The Universe Only Hears the 'I am'

During a conversation with someone earlier they expressed that they were unhappy in life. They spoke of struggling with judgment. As the conversation progressed and the questions flew I confirmed what I suspected - they resonated with the idea of acceptance and yet were struggling to understand what that meant. And more significantly, to my mind at least, they were not clear about what they wanted - they did not have a vision for themselves, their life.

Dr. James Golden wisely suggests that, "When we are judgemental the universe shines the light...and only hears 'I am.'" The problem with living in judgement is that we are thinking judgemental thoughts. But what does that mean?

For me central to understanding this meaning is a belief that my thinking creates the effects around me. This is made possible by the Universe having empowered me to create. The way I create stems from how I think. If I am thinking thoughts of judgement, I am focusing my energy of creation on this idea. This becomes a vicious circle, for it is likely that we believe we do not like what we judge and then get caught up seeing more of the effect that we judge, and so on until we are consumed with effects around us that we do not like.

Making judgements about health, money, relationships, or how people express themselves has a lack of acceptance at its core. Acceptance is to me one of the most precious gifts I can give. If I accept you I am honouring my own process of creation by thinking about what is good in you, and hopefully finding ways to see your light.

Let us consider this idea another way - it is not known whether it is a good or bad experience to be poor, or suffer from a terminal disease. How can anyone with a finite mind possibly comprehend an Infinitely big picture? We can never know enough about this big picture. And if this is valid as a statement, how can our judgement of a condition or effect possibly serve us? The person who believes that with one look they can assess a condition of someone, such as how poor they are, and understand the life work on the part of the person they are judging is I would suggest is not being truthful with themselves.

In short, if we cannot know the purpose and reason for the life-work of someone we are judging, then surely judgement is one of the most futile things we can do? Not only am I introducing a thought about an idea (that the Universe inserts "I am" in front of), but I am also trying to do something that is far beyond the capabilities my finite mind!

A part of my reason for writing this blog was an effort on my part to process this conversation. The question of 'what do you want in life?' is an important one. I am wondering if judging others is not a distraction from the dissatisfaction in our own lives. If the art of life is partly about looking to our own thinking then surely it's in my best interests to spend as much energy about thinking about what I want and how I will create it as is practical? And given the time we allow ourselves, do we really want to spend time in thinking about the conditions of others?

Or to put it much more strongly, judgement is quite frankly a waste of time. There is value in discernment. Showing an understanding of something is worthy. Understanding leads to knowledge, which is what wisdom is built upon. However, if you are trying to disguise judgement as discernment but are finding your thinking fixated on an effect I would suggest that you should enquire as to where your thinking is straying, and what you are creating for yourself.

Perhaps the litmus test for this is, if I am struggling to accept something, why? What is there in me to learn from this struggle? I’d like to quote a Wikipedia definition on Psychological Projection:

Psychological projection or projection bias (including Freudian Projection) is the unconscious act of denial of a person's own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world, such as to the weather, the government, a tool, or to other people. Thus, it involves imagining or projecting that others have the same feelings or motives, rather than what they really think.


Projection is considered one of the most profound and subtle of human psychological processes, and extremely difficult to work with, because by its nature it is hidden. It is the fundamental mechanism by which we keep ourselves uninformed about ourselves.

The line that jumps out at me; “It is the fundamental mechanism by which we keep ourselves uninformed about ourselves.” The next time you see something in the world that you feel called to judge or deny, ask yourself, what exactly does this have to do with yourself?

Copyright (C) 2010, Carmien Owen