The Power of Judgment

The solstice passes, and judgment arises: the ability to discern, evaluate, and make decisions; allowing Divine Wisdom to flow through us.

They say that good judgment comes with experience, and that experience comes from surviving the consequences of poor judgment (however, I hope that is not true for airline pilots.) Actually, judgment is the process of judging, which, in turn, is the process of forming an opinion. Although we may think that judging is all about discerning "truth," it is more about discerning a personal truth - about being honest with yourself.

What is honesty? Is it saying exactly what is on your mind at the moment, without regard to the feelings of others, without regard to consequences? Is it "truth" and if so, what is the truth? Do we always tell the truth, or do we sometimes lie a little to either save face or to protect the feelings of others.

Now, here's a tough question: are you always honest with yourself and with others?

Here's an even tougher one: what would your current relationships be like if you were totally, completely honest all the time? Would they be better, or would they fall apart? And, if they did fall apart, would living a life of open honesty bring about even better relationshsips, based on real feelings and truth?

With honesty comes the power to judge wisely, to form an opinion. Anyone can judge, and we all do. The rub is this: how well is your judgment serving you? Are you simply judging others? Oh, she's rude. He's unloving. My kids are out of control.

In Matthew 7:1-5 Jesus admonished:

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam [is] in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Is it possible that he was trying to tell us to turn our judgment inward? To be honest with ourselves before we ever tried to apply any standards to others?

Certainly, this is much more difficult than it sounds.

One of the dictionary definitions of "judgment" is: a misfortune sent by God as punishment for sin. If to sin is to "miss the mark" then judgment arises naturally as the consequence of actions born of an opinion that is not in alignment with your true nature. In other words, if you are dishonest, with yourself or with others, you will suffer misfortune (i.e. you cannot achieve true happiness and fulfilment.)

Divine Wisdom is not some etheral principle reserved for the holy few. It is the peace and freedoms that comes from living a life of total honesty; with other, and with yourself.

Namaste.

An Introduction to the Twelve Powers

Each year, during the Holiday Season, a group of us gather to honor our unique gifts and as well as the gifts in ourselves. We associate each Apostle with a power based on the Biblical and historical character of the Apostles, such as Andrew's strength of character when facing execution, or Judas's desire to improve others' lot in life through charity. For each power, we light a candle. During our ceremony, we choose one or more power that we would like to more strongly invoke in our lives during the coming year. From that flame we then light our own candle. As "new age" as this all sounds, it is actually based on sound principles - especially the principle of Intention.

During 2007, I would like to track the effect of this ceremony on people lives. Each month I will post an essay on one of the powers, starting with Faith in January. Readers can comment on the power that they are invoking in their lives, how that process is going and what it is like. For instance, experienced candle-lighters say that by lighting the Love candle, you will bring love into your life, but it might be in unexpected ways.

Feel free to post your comments anonymously if you wish, or feel free to just read.

May peace be with you,

Joe Cooke



The powers and associated Apostles are: Faith (Simon Peter), Strength (Andrew), Love (John), Power (Philip), Imagination (Nathanael Bartholomew), Understanding (Thomas Didymus), Judgment (James, son of Zebedee), Will (Matthew), Order (James, son of Alphaeus), Zeal (Simon the Canaanite), Renunciation (Judas Thaddeaus) and Life (Judas Iscariot)



THE TWELVE POWERS

Faith: Ability to say "Yes" to any good thing and have it happen; draws my good from the invisible to the visible

Strength: Ability to be still and hold my center when I am in chaos; allows me to stick with Divine Ideas

Love: Ability to see and know all as one; ability to desire that only good come to all

Power: Ability to change and build consciousness; to choose my thoughts and feelings

Imagination: Ability to give shape and form to unformed mental energy; vision beyond appearances

Understanding: Ability to know that God stands under all things; knowing how to accomplish; knowing in my own heart

Judgment: Ability to discern, evaluate, and make decisions; allowing Divine Wisdom to flow through me

Will: Ability to be willing to say "Yes" to God; always seeking the good for all

Order: Ability to develop consciousness in proper sequence: mind, body and affairs

Zeal: Ability to move forward through spiritual motivation; results in enthusiasm and joy

Renunciation: Ability to give a "No" response in or to the untrue and undesirable; helps me eliminate errors

Life: Ability to mend, restore, and draw upon the living Christ within us for all functions