FORGIVENESS

& JUDGMENT

“In every person there is something precious which is in no-one else. And so we should honor each for what is hidden within them for what only they have.” Talmud

Especially now with the earth changes and now Covid it's time to clean the slate ...

“We are all in the same boat on a stormy sea and we owe each other a terrible loyalty.” Chesterton

Tiferet - the center or heart of the Tree of Life - is balanced by the polarities of Judgment (contraction) on the left and Mercy (expansion) on the right. Tiferent is equivalent to the heart chakra and holds the qualities of empathy, compassion and  forgiveness.

"Giving opens, withholding closes." The Ancestors 

Even someone who has performed a heinous act is worthy of forgiveness, once judgement and retribution have been served. 

For those who have offended but done no physical harm it is much easier. 

"If a person does not keep pace with his/her companions perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." Thoreau

For those who have done real harm we also need to try and "walk in their moccasins."

When it comes to our prisons and our jails punishment does not always have to be excessively punitive. Taking away a person's freedom can be punishment enough. Redemption is possible and allowing for this is not only worthy but also cost effective in the long run.

“The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become.” Goethe

 “If we cannot embrace the other, do not think to embrace God." Jeremiah 

Research has shown that forgiving someone may be  even more beneficial to the giver of forgiveness than the receiver. Forgiveness takes the albatross one is carrying around, off of one's neck. AIDS patients who forgave the person who gave them the virus have higher T cell counts and do better medically than those who continue to harbor a grudge. 

In the words of the African American slave song;      "I'm gonna lay down my burden down by the riverside, ain't gonna study war no more."

Forgiveness has karmic merit and is healthful as well. Harboring a grudge in the face of a sincere apology or even without it leaves a stain in the heart of someone holding that burden. Releasing that burden is most powerfully done in ritual which not only has a powerful effect on the brain's limbic system and the subconscious but also in the spirit world as well.

For those in need of giving forgiveness, I suggest that you write a letter stating all the grievances that you are holding, no matter how petty and trivial they may seem. Go into the minutest details. Then burn it in a receptacle with a sacred plant such as sage or cedar. Take the ashes and wrap them in something biodegradable. Take the forgiveness bundle to the nearest body of water - preferably the ocean if available, preferably when no-one is there - there should be no distractions. Throw it away and let it go and let go. Tell yourself and your guides who will be there to help you that this is now water under the bridge, walk away and 

do not look back! 

Looking back is an indication to spirit that you are not sure. Free will, the cosmic law, demands clarity in order to act on your behalf.

When it come to parents or grandparents who have done terrible things it is a little different. The commandment says;

"Honor your mother and father that your days will be long upon the earth."

It does not say love them, like them or reconcile with them.

 The onus, however, is on the child to forgive because they gave us another chance at a sentient life. 

For the living you do not have to reconnect with anyone whom you have forgiven but they should know in the most effective way that it is water under the bridge. Some will not react kindly to being told that they are the ones that are being forgiven.

A lot of the work I do as a sangoma is releasing dysfunctional spirits that hang around the living in the hope of receiving forgiveness. This is best done before death - there should be no unfinished business before that person breathes their last. Skeletons in the family closet can be challenging to one's aura. There is nothing good about being haunted by a dysfunctional parent or grandparent. This "shade" following the living son or daughter or grandson or daughter gets in the way of one's life flow resulting sometimes in anxiety, depression, bad luck and difficulties with work and relationships. Forgiveness will release the perpetrator from that particular karmic sin only. The object of the ritual is to show that you are sure, to put it in writing so to speak, for the spiritual tribunal that person is now facing or will be facing in the afterlife. One should add before walking away and not looking back ... 

"I release you from any karmic consequences on my behalf for what you have done."

“When a deep injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive.” Alan Paton

Forgiveness is the most completing gift we can experience for we all have its sweet need…” John O’donahue

"Forgiveness is part of the treasure you need to craft your falcon wings and return to your true realm of Divine Freedom.” Hafitz

The remedy to the energetic imbalance caused by judging someone who has wronged us resides in forgiveness. Furthermore, graciously accepting and being receptive to someone reaching out to us for forgiveness not only has karmic merit but will clear away the rubble in front of our spiritual walk in life. Even if they do not reach out one should forgive.    

Ultimately

We should have compassion for the fact they have a longer way to go on their journey or worse still that they may not be redeemed in the afterlife.

              "I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am a decisive element: it is my personal approach that creates the climate; it is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated and a person is humanized or dehumanized. If we treat people as they are we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming." Goethe

“Be willing to give up who you are - the old familiar - for who you might become to reach that which is beyond you.” Rev N. of Braztlav

Since Google has introduced a new interface I have deleted the old comments but am grateful for them so please continue to comment. Sadly I do not have the time to respond but I do bear them in mind for the future blogs.

NOT JUDGING your SELF !

BUT SCRUTINIZE your self

One should not judge one's intrinsic worth but rather judge one's actions and behavior. Beware of the little self or ego. Guard the true Self or soul.

"I am guarding my light and my treasure, convinced that nobody would gain and I myself would be badly, even hopelessly injured, if I should lose it.  It is most precious not only to me, but above all to the darkness of the Creator, who needs humans to illuminate his Creation.” C. G. Jung

“Why do the ancient masters esteem the Tao? Because being one with the Tao, when you seek you find, when you make a mistake you are forgiven. That is why everyone loves it.” Lao-Tsu

“No human soul is like any other human soul, and therefore the love of God for any human soul is infinite, for no other soul can satisfy the same need in God.”  Yeats

To err is human to forgive Divine

God or Jesus will forgive us for any sin we have done to our-Selves - our soul - in other words to the Divinity. We are made in the image of the Creator which incorporates both light and dark. 

"I create the light and the dark. Choose light!"

 Everyone can be redeemed and the prodigal son or daughter can return to the Father/Mother and be embraced unconditionally with repentance.

However, to clear the slate and for sins done to another, we will have to seek the forgiveness of the other or others even if it will not be granted. Maimonides says that if forgiveness, (without any attempt to rationalize the mistake,) is requested three times, and still not given, the karma then rests on the one who bears the grudge.

“Be patient with yourself, kind to yourself and, above all, release yourself from what you are not accountable.”                                     The Ancestors

 Sadly, some of us feel that they are not worthy. Rather than understand that what they did was a mistake, they believe they are the mistake. This is antithetical to spiritual transformation and healing.

“... and according to your belief, is it done unto you." Matthew

“As you think it so it can be, as you imagine and believe it so it will be. We create our own reality. We are as we imagine, believe and especially decree ourselves to be.   The Ancestors                               (Both positively and negatively.)

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”         Henry Ford

The "Learned Helplessness" of Seligman, the father of positive psychology, can be unlearned. We can become optimistic with the right conditioning.

“The optimist, by his superior wisdom and insight, is making his own heaven, and in the degree he makes his own heaven, is he helping to make one for all the world beside. The pessimist, by virtue of his limitations, is making his own hell, and in the degree that he makes his own hell, is he helping to make one for all mankind.”                          Ralph Waldo Trine

All of us are given different cards to play in life, some better, some worse. We cannot resign ourselves to the cards we are dealt, or our fate. We have to be in control of our own destiny and soul's purpose. Guilt and shame get in our way.

                      “… It matters not how strait the gate,                                                  How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” W.E. Henley

Do not condemn yourself, and do not let others condemn you.

“The judgment of the 99 neither validates nor invalidates the worth of the one.
The many and the few do not speak to value – only to popularity.
Popularity is not to be equated with value.” The Ancestors 

“Self-condemnation strengthens guilt which is one of the greatest obstacles on the path of realization.” Sri Swami Rama

Belief that you are bad and belief you are out of control makes you more so! Self-recrimination and especially guilt and shame disconnect us from the spacious mind thoughts of the frontal lobe and we default to the primitive, survival centers of the brain. This also puts our sympathetic, autonomic, flight or fight responses on overdrive. Remorse and regret should occur when we have done something wrong. The wrong needs to be righted. Guilt and shame, however, happen when we feel that we are intrinsically bad.

 

Shame is prevalent in the West and the incidence is said to be as high as 60%. Guilt can occur even without any wrong doing. We are responsible for but are not our actions.  Practicing Universal Self-Acceptance or an unconditional positive regard for ourselves and others goes a long way to remedying self-condemnation and even the more insidious emotions of guilt and shame.                                         None of us are perfect.

"Shame is the swampland of the soul." C.G Jung

And if your friend does evil to you, say to him, “I forgive you for what you did to me, but how can I forgive you for what you did to yourself?”  Nietzsche

 “Just as its presumptuous to put ourselves above others, so is it pretentious to put ourselves below them.” Unknown

With illness, self-hexing can result from guilt or shame and the feeling that one does not deserve to be well and that the sickness is God's  punishment. Karma does not work that way! Guilt and shame have no place in healing or curing and can disable the Inner Healer which like our soul is made in the Creator's image. We need to change any self-deprecating thoughts perpetuating "dis"-ease or disease that have no validity. It is interesting to note that hexing of another is empowered by the victim's guilt and the nocebo response (the power of belief to   hurt, harm and even kill - the opposite of placebo.)                                                                         

It is said that kahuna shamans of old would hex someone known to have committed a murder and that the hex alone combined with the guilt or shame was sufficient to induce a death sentence. In Southern Africa before the missionaries arrived, ordeal poisons were used in a similar way. Guilt alone has the power to "hex" that person with devastating consequences. Once the sangoma had determined guilt of murder, (with the help of the evidence and divination,) an ordeal poison was administered as a final test. Presumably the mechanism of fatality was an overwhelming sympathetic, guilt ridden fear response which enabled rapid intestinal absorption of the poison causing the guilty party to succumb. In the event of the person not being guilty the person would immediately vomit up the vile tasting potion. A rather drastic form of justice but it illustrates a point.

“Everybody feels inferior in some way or other. And the reason is that we do not accept that everybody is unique. There is no question of inferiority or superiority. Everybody is just one of his/her kind - comparison does not arise.
The moment you accept yourself as you are, without any comparison, all inferiority, all superiority, disappears. In that total acceptance of yourself you will be free from these complexes - inferiority, superiority. Otherwise you will suffer your whole life. Just be yourself, that is enough. You are accepted by the sun, you are accepted by the moon, you are accepted by the trees, you are accepted by the ocean, you are accepted by the earth. What more do you want?
You are accepted by this whole universe. Rejoice in it!” Osho

“Do not believe in anything that can hurt or harm you. Believe in goodness and truth.”

“Beware the windstorms of doubt and the drought of indifference. Avoid the reticence of rhetoric and the subversives of doubt.”          The Ancestors 

These are just intellectual constructs if practiced alone in a cognitive vacuum without a dedicated spiritual practice. We have to subordinate Monkey mind to Big mind, our shadow to our inclination to do good and, our ego to our higher Self. No amount of study will help without going inward and experiencing our own value of Self. We are all made in the image of the Divine and are worthy. The yoga greeting "namaste" - I see the Divine in you - also applies to the Divine in me. 

There are three rules - spiritual practice, spiritual practice, spiritual practice.

“Do you have the patience to wait until your mind settles and 

 the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving until right action arises by itself.”           Tao te Ching

"The most needful time for spiritual practice is when you feel you have no time." The Ancestors

"Cosmic energy enters through the Energy (Etheric) Body and our thoughts determine whether this is positive or negative and how our Etheric body will be (imbalanced or balanced.) Spiritual practice encourages positive flow." Yoga philosophy

 

Judgment #3

The sages have high standards and teach that we should have;

 “Mercy to the point of recalling only the good qualities of our tormentor.

Remembering them in the innocence of their infancy.
Mercy beyond the letter of the law ...” Cordovero

This the more so with those we love or care about.

"Never judge in a condemnatory way, never with disavowing and lack of love. You must support emotionally without condoning. You must acknowledge what is wrong so as not to impair conscience. Acting contrary to conscience is different from justifying and rationalizing wrong doing. The latter compounds not merely worsens. It influences and endangers future decision.”  The Ancestors

 There is a shadow side to not judging others and especially one’s loved ones and condoning wrong actions. It may seem like we are being benevolent but it is harmful both to them and to us. One can lovingly correct them, with the mercy of our words and with what Marshall Rosenberg calls Non Violent Communication or even the more popular "talking circle and object." 

"Emotions run high - feelings run deep. Emotions require discipline. Feelings require nurturing. The better one controls emotions the more one can express feelings." The Ancestors

The principles of the "circle" are: 1. Talk about oneself and one's own feelings such, as; "I am upset, I am angry" etc. If one can put a like or a that in front of the statement it is not a feeling but can be an unskillful emotion; such as I feel like you are an idiot or that you are pathetic. No pointing of fingers (remembering there are usually three pointing back at you.) 2. Talk from the heart the truth as you know it. 3. Listen to the other from the heart. 4. Be brief and to the point. This is powerful in a group but can be effective also, one on one. Only the one who has the talking object holds the floor and everyone will have their turn.

The Ancestors recommend that we do not necessarily refrain from judging but that we do not judge harshly and judge favorably. They  advise us to"sweeten the judgments."  Discernment and discrimination may be useful words to embrace.

It is extremely difficult for most of us not to judge but the Tree of Life shows us a triad with two sephirot; one of Mercy and the other of Judgment with Love the intermediary between them. We need to discern rather than to judge and to temper our judgment with mercy for our own sakes and  for the sake of our karma.  It also helps to remember that our subconscious is diligently recording all our thoughts and words and these will return to us and will later impact our conscious actions. 

"… human beings by changing the inner attitude of their minds, can change the outer aspect of their lives.” William James

When we judge others, there may be an effect not only on the other but also; the one we are talking to, our subconscious, the community (if judgment gets spread around,) and beyond the veil between worlds as well. We all dance to the beat of a different drum and as long as someone is doing no harm,  judgment should be avoided.

“We are marionettes of awesome power in that strings connect us to countless supernal worlds but we control the strings. Our actions in the world influence the spirit worlds above. A simple act of kindness opens a spigot for more kindness to flow into all our levels of experience which empowers others who experience it.”

“Do not spread a bad image of anyone or any group - even if true
 (or to the person himself.)
Do not share information that can cause harm.
Do not embarrass even in jest.
Do not pretend that innuendo or body language are not speech.” Chofetz Chaim

“Great are the righteous for they transform judgment into compassion.” Genesis Raba 33.3

Jesus taught; “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The ancestors take this a step further by saying we should treat others as they would like to be treated. Another may differ significantly from ourselves and may not appreciate being treated as we would want to treat ourselves.     

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." Exodus

Someone - out of judgment and with a heart full of envy - may covet something or even worse want to deprive that person of what they have for reason of jealousy or even to possess it themselves. This feeling is at the heart of witchcraft and sorcery, and hence this key commandment of only10. The negative karmic consequences of the dark arts are profound.

“Malice sucks up the greater part of her own venom and poisons herself.” Montaigne

“Hatred does not cease thru hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law.”  Buddha

"You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge ... I am the Lord.” Leviticus

 Over and above the criminal justice system which has its own role to play in keeping us safe. Exacting even justifiable vengeance is egregious to the Creator. “Vengeance is mine saith the Lord.”

“Vengeance is Mine, and retribution. In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.”  Deuteronomy

Karma is relentless and will settle all valid grievances, often sooner, rather than later. After death reconciliation with a spiritual tribunal, will determine a fitting rebirth - we don't get away with anything! Hence the fact that we undergo so many lifetimes to achieve a measure of spiritual purity.

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” Ghandi

“Do not say I will repay evil. 

Wait for the Lord and He will save you.” 

Do not say, "Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me; 

For I will render to the man according to his work (his karma.)"                                   

“Rejoice not when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad.” Proverbs

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil…” Romans

Vengeance is antithetical to spiritual transformation ...

“… and do not give the devil a foothold. “Ephesians 

Judgment #2

When one looks at the chakra system we see that our third chakra, our power center or the way we make our way in the world, is the chakra immediately below the diaphragm. The three lower chakras attend to our survival needs and this is where the three deadly sins reside. There are four chakras above the diaphragm which connect us to our spiritual needs. The heart or fourth chakra above the diaphragm, is the energy center of love which embraces; compassion, empathy and forgiveness.  The yogis affirm that this is the hardest chakra to open and judgment with ego and desirous attachment are the main factors getting in the way of moving kundalini energy upwards.           

The heart chakra is represented by the symbol of a hexagon. If we look at the lower three points we can take them to represent these Three Deadly Karmic sins which reside in our lower chakras - most notably in the third power chakra .

Similarly, in the Tree of Life, Tiferet (beauty or harmony) is the sephirah (energy center) of love in the center or “heart” of the Tree. It is balanced above by connections to the sephirot of Mercy on the right and Judgment on the left which form a triad with Tiferet at the apex below. The Kabbalists teach that once the student has mastered Tiferet he and she can teach themselves.

Yesod (Foundation) below Tiferet, like the third chakra, signifies Ego and is balanced above by the triad of Netzach on the right and Hod on the left. These two sephirot are somewhat mysterious but one interpretation is that they also signify Non-Attachment and Attachment respectively. It is interesting that in Kabbalah, Judgment is higher up on the Tree than Ego (Yesod) or Desirous Attachment (Hod) below it. Judgment is harder to control than the other two and is a more advanced energy level to be mastered with the help of its opposite - Mercy. 

 “As above so below, as below so above, as within so without.”       

Our actions and our judgments have affects not only at a planetary and individual level but also at a cosmic level. The ancestors teach that we create pockets of positive angelic like energy when we practice acts of kindness.

“Our judgments, thoughts, feelings and actions all have connections not just in the material world but in the spiritual realm (and the subconscious.) The spiritual, influences the material. We invite, support, encourage or exclude, reject, discourage…” The Ancestors

“These manifestations can be nothing less than divine beings, angels, concentrations of energy that constantly flit in and out of existence. We create them and bring them into being with our thoughts, words, deeds, feelings but can erase them in the same way.” The Ancestors

We do the opposite with negative and harmful words, deeds or actions.

     “Just as easily we can create malevolent beings, negative energy demons who hinder us on the path of transformation.”  The Ancestors

Practice random acts of kindness while not expecting pay back. Have gratitude, pay forward and more happiness will splash back to us.   

                         We think that in the natural way of things, what we give lessens our supply. "The soul does not work this way - with the soul, giving increases supply." The Ancestors

"Each of us occupies a unique position in space and time. No one else and nothing else can be in the same position. Therefore, for each of us, as we know the universe - so it is ...                                                         but our angle of view encompasses an infinite number of other co-existing universes from which we are viewed. Consequently, whatever happens in one position affects all the universe in some manner."       G. E. Kelley

The Butterfly Effect, suggests that when a butterfly flaps its wings in Tokyo a tornado can occur in Tennessee. In other words a small change can make much bigger changes happen. 

Similarly at a local rather than a cosmic level we recognize these positive effects as congruence within us and the Maharishi effect outside of us as our vibration spreads beyond us. Maharishi university found that if a critical number of people in a city were meditating the crime rate would drop. This has been called the Maharishi effect.    

Both Gandhi and the Buddha taught that our thoughts become our words, our words our behavior and habits, our behavior and habits our values and our values our destiny. What we think and say have huge ramifications.                                                                            

The Subconscious. Do not condemn others who are rich, lucky, honest or dishonest. Do not judge or covet. Covetousness is the darker side of judgment. It comes from a heart of envy and can cause damage within and without. We cannot attract what we condemn. This will negatively imprint our subconscious. No matter what we think we think with the conscious mind we will act out what resides in the subconscious. The subconscious is like a recording device, recording, impartially all that we think or say. The subconscious is subject to Narrow (Monkey) Mind’s domination as well as our prior experiences and life times (what the Buddhists call our “Store Consciousness.”) Our thoughts and words go back to us like a reflection from a mirror. We become our thoughts as they impregnates our subconscious. What we say is Self-reflective –  polluting the Higher Self - tainting the Soul.

“We are all climbing toward the summit of our hearts’ desires. Should the other climber steal your sack and your purse and wax fat on the one and heavy on the other, you should pity him. The climbing will be harder for his flesh and the burden will make his way longer. And should you in your leanness see his flesh puffing upward, 

help him in a step, it will add to your swiftness.” Anonymous   

^{We need to not get angry at things we cannot change and especially, for that matter, for things we can change.} 

^{I regret to say that the new Google blogger design is disallowing me to insert a song to play. Apologies.} 

JUDGMENT #1

Ego, Desirous Attachment and Judgment form a triad, 
 it useful to distinguish their differences. 

 “Let us be together
, let us eat together
, let us be vital together
, let us be radiating truth, radiating the light of life, Never shall we denounce anyone. 
Never entertain negativity.” The Upanishads

“The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.” Roshi

We need to recognize that most of the time we live in duality. In the tension between duality and believing we are all one, lies the possibility for more spiritual attainment. Most of us cannot, nor should not entirely rid ourselves of ego but with awareness we can subordinate it to our Higher Selves. Judgment is just a reflection of ego. We project our own shadow onto others in order to feel better about ourselves and strengthen ego at the same time. When we judge others, it is usually due to a projection of our own shadow onto another. We would not be able to identify that thought if it were not already inside of us. When we point a finger at someone we usually have three fingers pointing back at us.

“When you see a worthy person endeavor to emulate him, when you see an unworthy person then examine your inner self.” Confucius

“... If we cannot embrace the other, do not think to embrace God. The more expectantly we look for Him/Her in the other the more readily does S/He show Himself. The more imaginatively we look for Him in all creation the more clearly will we see Him.”

“How can we determine the hour of dawn when night ends and day begins?
When you can look into the face of human beings and you have enough light in you to recognize them as your brothers and sisters. Up until then it is night and darkness is still with us.” Chassidic wisdom

“See yourself in others then whom can you hurt? What harm can you do?” Dammapada

 "In the sweat of your face you will eat bread, until you return to the earth ...  dust are you, and to dust you will return." Genesis 

“We are all one though not the same.” The Ancestors

Humankind, according to the bible was created from dust. Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. All Beings; Still, Growing, Wild or Talking are made from the same elements. We are all made of star dust, of which carbon is a major component. We need to be humble. “There is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us that it hardly behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us.” New England Saying

Gandhi and the Buddha taught that our thoughts determine our words, our words, our deeds and behavior, our deeds and behavior our habits, our habits our character and values and, the latter our destiny. Judgment begins with the thoughts of Monkey or Narrow Mind.

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.” Marcus Aurelius 

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” Marcus Antonius
 
“What we speak becomes the house we live in.” Hafiz

Judgment can have serious karmic repercussions. If judgment comes from or leads to envy and we “covet our neighbor or anything that belongs to our neighbor” this can be hazardous to our soul. A heart of envy can harm from having; 

an evil eye, an evil tongue and even worse an evil inclination. 

Envy is at the heart of dark witchcraft and sorcery. It can induce someone to deprive another of what s/he possesses, or have what the other has. We see the evil tongue every day when politicians character assassinate their rivals even if there is no truth to the diatribe. Even if there is a measure of truth it can still cause karmic consequences.  

“Take care not to give scandal nor to do harm.” The Ancestors

In doing so the Talmud teaches that one harms three people; the one saying it (their karma,) the one it is said about, and the one it is said to.

We can judge others, judge another and also judge ourselves, all of which can be harmful to them, ourselves and our karma. Judgment of self leading to remorse and regret are commendable so that we can make self-correction. However,  guilt and shame harm the soul and can put Spacious Mind and our frontal lobe thoughts in lockdown mode. 

"Self-Condemnation strengthens guilt which is one of the greatest impediments on the path of enlightenment." Yoga saying

When we judge others we also tend to treat them differently. 

“The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become.” Goethe

 “Ubuntu speaks to the essence of being human. The solitary individual is in our understanding a contradiction in terms. You are a person through other persons. Ubuntu speaks about the importance of communal harmony; warmth, compassion, generosity, hospitality and seeks to embrace others.” Bishop Tutu

“No human soul is like any other human soul, and therefore the love of God for any human soul is infinite, for no other soul can satisfy the same need in God.” Yeats

The Creator loves all of Creation and animates all of it with His breath. God does not play favorites. Karma judges, God loves.

"God's love is not a test. God is not a test of love" The Ancestors

The Creator does not micromanage. Karma is built as a default into the soul. "The Prodigal" son or daughter is always welcome to return to his/her Maker. Karma will take care of itself. We are all given a destiny cup to fill. Some are given larger cups to fill than others. To those much more is expected. As long as we fill our own unique cup of potential we will have fulfilled our mission along the way of our many and various incarnations.

“Despise no person and consider nothing impossible, for there is no one who does not have his/her hour and there is nothing that does not have its place.”  Talmud

“Actions arise from conditions. Do not judge then the former until the latter is well understood. If you have eaten what the judged one has eaten, and worn his/her clothes, and thought his thoughts, and felt both his joy and pain then you may say you have stood in his place but only briefly compared to the length of his stay. So still you may not know the past or present plights that plague him/her.
Our judgments are frequently fraught with error and usually tainted with arrogance. Compassion and love are our salvation and joy.” Hillel

We all walk to the sound of a different drum. If we do not like the sound of the other's drum and it offends us, we should just walk away with a mind empty of judgment.

”Reality usually follows its description. Hence it is ever changing and is perceived differently by different people.” The Ancestors 

"Do not judge a person until you have walked a mile in his/her moccasins.” Native American saying

"Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.” Goethe

“When you talk to people do not weigh. A soul that weighs suffers harm.” Talmud

“At the end of the day when you no longer need to be right
the perfection of your soul will shine through.” The Ancestors

“Judge not that you not be judged.
For with what judgment you judge you shall be judged
and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Matthew

Even when offended by someone else and we have the need to reciprocate in kind, rather, “Turn the other cheek" or respond positively or walk away. If you respond negatively you inherit their energy and imprint your karma negatively as well as your subconscious. It's not about them it's about you. Give compassion. Imagine them changing for the better. Karma will reconcile all differences.

Click on the link, play and ponder 

02_Sacredness.mp3