From: http://www.anaflora.com/meditation/mind-q.html
By Sharon Callahan
(discernment - the faculty of apprehending clearly)
For adult human beings, there is no quick route to
discernment. Once we have left the innocence of childhood, and taken on
the complication and guile of adult life, discernment becomes an elusive
quality. One might argue that childhood innocence is the antithesis of
discernment, but I feel that children are discerning on a very subtle,
natural level just as animals are. Animals and small children, like the
Angels, do not err because they belong to a realm where evil....an
action or attitude contrary to the truth....does not exist.
If you want to learn something of discernment,
spend time with an animal. We have all heard stories about someone or
had the personal experience of having a boyfriend, girlfriend, or house
guest that our cat or dog just didn't like. More often than not,
hindsight reveals the animal's keen discernment. In my consulting work
with animals and their guardians, I often hear: "I just don't understand
it. Jasper is such a loving dog, but he just doesn't seem to like
____". There is little I can say in such a situation, but as I hear the
details of the person's story, my own discernment tells me that Jasper's
is probably quite good!
An animal's whole being is delicately attuned to
subtle energy. It feels the vibrations of objects, people and
situations. Because it doesn't have a complicated thought process that
dilutes and confuses its own natural, direct perception, its impression
of the energy it is experiencing is usually correct. An animal, of
course, just as a human being, can have its sense of discernment
distorted by life experience. An animal that has been beaten for
instance, may fear all human beings, but a healthy animal's discernment
is something to be admired.
The best way I know to develop discernment is
through meditation, spiritual practice and a life lived in impeccable
honesty. It is only by living honestly in each moment that we drop our
defenses to the extent that the natural subtle vibrations of life can
enter our being. As long as we have something to hide, the deception
acts as a barrier to our perception of the natural and subtle worlds.
As we develop the art of stilling the mind, and
quieting the many thoughts that constantly flood it, and as we learn to
still our emotions so that we are not stirred and buffeted by them like
wind on water; our being becomes like a still forest pool that
accurately reflects the environment and
energies around it. It is only then that we are able to perceive the
subtle knowingness of our own heart. The pond doesn't ask the lily pad
what is being reflected on its surface.
Within this still, calm state of being we are in
synchronicity with the ebb and flow of the universe, and we simply know
what to do and what not to do, when to move and when not to move. Within
such a state of being there is no necessity to weigh or consider or
ruminate. There is no need to consult another being or oracle, for we
have become the splendid likeness of our own Consciousness, which is
God, and All Knowing is our own.
