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07. Projecting Judgment Self-Reflection

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 typically takes place in the form of a polarized or negative appraisal. Some examples include negatively judging another for their appearance, behaviors and/or political or health opinions. If these don’t align with your morals or views your ultimate appraisal of them may be that they are less of a human, not a good person, unable to be trusted, selfish, rude, inconsiderate, evil, etc. 

You then make decisions on how to act and behave based on these judgments. For example, you may decide that because someone has certain beliefs about a vaccine they are ignorant, uncaring and immoral and choose not to associate with them. Such a perception may not actually be true and likewise true to who you really are so it is important to understand why you are judging to raise your awareness and discernment. 

Discernment differs from judgment. Judgment stems from the ego and is disconnected from your higher consciousness and awareness. Through discernment you are not judging the differences, there is no better or worse, it just is true or false for you.

 

Discernment is acknowledging a deep truth within you through integration of your intellect and intuition. You are able to discern if something is aligned and true to you and when it is not. 

First you acknowledge where you may judge others, then acknowledge that this is within you as well.

 

For example, let’s suppose a husband is having an affair with someone other than his wife. You may naturally react with emotional disgust with the following negative judgment, “That guy is such a prick for cheating on his poor wife” while a more discerning reaction may be  “This may trigger me with disgust and I may want to negatively judge the husband for cheating while feel pity for the wife but ultimately this is none of my business to engage in. I choose a healthier experience and focus my energy on discerning and embracing relationships that serve the greatest good of and support all parties involved.”

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.

 

"I AM THAT"

 

With this reflection exercise guides you to look within and acknowledge this shadow aspect of yourself in a curious way so you may be open to learning, accepting and embracing this part of yourself and all of its hidden potential. 

Rather than engaging in victim consciousness and projecting your judgment onto another, you reclaim that energy and direct it towards resourcing for yourself whatever you need to accept that which you judge and alchemize the energy available from the experience.

 

Reflect on the prompts below for ~5-20 minutes, for the next 3 days. *Unless otherwise directed.

  • Acknowledge whatever you may be aware of at this time with curiosity. 
  • Perform this self-reflection again in about 4 weeks to assess your progress and to gather any new information to continue to support you and your greatest good.
  • Optionally, use your testing technique to determine your optimal frequency and duration to use this reflection.

 

Projecting Judgement self-reflection prompts:
  • Reflect on who (could be an individual or a collective group such as a political party) you have negative judgment towards. These might be comments you express or keep to yourself. 
  • Is what you are judging real or is it a limited perspective that was created by someone else or yourself? Is this judgment based on a story? 
  • What specific aspects or traits do you negatively perceive about them? What don’t you like?
  • Are you able to identify any of these aspects or traits within yourself? Is what your are  judging something you are unwilling to address or look at 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? You may even recall a memory or time in your life when you displayed these behaviors. 
  • Do you feel the same way about yourself that you do others who display these qualities? 
  • Where in your body do you sense this emotion(s)? Is there tension anywhere in your body? 
  • Have you felt this before and acted out or in a way that you would not choose now?
  • If you could reclaim all of the energy you spent on judging, where would you direct that energy?

 

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