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Judgment vs Opinion - from the daily om

27th February 2008

Judgment vs Opinion - from the daily om

posted in General |

Staying Open And Fluid
Judgment Versus Opinion 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.

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There are currently 3 responses to “Judgment vs Opinion - from the daily om”

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  1. 1 On February 29th, 2008, ANGELBABY said:

    Judgments are often made against the self, which keeps one in a state of non-doing. To move forward, release that thought. Tell yourself it was a habit learned, and allow yourself the freedom to move, without the burden of restriction.

    posted on February 29th, 2008 at 7:17 am

  2. 2 On March 3rd, 2008, Mark Gemmell said:

    I’ve noticed that I must always be aware of my emotional reactions to people and events because of my talent for projecting my own “stuff” all over everyone! I don’t think I’ve ever had a serious complaint about anyone that didn’t turn out to be more mine than theirs. It’s a useful tool in therapy too, to stay aware of my emotional responses, because sometimes, either I am picking up on the client’s feelings intuitively, or the way I am responding is the way most people respond to them, i.e. part of their problem. Staying open to my feelings and theirs is the map to where we need to go.
    Certainly we have intuitions also, defined as “conclusions we come to we don’t know how.” Often in retrospect, we can see all the little things that contributed to the perception–all very real, just outside of awareness at the time.

    posted on March 3rd, 2008 at 8:43 am

  3. 3 On March 14th, 2008, Mark Gemmell said:

    The Eliot Spitzer scandal gives the nation another opportunity for a real dialogue about a number of things, but it likely won’t happen. Generally what we do is crucify someone and actually take some mild pleasure in watching him being utterly brought down. We project our own conflicts about sex, marriage, infidelity, power, and class all over whomever was unfortunate enough to get caught–and all of us feel just a bit safer. Temporarily. When the judgementfest is over, we go back to sleep with no further concerns about the career and family that has just been destroyed. Until the next time, when we’re ready to celebrate someone else’s fall from grace. And the response is always right there under the surface, because the conflict is in US. I wish we could have a sort of amnesty, in which men and women could talk openly and honestly–without fear of judgement and in a spirit of truth–about their own struggles and challenges related to sex, marriage, committment, power, and human fraility. In my work as a therapist,
    I know that when people are willing to do this, wonderful things can happen.

    posted on March 14th, 2008 at 5:21 am

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