December 11, 1995

• As God does not judge, humans should not judge

• Nurturing self and others

The peace of God belongs to each of you. God’s peace belongs to all for whom you pray. Indeed, God’s peace is present for all human beings, all souls prior to human life and to all souls who have completed human life. You should rejoice that you all are in the light that is created by God’s peace.

Much that you shared this evening related to the value you place on honesty, openness, compassion, and non-judgment. What a great world you would experience if all with whom you came in contact provided the same kind of environment. Perhaps the most meaningful for you is the presence of nonjudgmental love.

You go through your lives surrounded by judgment. Many attend church and are told of the judgment day. Many are instructed that unless they behave in such a manner, they will be judged unfit to enter the kingdom of God. Many lead their lives by judging themselves, let alone one another. How often have you said to yourself or to another, “Really, I must be doing ‘whatever’”? That is a judgment that you make upon yourself, for you are implying that you are doing one thing when you really must be doing something else, and that somehow you are failing yourself. You are not meeting some imposed standard of expectations. That is being judgmental of yourself. You may wish to avoid being judgmental of others and insist that you reaffirm the spiritual integrity of all human beings, and yet in the same breath you will criticize yourself for some action, some thought, which has not lived up to a particular standard.

Judgment, then, takes on many forms: theological, social, and personal. But in each of these three realms there is really no place for judgment. There comes a time for you to look back upon your life and recognize honestly what was beneficial and what was not. But that is not a kind of judgment. A review is only an examination of where you are in your spiritual growth. There is no need, no benefit served by being judged. You will not be condemned to hell nor raised to heaven on the basis of things you have said or thought or done. That kind of judgment is imposed externally. It is imposed in a systemic manner by one group or another as a way of attempting to emphasize the value of a life that is led according to one’s perception of God. To that extent, the concept of judgment can be positive, but in an absolute sense God will not judge you. You will view yourself, you will learn of your own development, and you will be a part of the decision that may be made for some to reincarnate or to remain on one of the spiritual planes of life. But such judgment that you hear of in an institutional sense is not in itself a statement of fact. God does not judge whether you are worthy of being in heaven or not. In that same light, you must not judge others as to their worthiness, nor must you judge yourself as to your own worthiness.

The presence of nonjudgmental love, therefore, is fundamental—fundamental to you in your interactions with one another, but also fundamental in your view of yourself. Eliminate your own judgment. You can recognize when you are proud of another. You can recognize when behavior of another is not reflective of God. You recognize your own pride or your own behavior traits, but such an observation is not to be interpreted as the same thing as judgment.

Judgment is much more fundamental, for judgment carries with it a sense of worth, not appropriateness or a lack of it. Someone is judged as being worthy or unworthy. As applied to any aspect of human life, that type of judgment has no place in the light of God. As you are not judged on the basis of worthiness, so must you also not judge yourself or others. Mutual acceptance means the absence of judgment and the affirmation of value, the affirmation of worth, the affirmation of the presence of the spirit, whether that spirit is for an individual or a community or a nation.

You value nonjudgmental love. You value openness. Openness is the result of a lack of judgment. When there is no fear, there can be openness. But judgment fosters fear, and therefore prevents openness. If you are open to another, if you allow another to enter your lives, then you are being nonjudgmental, for openness in your lives has no room for judgment. Openness is acceptance, the recognition of godliness. Openness is the ability to listen nonjudgmentally. Openness is also the ability to express yourself without fear. The atmosphere void of judgment is an atmosphere that nurtures openness and results in love.

Love only flourishes in an open environment. It cannot grow out of fear. It cannot grow out of a sense of protection. It cannot grow in an atmosphere of attacking. It can only flourish when the environment is free and clear of the distractions that are so much a part of normal living.

Take the environment, the surroundings emotionally, the spiritual presence that is a part of this group and project that, if you will, against the backdrop of all human beings. You will see the difficulty but also the value of nurturing relationships that reflect your experiences when you meet in such a group. The group is important, not because of its size, but because it serves as a light which can be reflected by each of you into the broader world. The group provides you the opportunity of expressing yourselves honestly without fear, without a sense of judgment, but always with a feeling of acceptance and love.

This is a tall order for you to relate to the world as you relate to one another, and indeed it cannot be fully achieved. But gathering in such a group provides you with evidence that it is possible to be free and nonjudgmental, to be open and loving. When you recognize that possibility, it becomes ever so much easier to put into practice in the larger world.

Each of you has gained insight into your own life by applying what you learn in these gatherings. Even without consideration of the application, merely reading and rereading what has been received will make an enormous difference in your lives. Living in the spirit informs all of you of the potential that is included in human life. If you truly live in the spirit, you will never find it possible to be uncivil, disrespectful, hateful, vengeful.

Your lives are richer through the knowledge that you have obtained over the years. It’s essential that you find application for that knowledge. It’s essential that you look for ways to reflect what you know to be true. For each of you that knowledge may be different, but such knowledge is never conflicting. You must act through the knowledge that you have, not in spite or because of the knowledge. The knowledge that you have gained shapes the present, and therefore has a direct impact on the future.

Your relationships with others are perhaps the most important ingredient to nurturing your spiritual growth. Certainly—and we have spoken of this often—there is the necessity for nurturing the self, but you must ultimately be able to nurture others. Nurturing does not mean force-feeding; it means providing nourishment as that nourishment is needed. When one seeks comfort, you don’t expound upon the philosophy of right and wrong. You offer what is asked for, not more. The request for more help will certainly come. The love that you each feel toward others provides the basis for that nourishing relationship to continue its strong journey toward God.

For you to know the support that can be given, you must first pray for it. Without first asking for guidance, you will be swimming without a sense of direction, and such activity is nonsupportive, however ardent the intent. The basis of all support is love, and love is rooted together with patience. It is of highest importance to avoid impatient, quick evaluations of what is taking place. Praying for patience allows for the inflow of vision. When you are patient, you become more keenly aware of what is really happening. Many may have recommendations of how to proceed and what to do, but the true answer comes with prayerful patience and with a firm conviction that God is walking hand in hand with both partners in the relationship.

The environment of nonjudgmental love is the goal that all must seek in their relationships with themselves and their relationships with others. Accept yourself as you are. You may recognize your shortcomings, but you must accept where you are. If you accept where you are, it will then be easier to accept where another is. Look to yourself first before guiding another on a journey. Being rooted with God provides a sense of place. It provides an awareness of your own development. Only with such awareness are you able to help another.

We recognize the growth that you experience. We know the goals you have in mind, the dreams that are a part of your life. We share those dreams, we partake in those goals, and we surround you with that loving light of God which gives direction, warmth, comfort, and peace to everyone.

Amen.