Is Court in Session?

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TITLE: Is Court in Session?
AUTHOR: Jerry Lopper
CONTACT: jlopper@att.net

COPYRIGHT: ©2002 by Jerry Lopper. All rights reserved

WORD COUNT: 533
FORMAT: This article is formatted to 61 cpl.

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Is Court in Session?

Is your courtroom in session? That is, are you acting as
prosecutor, judge, and jury for your fellow humans? Do you
evaluate the actions and behaviors of your loved ones,
reminding them even silently that they’re doing things the
"wrong" way? I thought my courtroom was closed, but I was
fooled by my mind.

I thought I had ceased judging behaviors of others as right
or wrong, but found that I had simply masked the judgments;
I covered them up with self-righteous thinking. Avoiding
judgment is difficult, a big shift of behavior for many of
us. I succeeded, for the most part, in avoiding verbalizing
my judgments, but the internal judging continued, and that
self-righteous energy transmits to others just as strongly
as words.

So now I’ve renewed my commitment to myself to avoid judging
others for what they say, how they say it, and their
resulting actions. Why? Judging others is hard work. Judging
others is not only hard in terms of effort, it adversely
affects one’s state of being. The next time you find
yourself judging some behavior as right or wrong, stop and
take an inventory of your feelings. I think you’ll find
feelings of tension, defensiveness, superiority, and
separation. I think you’ll observe your mind at work
prosecuting the offense and handing out punishments. Focus
on your body. I think you’ll notice taut muscles, grim
features, and aggressive positioning. Is this what you want
for yourself? I don’t, yet that’s the result of judging.

When you accept what others say and do, without judgment or
evaluation, you’ll be more peaceful and calm. You’ll be able
to observe what is without concern or ownership. You’ll no
longer have to defend your judgment, prosecute your
position, and justify your punishment. Life will be easier.

Now, that doesn’t mean I can’t work to change what is
showing up. If it doesn’t serve me, I will work to change
it. But, that is best done without assigning good or bad to
the situation. By fully accepting what shows up as the
perfect situation for right now I have more power to change
it. Since I have embraced it, it is fully within me, and
those things I can change. That’s my commitment, knowing
full well that God will soon send me ample opportunity to
experience my declared state of being. I’m looking forward
to it. If you choose to join me, prime yourself to watch
your thinking. Be aware of the judgments you make that
something is good or bad, right or wrong. Observe your body
and your feelings--tension and irritation are sure signs
that your courtroom is in session. Maybe it’s time to
adjourn.