Judgment: The Slipperiest Slope There Is

The past few weeks have been an accelerated course in judgment for me.  At every turn, I've been very much aware of the power of judgment to influence my perception, behavior, and choice. While this is nothing especially new, I've noticed that something has shifted in my ability to be aware of the patterns of my life around this issue. I offer the following from my teacher Spotted Eagle that resonates deeply for me. May it do the same for you.

"Judgment is as insidious as it is perpetrating. Laced with pity, shame, and guilt, it can seem to elevate us to the role of martyr, but wrapped in blame and outrage, it can seem to elevate us to the role of avenging angels. Now, from this false sense of superiority, this is how we confuse what is deeply dysfunctional, but an all too human reaction, confused with the truth. What is true is that we are human, and that our reactions are based in existential fear, our deepest fears about not getting what we think we need to survive.

The creative principle of communication will give us the power to see that because we are human, that what is true about humanity is also true about us. That we are no different from our fellows, and they are no different from us. We are all afraid. We are all possessed of traits that we are here to transcend. Our differences are differences of degree rather than of kind. And we are all aspiring to something higher, whether or not it may seem so at the time in this particular lifetime.

Our inquiry begins with the questions, “Can we, as human beings, possess distortions in our perception and not perpetrate? Can we undergo suffering and not feel victimized? Can we witness suffering and not deem to violate the sanctity of the other’s sacred journey through rescuing?” 

The truth is, you cannot grieve the suffering of another. You cannot know how another actually feels or know his motivations. You can only observe his reaction. All else is your own projection and drama. What we perceive about the other’s experience and feelings can only be made up in our own minds, based on how we think we ourselves might feel in similar circumstances. So anything we do in response to our projections is based on the deep distortions of existential fear. What is our alternative? It is to be heart‐centered, and to speak and act from this place."  ~ Spotted Eagle