by Dave Van Dyke
What judgment does to the mind:
To clarify: judgment can have a few different meanings. Here I am not talking about “being judgmental” (where we are deliberately tearing down someone’s self worth). I am talking about judgment as an self-bestowed ability to determine the meaning (Reality) of something – a situation, an object, an action, a conversation, etc.).
Judgment is the mechanism that has “destroyed” our awareness of oneness. Through judgment (applying a meaning to something), and that meaning becoming a belief, a fragmented perception of Truth is created. This process creates an entire structure of beliefs each one proceeding logically from its parent belief (which may be insane). As long as we continue to believe that we have the ability to judge accurately and then proceed to trust in this “ability”, we reinforce false ideas so that they obscure the Truth. This eventually leads us to a very unhappy place. At that point we become willing to allow our own thinking to be replaced by the Holy Spirit’s guidance. We may even come to the realization that we can’t judge anything accurately which gives the Holy Spirit its greatest opportunity to replace our thought system with Love.
To judge is to determine, through a decision, the meaning (Reality) of something. The meaning we have assigned to it may be erroneous. In fact, since the most basic premise of the egoic mind is that we are separated beings, all ego reasoning will proceed from that false premise and extend to a false conclusion. Once we decide that something has a certain meaning, we will believe in the reality of that meaning unless evidence to the contrary becomes apparent to us. When the ego’s sense of “self” is at stake, we may not even acknowledge evidence that tells us our beliefs are false because it would invalidate us.
Each judgment does two things: it validates the idea that we CAN judge accurately and, to the degree that our judgment is false, creates a belief in the erroneous meaning we have applied to the situation. But the judgment applied to Reality soon entraps the one who judges and s/he becomes subject to the reality s/he creates through belief. This is the difference between the ego’s judgments and Truth. The Truth makes one free by judging FOR US and judging truly. Thinking that we have the wisdom to judge on our own puts a silent shield before the light of Truth. As I said, this traps us within our beliefs because they silently (and seemingly without consequence) substitute for Reality.
To maintain our false beliefs only requires our unwillingness (or unawareness) to question them. Usually we will only question the validity of a belief once we feel it prevents us from having Peace. God’s intention for us (at least according to the spiritual literature I have read) is to listen to the inspiration of our Source and let it move us toward our own Worth and Wholeness on a moment to moment basis. The egoic mind, on the other hand, can become a mechanical system of beliefs and reactions in which Spirit no longer dwells. This is what can happen through using and trusting our own judgment. When we teach ourselves what the “truth” is, we replace Truth. The answer is to learn that we do NOT know the meaning of things and to begin to listen for the intuition that whispers to us.
The Course in Miracles says that this “reality” we find ourselves in was over millions of years ago. This makes sense. We are living in a memory kept alive by recycling old beliefs, thoughts, and feelings. True Life is flowing through our minds at this moment (God’s Voice speaks to me throughout the day) but if we are living within the confines of our old beliefs, we cannot hear the Voice of inspiration that would free us. If you look at this plane of existence, there seems to be activity but it is activity without any meaning ! If there IS meaning, it is that we are learning that we don’t value the ego and we want to go Home. For the most part, human “life” is just a re-applying of our beliefs and protecting the ego values we hold dear. The result of this is that we are strengthening the false concepts that keep us from knowing the Truth and being a part of Love’s Grace.
The fear of looking at beliefs:
Beliefs are just ideas. But the ideas we believe about ourselves, about our reality, have monumental significance imbedded in them and therefore a huge consequence in examining them. It is like shaking the foundation of our house. Everything in the house will also shake ! It is no wonder we are hesitant to examine our beliefs because the ego is certain this will reveal that it does not exist ! Fortunately this examination does not bring death. As we begin to look at our false beliefs we utlimately find that it brings more Freedom and Life. We do not have to know what to do with our false beliefs once we discover them. If we had the conscious awareness of that degree of wisdom, we wouldn’t need healing in the first place. All we need to do is to be aware of the belief and ask the Holy Spirit for healing. Sometimes a situation or a relationship reveals something that we do NOT want to admit to. In this case we may not be able to find any willingness to be healed…but maybe we can be willing to BE willing…sometime in the future…say 120 years from now (:O) That’s OK ! The Holy Spirit has no judgments about us. We are accepted just as we are.
The process of Trust:
Once we decide that above all we want Peace, we begin a journey backward in our psyche to remove the root beliefs that caused our misery. While the end result IS Peace the journey can be unpleasant, but so is pulling out a splinter! If you know the splinter has to come out (or it will become infected), then you will allow the doctor to do whatever s/he needs to in order to get the job done. It is much the same with the Holy Spirit.
Our mind may feel like chaos during the healing process. Things may seem worse before they seem better but remember what is happening: It is as if you built your house on a bad foundation. The house has to be torn down so a strong foundation can be built. The secret to this process is, when the going gets tough, trust MORE not LESS. Be GLAD that your mind is in turmoil – the Holy Spirit is WORKING ! You ARE being healed!! Remember also that there CANNOT be anything beyond the Holy Spirit’s power to heal. Success is guaranteed ! That is a fact ! You can remind yourself of this in confidence because it is the Truth.
As we first begin to trust we will probably find that we have good(high) days and bad(low) days in a cycle. We will notice both our highs and our lows gradually get higher. Most people I have talked to can verify that this process is “normal”. Always remember to keep your desire for Peace foremost in your mind so that you stay surrendered to the work of the Holy Spirit.
I hope this has been helpful,
Dave Van Dyke
