USING YOUR DISCERNMENT -- PART THREE

Our skills of discernment change over time as we develop new values and new abilities. We may hold ideal values but not be able to actualize or live by these values until we learn the skills that are needed to realize them.

The Learning Process

The final aspect of discernment is to choose and to take action or actions based on the choice we have made. We may choose a course or direction, but not follow through with the necessary actions, as a result of our lack of skills, discipline, or persistence. This is where our will must come into play. Willing ourselves to learn what is needed, to discipline ourselves, and to persist when achievements do not come quickly is part of the learning process necessary for intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual growth.

Understanding the Skills

INSTRUMENTAL SKILLS. Instrumental skills include our intelligence and manual dexterity to care for ourselves, to read and write, and to carry out the tasks of daily life.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS. Interpersonal skills are the skills we need to express and manage our emotions so that we gain cooperation from those with whom we relate and work.

IMAGINAL SKILLS. Imaginal skills include the skills needed to learn from our experiences, to choose and to act creatively on complex alternatives, and to see and act on new ideas not previously considered.

SYSTEM SKILLS. System skills are the skills needed to see and manage all parts of a system, and to design and manage change in ourselves, in groups, or in organisations.

Need for Rethinking

In order to become integrated beings we must develop at least minimal skills in all of the four aforementioned areas. Skills and values are interrelated. When we change perceptions, this often leads to new values. These values are acted upon as we use existing skills or develop new skills.

The importance of developing these skills is highlighted by the challenges we will experience over the next several decades as Earth moves into the Fifth Dimension. In the past, change was more gradual and we were able to use our abilities of discernment in a more deliberative manner. We will need to recognize the need for rethinking our perceptions and values, for monitoring our decision-making, and for disciplining our actions as we use our discernment skills.

Development of our discernment skills gives us the opportunity to move toward becoming one with the Light and reaching the next level of our spiritual growth. This is the goal for all of us to achieve.

A Summary

Discernment if often considered narrowly as the ability to discern or select the "rightness" or higher vibrations inherent in a situation. Discernment is much more than this. Discernment is the ability to make discriminations, make choices, make decisions, and take actions which contribute to our growth and the creation of a better world. It involves four basic processes :

# Perception

While we may always have perceptions of situations, they may be limited to those perceptions which fit our self-interests. Quality perceptions require the ability to develop a mind-set based on the intents of ourselves and others. It is a perception of what is needed for the advancement of self and others.

# Intuition

Intuition is our ability to connect with our Higher Selves and hear the inner voice that speaks to us.

# Decision-Making

Decisions must be made with the realization that decisions create consequences and that not deciding also creates consequences. Decisions need to be made with care and with contact with our Higher Self.

# Action

Discernment requires action. Follow-through requiries discipline and the will to learn the skills that ar needed to be successful in our courses of action.


Learning the skills needed for spiritual and effective lives is a lifetime task. Learning instrumental, interpersonal, imaginal, and systems skills is an integral part of our personal and spiritual development.

This article is from the teaching of eternal wisdom.

USING YOUR DISCERNMENT -- PART TWO

Discernment is basing your decisions on your perception. Ultimately, you must decide in your own hearts, and these alone. To inhabit the new awareness, you are required to be yourself, for when you are, you are a beautiful being, in touch with your eternal dimension.

Our Intuition 


Now the second aspect of discernment requires that we learn to get in touch with our intuition and to hear the inner voice that speaks to us. This is perhaps the most difficult step for most of us to learn, because we live in a society that rewards analytical thinking and not intuition. Consequently, most people have shut down their feelings and adopted the attitude that intuition is connected to psychic phenomena and is less than desirable. This attitude has limited our growth. Operating without using all our capabilities is like playing cards with less than a full deck. If we do not honour all aspects of our personalities, we cannot become all that we are meant to be.

A World Teacher, the Master Kuthumi, says this about intuition and its connection to discernment :

Discernment requires that Initiates learn to go inward and FEEL the vibrational frequency of each thing that confronts them. It makes no difference whether the message received comes through words, actions, or emotions. The skill that separates a Master from a novice is the ability to feel the "sound" of the message. Once the vibrational level is felt, the Master knows whether or not to accept or reject the message in regard to whether or not the guidance that accompanies the message is helpful or not so helpful for one´s path. If the vibrational frequency is high, then following the message will bring greater things to the soul, if the vibrational frequency is low, the Master knows to bless the energy, let it go, and transmute it into a higher tone for the angelic choir to use in singing praises to the Creator.This was the way of the Atlantean Masters. This will be the way in the Seventh Golden Age.

Decision-making

Decision-making is the third aspect of discernment. This step is perhaps the most critical, for decisions we make, based on our perceptions and intuitions, determine our actions. Some of our decisions are made instinctively, as we respond to real or perceived threats or dangers. We may make other decisions in a similar way, without considering all choices, by simply "going with the crowd" or taking the easy way. In such cases, we give away our right to make decisions. In all cases, whatever decision we make, we are ultimately responsible for the consequences, for the laws are perfect and will bring to us that which we have owned.

One of the reasons that we do not make decisions that we wish to make is fear -- fear of being different, fear of loss of acceptance, fear of being alone. While we need to use caution and judgement, we also must understand that we reduce ourselves when we do not consider our own values and perceptions as we make decisions.

Trust and Responsibility

We should never judge ourselves harshly if the decisions we make are not the best -- nor should we judge others. Unconditional love and acceptance of our frailties are the goals we are striving to achieve. We need to accept what is and continue to move forward, making new decisions regarding the tests that face us. Adopting this process only enhances the pratice of refining our discernment.

One of the lessons we are learning today is that we need to listen to our inner thoughts. We are living in a time of inclusion and collaboration where we understand the importance of listening to, respecting, communicating, and working with others. We must take seriously the importance of trust and responsibility as a motivator of ourselves and others. We must realize that while each human being is unique, we are all children of God and have shared interests, responsibilities, and abilities to teach and learn from each other.

Creating Consequences

 Decisions must be made with the understanding that all decisions create consequences. Every thought and action, even a thought or decision that is not acted upon, creates a reaction. When we make decisions, we need to make them with care and in contact with our Higher Selves.

Decision-making is not simply encountering a thought, situation, or idea and making a decision. Rather, it requires processing the information through our rational, intuitive, and spiritual filters in order to determine the course of action that is best for us.

Part Three follows....This article is from the teachings of eternal wisdom.

USING YOUR DISCERNMENT -- PART ONE

To doubt yourself is to doubt the wisdom and viability of the human design. To fully trust in God you must also trust in yourself. Remember, no one is created without everything required to make correct and righteous decisions.

Rapid Change

Discernment, or the process by which we evaluate situations and make decisions, is a critical aspect of our growth, our spiritual development, and our ability to create communities that contribute to our collective well-being. There are many indications that the world is experiencing rapid change and a profound transformation. This process, which has been ongoing for many years, has initiated a period of change not experienced at any previous time in our past history. This period of change and transformation will lead to a new level of civilization, and a move to a fifth-dimensional planet.

Moving to a new way of living cannot be achieved without acquiring a new level of thinking and a higher consciousness. Developing a higher consciousness is accomplished by using both our rational thinking skills and our intuitions, or that which we feel and know without subjecting it to rational tests. We must rethink our beliefs, purposes, priorities, and patterns of behaviour. We need to move to new levels of discernment.

Trusting Ourselves

Discernment is the ability to make discriminations, to make choices, and to make decisions. It is also the art of asking sensitive questions of ourselves and others in order to see deeper meanings and implications. The process of discernment involves four interrelated processes : perception, intuition, decision-making, and action. The core of each of these processes is comprised of trust in ourselves, faith in our Creator, and love, which is the energy that helps us expand our consciousness.

Discernment begins with perception, or the mind-set we use to view ourselves and the world we experience. Our experiences in the world shape our perceptions and beliefs. Our world view is a combination of our inner reality, or the ways in which we have internalized and used our experiences, and the realities of the external world. As we change and/or the world around us, we need to rethink our world view or mind-set.

Fundamental Changes

Today, as we are faced with ongoing change in every aspect of our lives, being aware of these changes becomes an important task in our survival and continued well-being. We see companies and organizations collapse because they have not been able to change their ways of thinking and behaving. Individuals experience frustration when they have not spent time anticipating changes and responding to the need for change.

The most fundamental changes are likely to occur in our spiritual views, as we move from self-consciousness to group-consciousness to soul-consciousness to God-consciousness. Our perceptions and our values change as we progress on our spiritual path. As we move through these stages, our consistent concerns are to move toward more complete identity with the Creator, greater trust in the Creator, and greater trust in ourselves -- that the decisions we make at any time are expressions of our free choice and perfect for our level of development. It is also important that we learn to discern what is helpful for our advancement and what is not helpful, so that the decisions we make can accelerate us on our paths.

Change in Perception

As individuals become more spiritual, their perceptions change. They drop their duality consciousness and begin to see the world in terms of lessons to be learned and tests designed to facilitate empowerment. This change in perception requires a strong sense of discernment, for we may be brought down many wrong alleys just because we have not learned the art of discernment. While no harm may come from making poor choices, poor decisions may make the journey more difficult. If our goal is to achieve a life of peace, harmony, abundance, and love as quickly as possible, then learning discernment and relying on our own inner judgement is essential to master.

Part Two follows....

This article is a teaching from eternal wisdom.