It is a natural human trait to judge. That is what our prefrontal cortex is designed to do! We are constantly gathering pertinent data from our exterior and interior environments passing through our lower brain centers up to our prefrontal cortex to formulate a conclusion or opinion. It is from this locus that we are then able to make decisions and take actions.
Judgment can take the form of a positive, neutral or negative appraisal. When the subject matter is another individual you want to take note of whether your judgment of them is negative in nature triggering a sense of intolerance within you. For example: “That guy is such a prick for cheating on his wife” elicits a negative judgment within vs. “It is unfortunate for the wife that her husband cheated on her” whereas the latter does not negatively judge the husband but witnesses the situation from a neutral position.
Some other examples include negatively judging another for their appearance, behaviors and/or political opinions where your ultimate appraisal of them is that they might be less of a human, not a good person, selfish, rude, inconsiderate, evil etc.
The truth of the matter is that none of us are perfect. We are all perfectly flawed in our own unique ways which really serves as a basis from which we can learn from. That’s why we are alive! Because we are each our own unique selves but are also a part of the greater whole, when we personally negatively judge we are simultaneously sending out this negative resonance amongst the collective further reinforcing the pattern.
One of the most difficult shadow phenomena to accept within ourselves is when you are triggered by another person’s behavior, viewpoint and/or state of being you are really projecting your own insecurities and intolerances. What you perceive as being intolerable or unacceptable is what you cannot tolerate or accept about yourself. The ultimate question is: Are you able to look within and acknowledge this shadow aspect of yourself?
Self-reflection Exercise
- Reflect on who (could be an individual or a collective group such as a political party) you have negative judgment towards.
- What specific aspects or traits do you negatively perceive about them?
- Now for the hard part, are you able to identify any of these aspects or traits within yourself?
- Imagine if you did display or exhibit such behaviors, beliefs or opinions, how would it make you feel? What specific emotion(s) come up?
- Where in your body do you sense this emotion(s)? Is there tension anywhere in your body?
