“The anti-judgment mantra is yet another way that Patriarchal Spirituality and the New Cage movement sidestep personal responsibility for their actions. Don’t judge! Yet in truth, we are judging all the time. We were granted the gift of discernment and critical thinking. Thank God for that—it keeps us from walking down the wrong paths, making unhealthy decisions, destroying our lives. Even those who criticize judgment are judging. It’s fundamental to the human experience. Perhaps the real question is not IF we are judging (or discerning, if you prefer), but WHY we are judging? Is it benevolently or malevolently intended? Are we judging in a forward-moving effort to distinguish unhealthy from healthy, or are we judging as a reflection of an unresolved superiority complex? Are we judging because we have a need to call out the madness of the world, or as a direct reflection of it? Where are we coming FROM? Because not every ‘judgment’ is a conditioned perspective. Often, it is a reflection of hard-earned wisdom and a grounded sensibility.” - Jeff Brown, from ‘Grounded Spirituality’