Judgement

When All Sides are Equal, the Path of Liberated Wisdom Appears

Someone’s behavior, mannerisms or presence may have become a source of irritation. Look within. You might have asked them to change the behavior, or they may have sensed your subtle disapproval or even tried to accommodate you. When the prickly feeling remains, it is time to go inward. It is easy to judge or diminish someone or something without exploring why these feelings have arisen. Like all feelings, judgement, irritation or criticism are signposts for you. Following them may be uncomfortable and, perhaps, reveal something you secretly judge about yourself. It can be confronting when your inner critic comes out to play and judge you. Breathe and relax. You have done nothing wrong and are not being punished. Listen to your inner critic-observe how it speaks, the phrases it uses and any words it emphasizes. These are all clues on your journey of self-discovery. When you feel judgement arise, breathe and relax. It is a stress response. Detach and observe your judgement and let it float away, taking a layer of conditioning with it. As those layers lift, your soul truth will begin to reveal itself more clearly. When judgement turns up, be gentle, be still and let it show the path to liberation.

Shadow Mastery Class: Meet Your Inner Critic

Meditation

Place your hand on the card. Gently close your eyes. Sense your body and concentrate on your breathing. Follow your breath inward. Hold for five seconds and relax. Breathe out and release all tension. Focus on the middle of your chest.

In front of you, a golden staircase descends into the earth. Walk down the ten healing steps to a magical, amethyst crystal cave. As you move down the steps, allow any unbalanced beliefs to rise gently. When you arrive at the bottom, step into the amethyst cave and greet your shadow.

A dirty, old wooden door looms in front of you. The words “Inner Critic” are carved into it. It feels intimidating, but you are ready to face this part of yourself. Open the door and step through into a dark and musty room. The space feels sad and tired. A silhouette is huddled in the corner. You walk over and place a hand on their shoulder.

The person turns around-it is you, a sad, scared, tired version of you. This surprises you. It is not some sort of monster or ghost of someone with authority. No, your inner critic is you. They look back at you and say:

Finally, you have come to love me. That is all I want. I have never felt lovable. I have been pointing out all our flaws so you could fix them, then accept, love, hug me and make me part of your life.

Give yourself a moment of silence to process this message. You may have blamed your inner critic for being so harsh. But just like you, it wants to be accepted and loved. Gift them that acceptance now. Thank them for trying to keep you safe from others’ judgement. Let it know you are happy and healing who you are and no longer need an inner critic. It is now being promoted to inner equalizer. Its job is to identify areas of imbalance and offer ways to rebalance your energy. The figure is transformed by its newfound purpose, and joy flows through you both as you embrace. Stay here for as long as you like-at least thirty seconds.

The room is now light, bright and full of loving energy. You and your inner critic have become one. This room has become a temple you can visit when you wish to rebalance.

Step into the amethyst cave and walk to the golden staircase. As you ascend, you feel lovable. Thank the darkness for giving your inner critic a voice. At the top of the stairs, take two deep breaths and open your eyes of love.

Inspired Insights, Reflections and Actions

Your inner critic comprises conditioned thoughts picked up through life as ways to fit in, be loved or be accepted. Healthy judgement is a way of assessing information to gain a balanced perspective before making a decision. Unhealthy judgement might try to justify unbalanced beliefs.

Try this: Close your eyes to disengage from the stimulus of the outside world and reconnect with your soul truth. You have access to your values from this place of alignment, there the best course of action will come to you.

Journal Work

When your inner equalizer falls back into its role of critic, bring out your journal and describe them in words or pictures. What do they look like? What do they sound like? What color and size are they? Become familiar with them so you can recognize them and remind them of their new purpose. When they are convinced you need a critic, not an equalizer, to keep you safe, and its voice gets too loud, give it a cookie (baked with love and acceptance) and direct it to a corner to eat it quietly.