OVERVIEW
Judgment can create a belief in separation of oneness with the Divine, and allow us to see flaws in ourselves and others. This belief can create experiences that require forgiveness. Be prepared to make a shift in judgment so the process of true forgiveness can take place.
TRANSCRIPTION
How are you doing this morning? Oh, that’s great. That’s great. That’s great. It’s good to be here as always. I love the energy and I tell you guys this all the time. I love the, I love the energy of this, of this space, this place. And you are the ones that create the energy. So I love you. I love you. I love you for the energy that you continue to create in this space is beautiful. It’s beautiful. Wow. Forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness. We have heard about forgiveness all our lives, haven’t we? I want to talk to you this morning about forgiveness, writing our judgment, writing our judgment, and we’re using the book, the Heart of A Course in Miracles. And I’m new to this book and I like this book, <laugh>. I like this book. And I guess you guys will be using it for the next three months.
Yes. That’s awesome. That’s awesome. Uh, so I have been given the privilege to talk about judgment and forgiveness, um, cuz they, they have a direct relationship with one another, and there is power in forgiveness to heal our judgments. The office says judgment can create judgment, can create a belief and separation of oneness with the divine, and allow us to see flaws in ourselves and others. He says the, this belief can create experiences that require forgiveness. This belief can create experiences that require forgiveness. Our judgments and the beliefs behind our judgements creates an experience that requires forgiveness. So I want us to prepare ourselves today to make a shift in judgment so the process of true forgiveness can take place. Is there anyone in here that might need a little forgiveness in your life? <laugh>. Okay. Okay. Okay. I think we’re all guilty of passing judgments on others and ourselves sometimes, aren’t we?
I’m willing to bet that just this morning we probably cast some form of judgment out into the universe about ourselves or maybe that person that got in your way as you were trying to make the service this morning, or maybe that person who you thought might was, might, might have been too slow in serving you your coffee at Starbucks this morning, <laugh>. So, so we have probably just in the, just in the past couple hours that we’ve been up, we have probably have all passed some type of judgment or when we looked in the mirror this morning and we began to look at our, we began to look at ourselves as we were getting ready and we began to look at this so-called blemish on this side, or we began to look at, uh, uh, our waistline, or we began to look at, look at our hairline, and, and, and we probably began to cast some more judgements.
So I, so, you know, as, as I was working with this lesson, I said, let me go to the dictionary and look up what judgment, real, what what is judgment really is so we can all have a good understanding of judgment. And the dictionary defines judgment as this the forming of an opinion, estimate, notion or conclusion. As from circumstances presented to the mind, I’m like, wow, opinions, estimates, notions, or conclusions as from circumstances that have been presented to the mind. So my mind has been presented with something, and when my mind was presented with something, I began to form an opinion, an attitude, a certain belief, or some kind of notion, some kind of estimate, some kind of o uh, uh, conclusion based on this which has been presented to my mind. And lo and behold, somehow I began to form a judgment about a situation or about a person.
You know, on page 85 of, of a book, it says, all judgments that relate to the world of form are merely symptoms. The tip of the iceberg. The author says, the core problem of any judgment is that we have judged others as being less than God created them to be. That the root of any judgment, however, is that we have first judged ourselves as being less than God created us to be, and then projected that judgment onto others and the world. I’m like, wow. As I, in other words, the author, in other words, the author’s pretty much saying this, is that the judgments that I have about you or I have about others, or I have about a situation, the judgments that I am casting out there, uh, on you, I might need to look at myself and see where, and see where exactly this judgment is coming from.
Because as I, as I, as I have looked at you now as being less than God has created you to be, then there must be something going on inside of me that I have not recognized or, or, or I have failed to acknowledge that, that because I am looking at you less than God created you to be. I must also be looking at myself less than what God has created me to be. So the judgment I am casting out there on you, I’m also guess what? Casting this judgment out on myself. And I might not even be conscious that I’m casting this judgment out on myself, but this is an opportunity right now as I begin this process of forgiveness, as I begin this process of looking at my judgments, where are my judgments really coming from? Because, because as I begin to look at where are my judgments really coming from, it gives me an opportunity to heal myself and not be so concerned about trying to heal you because you are not the one that really needs to be healed.
First. I am the one that needs to be healed first. And then as I have, as I heal myself, then guess what? I have an opportunity right now to heal you by looking, by looking at you the way that God sees you created in the spiritual created in that spiritual nature, created perfect. Create a whole, create it complete. I have now an opportunity to greet you in a different kind of way. I can now greet you and say namaste, because now I behold the same divine that is in you is also in me. And the same divine that is in me is also in in you. So I salute you in that way. Of course, a miracle says if you point out the hes or flaws in your brother’s ego, you must be sin through yours. <laugh>, I think, I think, I think I think in scripture, I think in the Bible, Jesus was telling people, you need to, you need to first worry about the plank that is in your own eye, <laugh>.
Because if you could take out the plank that’s in your own eye, that you might be able to see through the eyes of the divine, through the eyes of God, you know, I have a friend who has a need to be right and prove others wrong all the time. People must see things the way that she sees it, especially her family. And she, and she’s adamant about this, and just by this very activity she sets, she sets up a separation in her mind that really requires healing. And the, and the root cause of it is something that she really needs to look within herself because there are some deeply held beliefs that she has acquired along the way in life where she now feels the need to maybe justify her existence or even superiority over others. And I quit trying to talk to her about it because something I believe a person want to change, they’ll change.
Uh, and, but, but you know, but she’s this way all but, but she’s this way quite often. I’m right, you’re wrong. I’m, my politics is right, your politics is wrong. My views on relationship is right. Your views are wrong. That creates what that creates, number one, number one is judgment. And, and through that type of judgment, what are you doing? You are, you actually have, you act, you actually have put yourself in the space of separation because now you have. Because now you are, because now you cannot see yourself as equal with this person. You see yourself what as superior to this person, to the point where, to the point where you have to go out and prove yourself as being, as being right.
Why do just a general question, why do you need to make others feel wrong? Why does this bring satisfaction to you? Why can’t you allow the universe to do its job of correction if correction needs to take place? Sometimes correction doesn’t need to be take place on the other person’s part. The correction needs to take place on my part. Get this. But of course a miracle says it’s not up to you to change your brother, but merely to accept him as he is. Any attempt you make to correct a brother means that you believe that correction by you is possible. And this can only be the arrogance of the eagle. Instead, correction is of God. He will teach you how to see without condemnation by learning how to look on everything without it. So correction is not my responsibility if I feel that someone else is not on the same, uh, uh, on the same wavelength that I am on <laugh>.
If I feel like someone else is doing something that I don’t think that they should be doing my job, my, my job is not to be in the correction business. That’s God’s job is to do the correction. My job is to behold a person as God sees them. My job is to behold a person still created in the image and after the likeness, my job to still to see that person as I see myself and hopefully I, hopefully I see myself as as perfect whole and complete and one with the divine. My job is to hold that consciousness and not to be and not to be so judgmental, not to be in this, not to be in this correction phase.
I want us to, I wanna, I wanna read something from page 88. Let me get my reading glasses out for a moment. <laugh>, I’m at, yeah, I’m at that stage right now. <laugh> thought says, once we allow the inner critic to pass judgment on or attack us or others, we are no longer objective but bias in favor of the ego thought system. And contrary to what we believe we want, we energetically become a part of the very thing we are judging and end up having to face the karmic results of our judgment. And, um, golden says, although all of our problems stem from the original belief or illusion that we, that we separated from God, it is not this belief that is the real issue. The real issue is that we judge ourselves for having had such a belief, thereby helping to make the illusion seems real.
One of the things I love about these, about these teachings is this, is that you can come as you are, but you can’t stay as you are. Once you begin to learn these principles, once you begin to learn the truth of who you are and your relationship to divine, then you will want to change. You’ll want to see yourself differently. As you see yourself differently, you’ll begin to see what other people differently. You’ll begin to see life differently and you’ll become what, less judgmental. Some years ago I was on the board of directors, uh, of my church, uh, uh, at uh, Christ Universal Temple and Reverend Johnny Coleman was, um, leading the board at that time. She’s made a transition since then. But there was a, there was a discussion. We were talking and we were talking about an individual and the minister said, the only way you can see that in this person is because it’s also in you.
It took me a while, Reverend Amy, to understand exactly what, what, what that statement meant. And I’m like, and I’m like, can’t you see what this person is doing? Can’t you see how this person acts? Can’t you see what this person says? You know, so, so, so, I’m, I’m, I’m still, I’m still in the ego mind. I’m still in the appearance and I mi I totally missed out at that particular time on the, on the penetrating message, is that, is that the judgments that you are putting out there, you must first look at yourself because the only way I can see evil in someone else is that there must be a, there must be a spark of evil somewhere in my consciousness that I must deal with otherwise. How can I recognize what evil looks like?
The only way that I can, the only way that I can, that I can look at a situation and say that this situation, it is lack or limited. It’s because somewhere in my own mind I have a consciousness. There’s someplace, there’s, there’s somewhere in my own mind, there’s somewhere in my own consciousness that, that, that, that, that, that, that believes in lack, that sees lack, that sees limitation When the, when the penetrated messages that I am only to see God. And if I can look out of those lenses, then I can put away my judgment.
But as long as, but if I cannot look out of those lenses, then there’s forgiveness that needs to be done. Where first on my part, not only other person’s part, but first, where on my part judgements clouds our perceptions. We can’t possibly see ourselves as the perfect image likeness of our creator or the divine as holy or good. If we cast judgments on ourselves or others, that is not, that does not measure up to the divine standard. Whatever judgements I throw out there, whatever judgements I cast out there, those judgements should live up to the divine standard. If they do not live up to the divine standard, then I need to cast, then I need to remove those judgements. I need to begin to, I need to begin to have an a, an a, a new alignment, a readjustment in my own thinking, in my own concepts, in my own opinions.
I need to have a realignment so that, so that I can, so that I can reach the point of that divine standard. You see, the primary cause of suffering is that we forget our divine nature. And whenever we forget our divine nature, then we, then we are operating in a state of separation. And we were never meant to operate in a state of separation. We have forgotten that we were birthed out of the divine. We are forgotten that we are one with the divine. We are for, we have forgotten that we are holy. I was just teaching last week, I think during my bible study session that we are holy and don’t be a don’t be a don’t be ashamed to say that I am holy, holy. Just simply means that holy just simply means that, that, that, that, that, that you, that, that you are good and that is your nature. You are good, you are good. You are good. I was birthed out of that, which is absolute good. I am good. I want you to do this. Affirm with me. I am good. I am good. Come on one more time. I am good. One more time. I am good.
Now I want you to ex, I want you to accept that, I want that get this, I want that to be your new judgment about yourself. I want that to be your new judgment about yourself. That I am good. When you say I am good, you are speaking from the truth. You are speaking from that area inside of you. That is true. You are good. I am, if I am is your divine name, I am good. Until we practice forgiveness, the effects of judgment will result in a world of apparent separation. So let’s look at, so let’s look at forgiveness as it relates to judgment. Forgiveness is a process and we are not to rush others through the process. All because we might have reached a point of spiritual maturity that allows us to forgive quicker now than we did 10 years ago. Sometimes we want people to be able to forgive right now.
Come on now. You need to just go ahead and move past that. When you have, when, when, when you have been working on this yourself for, for a period, for a period of time. Sometimes there are, sometimes there are levels, there are stages that we have to go through in for in forgiveness sometimes, sometimes people have to deal with whatever it is that they’re dealing with. So there’s a process and forgiveness. Forgiveness is a process that takes practice, determination, tenacity, and a willingness to create things anew. I love, I love that about, about, uh, this particular chapter, the author says that it is a process that takes practice. So forgiveness is something that I need to make sure that I am working on, on a daily basis because I am judging on a daily basis until I can get to the point where I am no longer looking at life as being separate for myself.
Until I can get to the point where I can no longer, where I’m no longer looking at others has been separate, been separate for myself, then, then there’s a, then there’s asis of forgiveness. That must be that that must occur. So for he says so the officer says forgiveness is a process that takes practice, determination, tenacity, and a willingness to change things that new. He says forgiveness also takes humility because it means admitting that everything, cause it means that admitting that everything we once held against ourselves and others was a mistake. So it takes humility. I got the way I was looking at that situation, well, the way I was looking at you, it was a mistake. I wasn’t looking at you from the highest point, I wasn’t looking at you from the Christ standard, from the divine standard. I was looking at you as being created less than what you were.
It was a mistake on my part. The universe is right now correcting me, allowing, allowing, allowing me right now to allow me right now to a divine readjustment. So it takes humili humility. It’s okay to admit that I made a mistake. It may appear that others have hurt you or caused wounds, but in truth at this. But in truth they were just revealing something about ourselves that we have been holding onto on a subconscious level and they just gave you a reason to play out the hurt now that you never dealt with previously. Sometimes, you know, sometimes people will say things or do things and, and, and, and, and we hurt, we feel wounded.
But is but did that hurt or did that woundedness, did it really come from what that person did or said? Or really, or did it come from something that was deeper? Were we holding on? Have we, have we been holding on to something far too long that we never really, that we never really dealt with? Maybe that we maybe had been suppressing and, and and, and it just, and that that thing that the person did or said, it just simply triggered something that was already there that needed healing. So, so it was never really about that person. It was really about me healing me. And this person just made me aware that there was some healing that still needed to be done with inside of me.
If we can see the Christ light or the divinity in others, then we are seeing our forgiveness. If I can see your divinity, then I have moved past finding fault. If I can see your divinity, that’s a sign that I have moved past being hurt. If I can see your divinity, that’s a sign that I no longer feel this sense of separation from you. If I can see your divinity, that is the point that we, that that, that we are working towards as we move from judgment to forgiveness. Forgiveness allows us to see another person’s div, another person’s divinity and no longer and no longer dwell so much in hurt, no longer dwells so much in separation, no longer dwells so much in finding fault.
You know what I’m saying? It’s the highest form of forgiveness is spiritual forgiveness. It’s spiritual forgiveness. He says Spiritual forgiveness is the practice of forgiving as God forgives. Spiritual forgiveness is the practice of forgiving. As God forgives author goes on, he says, so when we are upset by something someone has done, forgiveness in his truest sense means moving to a level of consciousness that affirms whatever we thought happened actually did not occur. Forgiveness, true forgiveness is sin as God sees. God has nothing to forgive. God has nothing to forgive. Well, a lot of times, a lot of times we want to go to, a lot of times we wanna go to God and say, God, forgive me. God forgive me, God forgive me. God has nothing to forgive.
We just must forgive ourselves because we have taken on the state of separation. We must forgive ourselves because we have gone around now judging, we must forgive ourselves because we no longer see through the eyes of the divine. We are seeing through the ego we must forgive ourselves for, for neglecting the divine and placing the ego in front of the divine. God has nothing to forgive for God’s eyes or to pure to behold any inequity. So when we go to God, say, God, forgive me, God forgive me. Maybe let’s begin to change our talk. I am open to receive.
I am one with the divine. I am perfect, I am whole. I see as God sees and everyone is my brother and sister. I am connected to everyone and we’re all, were created equally and we’re all on the same level. So God has nothing to forgive. So spiritual forgiveness is the practice, is the practice of forgiving as God forgives. You might, you know, sometimes people want to come up and say, well, you remember when that, when that person did that to you. Remember how angry you were. Remember how hurt you were. I want you to start doing this. I want you let your response be. It never happened.
It never happened. It never happened. I don’t want, I don’t need you to try. I don’t need you to try to make me remember when I felt separated. I don’t need you to try to help me to remember when I no longer felt at one with the divine. I don’t need no help because right now I’m in a different space and a different place. And even as I’m talking to you right now and even as, even as you are trying to make me remember, I see nothing but the divine in you. I seen nama stay to you.
I behold the Christ in you. I behold your divinity. It never happened. It never happened. Is that easy to get to? I won’t stand up here and say it’s easy to get to, but once again, forgiveness is what a process. Forgiveness is a process. Let me end with this. The true forgiveness process. I’m gonna give you three points and then I’m gonna close out with a prayer. The true forgiveness process you can find on page 1, 1 0 9 of the book. Number one, identify our negative reactions to a person or event. Identify our negative reaction to a person or event. Number two, make a conscious choice to release this reaction or this interpretation. And number three, replace previous feelings and perceptions with the better choices of love, grace, and forgiveness.
The let’s turn within right now for a prayer right now, at this moment we release, we let go and we choose right now to remember who we are. We choose right now to remember that we are one with each other and we are one with the divine. We choose right now to remember that we’re perfect. We’re whole, we’re complete. We choose right now to remember, thank you God for this opportunity for us to make this divine realignment so this, so that we can come back into alignment with our true selves. We give thanks right now, God, for this opportunity to remember this opportunity to walk a new walk, to talk, a new talk, to begin to see out of your eyes. God, we give thanks right now for this opportunity to move past our
Judgments
And to begin to forgive ourselves. And as we forgive ourselves for having whatever judgments that we had, we can move now into a space of peace,
Of joy and happiness.
Thank you God for this realization
Of this oneness.
Thank you God for this opportunity that we can come back to ourselves by remembering who we are and by remembering
That we are one with love. We are one with love. We are one with love. And love heals all and so it is. Amen. God bless.