Judgment Versus Opinion

[Eva Libre]

Inspirations

Judgment Versus Opinion

Today's Inspiration

Judgment closes us down and is final, whereas opinion leaves us open-hearted and open to change.

Most of us understand that when we judge someone, or someone judges us, it is a negative emotional experience. As a result, we naturally want to avoid being judgmental, but this gets confusing when we feel we have to suppress thoughts that could actually be offering us guidance. For example, we may meet someone new and suppress a negative feeling about them, thinking that we don't want to fall into the trap of being judgmental. Later, though, it may turn out that paying attention to that thought could have helped us take care of ourselves or someone else.

It is important to learn to distinguish inner guidance, and having an opinion, from judgment, otherwise we run the risk of not listening to our intuition and not allowing ourselves to form opinions. Inner guidance and opinions both help us to interact more intelligently in the world, so we don't want to throw them out in an effort to avoid being judgmental. Our intuition usually makes itself known to us in a flash, and often has a physical component -- a flutter in our stomachs, sweaty palms, or a chill. When we use this information to help us navigate a situation, we always benefit. Similarly, having an opinion about a person or an idea allows us to converse about it in a focused way with intention. Listening to our intuition and forming opinions are both positive outcomes of our ability to interpret the information that comes our way.

When we make a judgment, on the other hand, we attempt to have a final say on whether someone or something is inherently good or bad. Judgments close us down instead of opening us up; opinions have a lighter quality and are amenable to change. Once a judgment has been made, there is no more conversation or consideration, whereas opinions invite further debate. Intuition guides us from moment to moment, but, unlike judgment, never makes a final decree. In other words, it is only healthy to be open to the information we receive and to allow ourselves to process that information. As long as we stay open and fluid, we can trust that we have not fallen prey to the trap of judgment.

by Madisyn Taylor

[MARGARIDA MARIA MADRUGA]

Muito bom. Mensagem construtiva. Obrigada.

[desmond dillon]

the sun of life shines in the heart of every living person in every moment of their life.. shadows are seen wherever the sun is blocked off.. sometimes the shadows vary in intensity, size and appearance.. the heart is known only through feeling whilst the shadows are known through thought. the cause of the shadows is ego, the separate self.

so these shadows are given different names according to our changeable view of them.. like judgement, opinions and if very intense are called beliefs. Or even sacred beliefs which we declare cannot be questioned. all of them come because we are not aware of the experience of being in the heart..  they seem real to us and appear to have substance.. such is the nature of the illusion in which we live..

  To live in clarity and to feel our life within is the nature of peace that cares not for the shadows that come and go like clouds in the sky. When we do not know our own hearts we think our thoughts offer some connection to reality when its actually the absence of knowing our being..  not the effects of it but the being itself.

  We have to live with our own ego but we don't have to believe it is real if we know 'that' within which is real.

and i see this as the purpose of shadows, that we have to transcend them to know peace for what it actually is.

Not an idea of peace or a belief in the word peace but the experience of it more and more in our life.. not to be fooled by our thoughts but to be motivated by the falseness of them to reach constantly to the reality that is felt within the heart..  i do hope this sheds some light on the shadows of thought and that they dissolve for you to be replaced by the reality of our life in its being.