Defining others negatively is a cheap method of inflating or own sense of superiority. If we can point an accusing finger at another person and relegate them to a status that is decidedly less than our own, we are simultaneously elevating our own perception of ourselves, however falsely, in our own eyes. Hitler had his master race, political parties have their platforms, the military has its “elite” units, religions have the one true God (which, by rigid and often unquestioned dogma, is better than the one true God of the other religions), and there always seems to be at least one country somewhere in the world that has the “moral authority” to exert its will on another country. Often lost in the deafening roar of the bombs and bullets is the complete irony that this “moral authority” is being expressed by the attempted extinguishment of entire civilizations, or the killing and maiming of thousands upon thousands of innocent people.

A Course in Miracles tells us that there is no degree of difficulty in the miracle, which also means that there is no degree of difficulty in the error. Therefore, if I judge another human being as being anything less than the perfect expression of the Love of God, it is the same thing as the government of the United States annihilating the “savage” Native Americans, British slave traders stealing African negroes and placing them into lives of enslavement and suffering, and people in positions of power advocating hatred of other groups from the imaginary authority of a Sunday morning pulpit.

Judgment is also a way of seeking balance. We have all arrived at the present moment as the result of having experienced a life that is entirely unique. No two people ever have the exact same (yes, the phrase “exact same” is redundant. I know. And it makes me crazy whenever I read it, and I have no idea why I used it. But I will keep it there because I can) combination of life experiences, interactions, relationships, thoughts, feelings and actions. The different paths we have all travelled define our lives today and inform every decision we make, thought we have, and feeling we experience as a result of those thoughts.

Our histories are the tools we utilize to stake out (a deliberate reference to the elephant at the beginning of the story) our own place in the world that is a little like living on our own separate islands without Gilligan and the Skipper to make everything alright. So, the balance we seek is a total agreement between the conditions of the outer world and the disparate functions (dysfunctions?) of our own inner worlds. And we go about achieving this balance in a purely backwards manner, attempting to shape the outer world to fit the mold of the inner world, with our judgments playing a major role in this drama.

So, the question is: “How do we extricate ourselves from living this self defeating cycle of the illusion of separation." A Course in Miracles provides us the solution. The Course teaches us that we can no more be separate from our creator than a drop of water can find the place where it ends and the ocean begins. Through the Course, we learn that all we have to do is remove the blocks we have created in our own lives that keep us from connecting to, and experiencing, the Love of God that is in fact our own true reality. The Course is brilliant in the way it allows us to use our own understanding of the world to propel us forward to a place where the ego’s grip on our lives is significantly diminished. We hear phrases like: “I can see peace instead of this”, “In my defenselessness, my freedom lies”, “Teach love, for that is what you are”, or “An idea leaves not its source”.

We learn that we are not pin balls, propelled into the dizzying array of lights and sounds, bouncing from bumper to flipper, without the ability to select the path upon which we will tread. We get to make a choice, every minute of every day. We get to choose the thoughts we pay attention to and the ones we ignore. We get to decide what we will think about a certain person or situation in our lives, and refuse to settle for the default thinking that our past would dictate. And if you ever feel scared, lost, alone, in turmoil, or indecisive, all you need to do is stop a moment, look inside, and ask God for the help that He will most assuredly provide.

Ultimately, A Course in Miracles gently brings us to a place where we understand that genuine forgiveness is the only antidote to a lifelong habit of collecting prejudices, judgments, biases, errors and lies. The forgiveness of which I speak has nothing to do with letting go of our resentments toward another person because that does not correct our erroneous perception. In this scenario, we assume that the other person is, in fact, an accurate reflection of our negative thoughts and we are being magnanimous in our decision to overlook their indiscretion, thereby driving the stake to which we are chained ever deeper into the ground. 

Genuine forgiveness assumes that we have made a mistake in our limited human perception, born of an understanding that whenever we judge another, we are simply re-living an unhealed past. Our judgments are a result of the past being brought into the present moment, thus ensuring a future that looks remarkably similar. It is like the movie “Groundhog Day” where Bill Murray re-lives the exact same (there I go again. I just can’t help myself) 24-hour sequence over and over again. The big difference is that Bill Murray is very funny, and our constant replay of the past is somewhat sad.

So, what will it be? The stake in the ground to which you will be forever chained, or the freedom that comes with choosing the Voice for God? Prison bars that keep you isolated from your brothers and sisters, or the light and love you experience when you decide to see only God in another person. Will it be love or will it be fear – door number one, or door number two? The choice belongs exclusively to you.

Sometimes it helps to simply stick your toe in the water to test the temperature. Allow yourself to notice one single judgment, call it for what it is, and decide to see the person or situation differently. Then, your whole life will change. And you will be glad it did.

~*~

*George writes: "My ultimate goal is to become the person that God originally
intended for me to be. I believe that the only way to accomplish this is to engage the passion for learning I have been given, and to be as true to myself as is humanly possible.". George is the author of the book: "How To Enjoy Peace in Your Life Everyday."