It is ever important to learn to distinguish between inner guidance, the judgments of others, and information we receive from the media. Everyone these days is an authority on our lives. We run amok from our core intelligence when we listen to others judgments and opinions instead of listening to our intuition. Hand in hand with intuition is discernment.

Intuition guides us from moment to moment. It makes itself known to us in a flash, and often has a physiological component such as a sensitization of the crown atop the head, a flutter in the gut, a chill that runs across our skin, or even sweaty palms. When we use this psychic information to navigate a situation, we always benefit if we exercise the faculty of discernment.

There is a crucial difference between judgment and discernment. Judgment is rooted in the ego, which has an emotional charge that is always based on attachment to ideas and concepts. Judgments are formed from subjective reality and are therefore a trap that fosters a vicious cycle of inadequacy. A person who judges others feels inadequate because underlying their judgment is a feeling that they aren't good enough. Not that what they DO isn't good enough, but that they are not enough. When a person places an emotional value of good or bad on an activity, person, or experience it projects a poor reflection of self into the world.

Discernmnent vs Judgment A Fork in the Road

On the other hand, discernment that is a spiritual quality has a sense of nonattachment to it because it does not assign an emotional value on something. There is no emotional charge, which allows us to assess a situation or a person objectively. We simply choose whether we wish to participate. There is no emotion attached to the decision--just a simple "no thank you."

Detaching from a situation and letting go of any need to feel superior does not mean that we should avoid making a decision for fear of being judgmental. We just need to learn to say "no thank you" to that which is our lesser good, so we can say "yes" to our greater Good. For if we cannot decide and are conflicted, how can we learn to follow the path of our Highest Good?

Discernment is a spiritual quality that needs development to navigate our lives with awareness and for our spiritual evolution. Practice, Practice, Practice!!!

In Service I AM, Rev. Alisa Battaglia

Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace, for example, starts within each one of us. -His Holiness the Dalai Lama