Judgement
Dictionary Entry: Judgment
Definition:
The act of assigning value-labels (“good/bad,” “right/wrong,” “worthy/unworthy”) to appearances in consciousness.
Distinct from neutral discernment; judgment adds emotional charge and self-identification.
Nature:
Judgment arises from conditioning: internalized voices of parents, culture, or society.
Functions as a control mechanism for the ego: keeps identity stable by rejecting what doesn’t fit and clinging to what does.
Unlike simple perception, judgment divides reality into acceptable/unacceptable, desirable/undesirable.
Mechanics:
Loop Reinforcement: Judgment of a thought or feeling (“I shouldn’t be anxious”) fuels the loop (now you’re anxious about being anxious).
Identity Glue: Judgments create self-image (“I am good when I do X, bad when I do Y”).
Projection: Unacknowledged judgments about the self get cast outward as judgments of the world/others.
Obscuration: Judgment narrows perception, blinding awareness to alternative possibilities.
Release: Seeing judgment as just another thought dissolves its authority, freeing awareness to perceive without bias.
Metaphor:
Judgment is like adding a sticky label to passing clouds. Instead of just drifting by, the cloud now feels heavy, important, and defining.
Or: a courtroom in the mind, constantly sentencing appearances to “good” or “bad,” without realizing the judge and the judged are the same illusion.