In The Ripple Effect Newsletter #33 (Nov 10) I talked about our being “diamonds in the rough,” how the extreme pressures coming at us, especially now, affect us, and how to cope so that we become a true “diamond” where we can shine our light brilliantly. Talking with a dear friend this week, it struck me that one of the harshest lessons we are going through globally, as part of the ascension process, is the life lesson of JUDGEMENT. You have heard me speak of judgement before (The Ripple Effect Newsletter #17 – Lives Interrupted Part 2 (April 7)) but now let’s consider how this lesson is playing out globally, perhaps why it is occurring, and what it means for you. Let’s start at the beginning…
From the beginning of time humans have been exposed to judgement, that is, as defined by
Miriam-Webster “the process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing.” Scholars discuss the role of families keeping order and later priests and kings taking on that role starting with the earliest civilizations 10,000 BCE. Decisions were made as to whether someone had “acted badly” and then what customs were to be used to correct the behaviour. Later, in biblical times, Jesus addressed judgement as he advised us to “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;” (Luke 6:37) In the end, however, he himself was judged by the people of that time and punished. Throughout history religious wars have not only been about political power and land possession but also judgement about the opponents’ beliefs.
It is ironic that religions perpetrated the killing of others when at the same time their dogma promotes love towards each other. So, if the world’s major religions tell us, as individual members of the human race, to love one another, why do we see, global examples of judgement with harsh and horrific outcomes on a massive scale? On a fast forward through recent history, no one can forget the judgement in wars around the world from the first world war to those still raging - the continuing war in Ukraine, the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and ongoing conflicts in many African states. The conflict arises when people are judged to be a threat to each other. The actions of loving one another are absent. Fear and hatred become the replacement.
We have also experienced judgement in other contexts of the trauma and crisis on the planet. The recent pandemic saw judgement on an individual, family, community, national, and international basis with regard to choices in personal health practices. The risk of a global recession creates judgement of government spending, business practices, economic policy, and even personal spending. The focus on a growing climate crisis has perpetuated judgement of certain industries and climate change resolutions as well as those who support and participate in them. It seems that every direction we turn, judgement within these global events triggers more conflict, division, and trauma whether we are physically involved or pulled in by conversations and thoughts about our values and beliefs. People have turned on one another. Love and respect for each other has been pushed aside by fear and anger. So how do we escape this downward global spiral of low vibrational emotions such as anger, depression, anxiety, despair, powerlessness, insecurity, rage, and blame that have been created by judgement?
Let’s start by examining our personal lessons in judgement. I will give you an example of my experiences… When I look back over the years, I can recall several occasions when I felt judged and even wrongly accused of doing something I felt I had not done. With the earlier incidents from childhood to as recent as just five or six years ago at work, I reacted with sadness, frustration, and confusion. I took the accusations to heart. I took it personally. I wondered how someone could think about me in that way and tried to see how they had come to that judgement or conclusion. Was I really at fault? Was I really to blame? I tried to
approach my accusers so I could understand their thoughts but they would not talk. Trying to understand, I looked at the situation over and over. Then, I became righteous and angry, certain that I had done nothing wrong. Unwittingly, I began to judge the others. What was wrong with them? How could they think of me that way? I concluded that they must just be mean-hearted people! Feeling judged, I resorted to judging them and the conflict continued. As I fretted and complained, the situation persisted. The more I focused on it and how awful I felt, the longer it continued. I didn’t realize I was putting energy into it, keeping it alive. I was creating that reality for myself. Eventually I got tired of the “fight,” I pulled back, and resigned myself to just trying harder to be a better person. I stopped being defensive but I did feel defeated. After a long while when information came to light that reversed the accusations, I moved on but did not see that I had resorted to judgement just as I had been judged. Have you had similar experiences in your life? Have you ever felt judged? Have you responded with judging others?
After those repeated experiences had I learned my lesson in judgement? Apparently not because another lesson appeared during the pandemic. This time, it was not just me. I realized that I was part of an entire large group of people that was being judged on our beliefs and choices that resulted in our freedom being impacted. This time my reaction was different. My initial confusion, disbelief and outrage was brief as I looked at the bigger picture. This was not just me. I saw how these judgemental actions were affecting many people around the world and the outrage and fear it was perpetuating. I saw how the fear and anger was dividing families, communities, and countries. I recognized these as feelings of being judged and I did not want to stay in those feelings of turmoil and low vibration. Being down the angry rabbit hole did not feel good and I did not want the divisive experiences those feelings brought with them. So, I decided to take my power back and climb out. Luckily, my husband was in that rabbit hole with me and we supported each other on the journey back.
This new lesson in judgement had us reflecting on other population based examples of judgement that we had observed. The most current and predominant example was that of
residential schools and how our Indigenous population in Canada was judged and treated. Although we were not being treated as harshly as our Indigenous people or other peoples who have been judged in global conflicts, we could somewhat identify what it was like to be segregated and targeted. This made me pause and reflect on times when I might have been judgemental. My entire life I have tried to live by a lesson I learned in my childhood – to “treat others as I would want to be treated.” However, I did recall times when I had been judgemental in my thoughts and less often in my actions. I then apologized to the people involved either physically or on a spiritual level. With this new perspective on the lesson of judgement, we both became more aware of our everyday thoughts and actions and whether they were judgemental. We tracked our language and examined our beliefs. We are determined to approach situations and people from the perspective of love and respect. We became determined to limit our judgemental behavioir. Today, if we falter, we point it out to each other and support each other in “getting back on track.” How about you? Have you had the opportunity to look at whether you have been judgemental in your life? Do you have the support to minimize it going forward?
It was difficult at first to feel love and respect for people who I thought were not only judging me but in my mind, were harming others. This struggle pushed me to re-examine my core values and my spiritual beliefs. I kept going back to my belief that we are all created out of love; that every being on this planet comes from Source, from love. Logically in my mind then, we are all love. I also believe that we are all connected. So, my question for myself was if we are all connected and from love, how could these people be evil and be hated? It just didn’t make sense if we came from the same place. Then I began to understand that I did not know the truth about the thoughts and motivations of the people making the judgements about my population. I was breaking one of my own basic rules of life – don’t make assumptions. I admitted that I did not know the reasoning, thinking, motivation behind their choices and actions. Were they trying their best? Were they unknowingly being misinformed? Did they just not know any differently? Were they responding to stress or even threats? Were they being manipulated? So many questions that I did not have the answers to.
It wasn’t easy to NOT go down the path of anger and hate for these “evil” people. As I reflected further and remembered that we all have a purpose in this life; that we choose our path and the lessons we want to learn, I had more questions. I began to wonder what was their purpose? What lessons had they chosen? What was their soul contract? Did they volunteer to fulfill a role that would have them be a target of hate but at the same time help others (like me) learn life lessons; to have many around the globe learn the lesson of judgement? Was part of their purpose to stimulate a chain reaction of people waking up globally? In the end, I felt because I couldn’t answer those questions how could I judge? In fact, because I don’t know every detail of anyone’s life - their thoughts, values, feelings, beliefs – how can I judge anyone?
Then I realized that I did not need an answer to any of those questions. The answers were between them and God/Source/The Creator. I decided that I could not judge those people but, in my power, neither could I accept their actions. The only solution for me was to pray that they would connect with the place of love that they came from and that their actions, as I hope all of ours are, would be as Divine intended. I needed to stay in a place of love and send that love unconditionally to all people involved in the judgemental situation – the perpetrators and the victims. My prayers could come from a place of love; from the heart. I needed to trust that the Divine would handle the situation as soul contracts of all those involved were honoured. This felt like a healthier, higher vibrational place for me to be and more aligned with my core beliefs. So that was the route I chose to finally take. Have you ever considered this perspective of situations that present the life lesson of judgement? How do you feel about it? Does it trigger judgement for you?
As I work through my thought processes during the pandemic and now through the world crises we are experiencing, my energy and outlook have started to shift with my determination to release judgement and the emotions it brought with it. The more determined I am to look at people and situations from a loving perspective, to look for the lessons in it, and release all the thoughts and emotions that no longer served me, the better my world becomes. I now ignore the media and its repeated lower vibrational messages. I take time to focus and stay in my heart. I practice gratitude daily and thank Spirit for all the support I am given. My husband and I remind each other often that our goal is to help others and stay in a place of love and respect.
With all this behind me, I thought I was at the back end of my life lesson in judgement. That is, until last weekend. I was providing an angel card reading for a young client when
suddenly I could feel, and see in my mind’s eye, a very large, dark energy came towards us from behind her. I heard that it was a “tsunami of emotion from the Israel-Hamas war”. As it approached us, I could “see” my client was protected by a blue dome of protection, courteousy of Archangel Michael. As the tsunami washed past her, I could feel its heavy crushing weight settle on me, especially around my heart chakra. Taking a deep breath and sending love to it helped lighten the weight enough that I could finished the reading and carry on with the Christmas market I was participating in. A short time later, the market was over, I was packed up, and in my car ready to go home. The weight was still there so I continued to send love to it throughout the evening until I could no longer feel the heaviness.
A day or so later I was still thinking about this experience so it obviously still held something more for me. As I discussed it with my good friend and mentor, I realized I was again being given an opportunity to look at judgement. This recent global crisis has seen me struggle to send only love and light to all involved and to not judge any side. My initial reaction to it, although brief, was still judgemental. As an Empath, I could feel the anger, fear, and anguish of those directly impacted as well as that of friends who have family in that part of the world. Out of love and protection for them I wanted to judge the situation and those involved. It took me a bit of time to put that aside and only send love and light. As I spoke with my friend, I realized that the tsunami brought another message. That message was that these continuing world crises are lessons in judgement GLOBALLY. Through these events Source gives us all the opportunity to replace judgement, fear, anger, and hate with love.
As we look at our current global crises that the media continues to keep front and centre, I am sure you are wondering how we can possibly not react with anger, blame, even hatred. As with every global crisis we are seeing senseless loss of innocent lives. The love and compassion we have for the people directly affected tears our heart out. And then we judge. We get angry at who we feel are at fault, are to blame – the aggressors/perpetrators. We fear for more loss, more pain. What we forget is, as we live in those emotions, we are lowering our vibration and that of the world. We are creating the scenario for the negativity to continue. Our thoughts and feelings create our reality and their energy ripples out to others we are connected to impacting their reality as well. As the global lesson in judgement continues, the media feeds it by constantly bombarding us with the images and sounds of suffering, anger, and hate. When is the last time, if ever, that you saw or heard more than 5 minutes of good news on our mainstream media platforms? Can we start to look past those repeated stressful stories? Can we find the glimmer of human love, kindness, and compassion that exists amongst the rubble of war? Can we focus on that incredible resiliency with love to start to shift our reality? How can we support each other to get to the backend of these lessons in judgement?
We must start with ourselves. We must find and build the love in our hearts before we can extend it to anyone else. To find it, go within and examine your core beliefs. Do you recall times when you have felt judged? Can you recognize your own thoughts and actions of judgement? Can you consider the possibility that we all come from a place of love and are connected? Can you entertain the thought that we all have a purpose and soul contract to grow as a soul? Can you look at the possibility that every soul plans the events along their journey on this planet to assist in achieving their purpose? Can you trust that the Divine has a plan that is always in the best interest of every soul? Can you forgive yourself for judgemental behaviour and that of others? Can you release those thoughts and actions as well as the feelings that accompany them? If you can begin to shift your perspective to integrate these concepts into your belief systems, you will be able to continue your journey towards the back end of the life lesson in judgement.
The world has been struggling with this lesson for centuries. Perhaps it is time for us stop listening to mainstream media and start to listen to our past leaders and teachers like Jesus or the Buddha who once said, “How do you know the complexity of human character?” and “Do not be a judge of others, do not judge others. Whoever judges others digs a pit for themselves.” (Source: Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia – Judgement) As you release judgement, you will be able to more easily release the lower vibrational emotions that no longer serve you and replace them with love. Can you consider what Jesus told us about loving our enemies “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them….Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Source: The Bible Gateway)
Putting aside our judgement about the world’s religions’ role in conflict, we can still embrace their messages about love. Christianity promotes loving one another when Jesus simply said “…Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Source: Bible, King James version Matt 22 Verse 39) The Buddhist tradition promotes four different forms of love which “all include a warm, tender, sympathetic attitude of the heart toward oneself or others.” (Source: Insight Meditation Centre) Hinduism speaks of five stages of love where the Atma Prema stage is a form of self love achieved through loving others. (Source: Faith Counts: Love in Every Major Religion) Islam “encourages showing affection and love towards each other all the time”. (Source: Islamweb: The concept of true love in Islam) Judaism speaks of the fundamental forms of love being love of God, love of neighbour, and love of strangers. (Source: Faith Counts: Love in Every Major Religion ) In addition to world religions, those who work and communicate directly with Spirit (which we all can do), know that we come from love and are all loved equally as children of the Divine.
Whatever your beliefs, I hope you can open your heart to love as you release any fear and
anger that judgement might have brought in. I believe that as we learn the lessons in judgement on a global scale, the love we send to others will, at some point, impact them to do the same. As more of us do this around the world, ejecting judgement to feel love for and believe in love and mankind, we can change our reality. I challenge you to start today by checking your thoughts, language, and actions for elements of judgement and replacing them with love. Let’s change the world together.
Lots of love and hugs,
Marilyn
Resources
If you would like to learn more about judgement, here are a few resources I have found helpful:
Websites:
Intuitive Counselling and Angel Card Readings
If you have the need for a helping hand to cope with the energetic shift, I am offering intuitive counselling and angel card readings online or in person (in Calgary).
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