have understanding and compassion when dealing with one who has done something very injurious to another?  It’s as if the use of understanding and compassion implies that the act wasn’t that bad—that we almost condone the act.  After all, shouldn’t we feel anger and condemnation of the person for what he or she has done?

problems in lifeLet’s think about this for a moment.  Remember what was said about centered self-judgment?  Because we used compassion and tolerance, we were able to receive all of the information about any given situation. Well, this applies not only to ourselves but also to others and other situations.

Another aspect we might consider is that we have been taught that God is in everything, that the Divine Spark of God resides in all things.  When one person suffers, each of us suffers.  When one person leaves this planet, we all are diminished.  So, why would we wish to direct uncentered negative feelings toward another when we know that the same God that is within us is also within him?  This is a very difficult question to answer. You see, we have been taught from childhood that we should condemn “evil”.  We were taught to shun those who did bad things.  We were taught to separate ourselves from all things different.

Those who taught us this did not understand that this separation not only cut us off from other people, it also cut us off from other aspects of God, and the growth that comes from the association.  In addition, we may have also cut them off from a possible source of guidance – namely ourselves. We might actually be the instruments that help the person begin his transformation. Utilizing understanding and compassion does not mean forgiving without atonement.  It means to take whatever position is appropriate to help the person in the transformational process.

Sometimes this can be quite drastic, as in the case of a judge who may sentence the person to jail.  The effectiveness of the beginning of the transformation can depend greatly on the energy of the judge.  Does he hand down the sentence with anger and revenge, with the intent of correction and reform, or if very enlightened, with the knowledge of the law of cause and effect?  In the latter example, the person being sentenced might not like what is happening to him, but the beginning of transformation will not be impeded by the anger that is exchanged between the judge and the person.  This allows for a more efficient start to the transformational process and is in compliance with the doctrine that we all are one, and should treat each other as we would be treated.

One does not have to be a judge to practice this doctrine.  As stated, we do some form of judging each day.  The key to appropriately evaluating what we observe lies in holding within our consciousness the doctrine of compassion, understanding, and justice — justice which comes from a centered position, not one of anger or revenge.

This relates directly to the second admonition stated earlier, i.e.: “As ye judge, so shall ye be judged.” If we use compassion and tolerance when judging another, we set into motion a vibration that attracts a similar vibration when the judgment is focused on ourselves whether from another or by ourselves. We gain more information when we exercise compassion and tolerance. We then have a greater chance to arrive at an appropriate decision.  This decision is then rendered with the same energy that we would use when judging another.  If we are angry and revengeful when judging, then that is the energy that will be used toward us.  If our energy is centered, then it is likely that we will receive that same kind of treatment.

The key is to remember that we all do the best we can, however, no one escapes the balancing of karma. We carry the vibration of every thought, word, and action within our auric field.  At the most appropriate time and when the most may be learned,  our thoughts, words, and actions will be balanced. How they balance is entirely up to us.