“Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right.”

— Charles Spurgeon

⊹

my story

Discernment wasn’t a skill that came naturally for me right away.

Quite the opposite, as an empath and a projector in human design, it took me over 2 decades to finally arrive at discernment. This discernment here is not the spiritual, biblical discernment discussed in Christianity or in any religious context.

Discernment here is an all-encompassing, acumen muscle.

“Discern” means to recognize, perceive or detect the difference with the senses.

It is a tool that assists us in making decisions and arriving at clarity. It helps us sharpen the way we perceive and interact with the world and ourselves. Discernment is a conscious and holistic skill that we can develop. It is a muscle that we can strengthen to protect ourselves physically, emotionally, energetically and psychologically; to arrive at clarity and self-sovereignty despite our constant energetic interaction with the world.

Being sensitive from a young age, I struggled at differentiating what were my thoughts/emotions and what were others. I felt constantly plugged into others’ energies and had a desire to help everyone with their problems, assuming that they too were mine. My sensitivity was never something I was proud of then and was always afraid to be manipulated and stigmatised for it. Back in my younger days, when social media like Facebook/Instagram were not the norm yet, I find my solace and a quiet power through sharing my thoughts in a journal and private blog that only a trusted few had access to.

We can be so readily conditioned by what we expose ourselves to on a daily basis. Now that the online sphere of social media and screen time is part of our everyday life, the need to be intentional around how we absorb information and interact with the world is more crucial than ever— and so is the power of discernment. Social media and the internet are platforms of ideas, knowledge, and inspiration—bridging, influencing and connecting us closer than ever before in this Aquarian Age. Yet, it also consists of a melting pot of individualized truths, cognitive distortions, unfounded projections, unconscious fabrications, misinformation, and facades. There is so much on the media that are intended to ignite fear. confusion, distortions. It is one of their many ways to exercise control over the masses.

Discernment is important even with friends, family, coaches, and especially on social media/television/newspaper/autobiographies, etc. It is not simply just the ability to distinguish black or white, right or wrong, truth or lies. Rather, it is a deep understanding that grey also exists.

Entraining ourselves with discernment means to broadly steer away from the actions of polarisations, speculations and judgments. These breeds misunderstandings, division and separation.

Discernment is the ability to distinguish what resonates for others may not be the same for you.

In our interactions, it is also having a deep sense of compassion for the other that there is more than one truth in the world, and all truths are equally valid. It is consciously choosing the lens of compassion, respect, and equanimity in the way we perceive others’ experiences/projections/personal values/decisions to allow clarity to fall through. It is the ability to hold calm objectivity and keen observations through all forms of energetic interactions and the ability to formulate your own. It is tuning into the dissonance in your energetic body even when the facts and/or everybody disagrees. It is shutting the external noise/mindless chatter and tune into yourself. Depending on your own unique energetic configuration through your Human Design (authority), we each formulate decisions and allow clarity to fall through differently. Some examples could include; giving yourself time for emotional clarity to fall through, or tuning into the visceral stirring of your gut, or the in-the-moment response from your spleen.

⊹

Discernment and the spiritual journey

As one progresses in their spiritual growth, the skill of discernment is imperative.

I have always described the spiritual journey as a personal invitation to look inwards, a journey of remembrance, of remembering your gifts, a cultivation of your authenticity, and lastly, an alignment with your higher Self.

Everyone’s journey is unique and different. And whilst that are many spiritual paths, it is important to listen to the path that your Soul calls out to you. Along in your spiritual journey, you will meet many who you may perceive as spiritual and are attuned to their specific spiritual modality and belief systems. Be it shamanism, reiki healing, kundalini yoga, yoga, astrology, herbalism, white light, pranic healing etc, none is better than the other. If anything, they all bring you back to yourself; your soul’s essence. To deepen your capacity for love, tolerance, acceptance and kindness, to make wiser choices in life and to reconnect you with the wisdom that your soul and higher Self already know.

One can be quick and desire to grow spiritually and may seek several masters/gurus/healers/advisors at a time. It is often too that one may compel their chosen spirituality modality or “belief system” on you. Whilst it is easy to jump on the bandwagon of “high vibe” and '“spiritual community” to feel belonged and included, one must always wield discernment in the way we perceive and engage energetically with the world, including our spiritual community.

“Discernment brings us back to our body and helps us sieve and formulate coherence with our Soul.”

— arawme

⊹

Discernment on an individual level

Discernment is also important with ourselves.

Discernment begins as our emotional nature comes more into our awareness. It is the understanding and witnessing of our emotional states/nature and looking beyond them and rather, at our individuality. When we are discerning with ourselves, we master calm objectivity and keen observations to hold compassion with ourselves first. When we are discerning with ourselves, we are aware of our unconscious triggers, desires, cognitive distortions and emotional projections. We transmute and process them before interacting with the world. We are able to look at ourselves beyond our emotions, but at our Soul and our true nature.

⊹

Discernment as a tool vs trauma response

There is a fine lining between utilising discernment as a tool to perceive/interpret, and calling it discernment and responding from a place of unconscious projections. Trauma response involves acting from either fight, fawn, flight or freeze as a coping mechanism. We act on our unhealthy trauma response because we are unable to regulate our nervous system in that present moment and feel dysregulated. Trauma responses are not inherently bad when they are acted with awareness.

In the online sphere, not all information shared are trauma-informed or trauma-addressed. One may not have much knowledge or awareness of traumas, or worked on their traumas, and/or inner healing work and project their unhealed selves through misinformation, cognitive distortions and projections. One may also act from unconscious projections and assume that they are just discerning. Unhealthy trauma responses are firmly rooted in bodily disconnection and self-preservation. It always attaches you to the patterns of the past and limiting beliefs. They latch you in a fear and lack frequency and make you feel unsettled. Discernment on the other hand holds an expansive and growth frequency and it is about cultivating compassion and trust with ourselves while sharpening our heart-body coherence.

⊹

wondering how you can sharpen your discerning muscle?

below are some mindful guiding tips!

With Yourself
- Before you discharge or project your heavy emotions/anger/frustration/grief/trauma, ask yourself, “Am I saying this because I hold residual energy towards this person/subject/environment?” “How can I hold space for myself as I am right now?” “How can I express my needs to process and heal from this?”
- Take time by yourself to process and transmute your emotions. I personally notice that by being in my own space and making time for contemplation/ponder and sleeping on it helps me the most! It is essential too to remember that you do not have to understand everything by the end of it. The awareness and your process makes a huge difference already!
With Others/The Online Sphere
- De-clutter your social media’s space from time to time. Begin by unfollowing those you are not really inspired by. When we curate our access to external influences, we learn to opt out of their energy and sieve unwanted interaction.
- Reduce mindless chatters and access to external influences by limiting your time spent on social media. Use “screen time” or Focus on your computer to assist you with it.
- It is okay to ask questions and question the source. Do not take everything you perceived as facts and reality. There are a lot of biased, unreliable theory/information/picture (photoshop do exists) that are contorted as reality or facts.
- Consider biases and self interest in distinguishing misinformation. Consider personal biases too.
- Be curious and compassionate, but not judgemental. Take what resonates, leave what doesn’t.
- Understand that everyone reacts at their level of awareness and healing done. That itself will bring you compassion.
- Ask for a listening ear, not an advisor. Sometimes our inner circle makes an amazing sounding board when we need to arrive at clarity.
- Surround yourself with like-minded, equanimous, sovereign individuals who distance themselves away from gossip, throwing easy judgements etc. They do not overwhelm you with their perspective when consulted. They hold space for you. They empower and encourage you to discern and arrive at your own clarity.
- Boundaries. Not everyone needs to have access to your energy. There is a difference with being unsociable and being mindful of your energy; that is where boundaries begin. This is another way to curate how your energy is dispensed.
- Take your time to formulate a decision. Do not rush into impulsivity or the reins of overthinking, but understand the difference between procrastination and allowing space and time for clarity.
- Listen compassionately when needed to. Be a sieve not a sponge.
- Cultivate your unique Authority in getting clarity/making decisions by understanding your human design chart here. If you are a projector, check out my Projector secrets at Unearthing Projectorhood!

Like the courage muscle, discernment is something innate within you. It is your thread to Source.

We came into this world forgetting how to harness it. So begin nurturing your eye of discernment. Experiment with my guiding tips above, formulate your own and let me know what works for you! Coherence with our Soul takes practice and a deep trust. It is a consistent journey.

All my love. Sat Nam.

Sylvia

New here?

I am Sylvia— the founder, writer, intuitive healer, and human design reader of Arawme. “Arawme” is basically, a raw me put together.

Interested in more of such similar content?

Join me and others in my mindfulness & intuitive tribe where I will be sharing mindfulness life doses, intertwining spirituality and personal growth, infusing wisdom of astrology, human design, and other tools that I personally use in my life. Begin your journey inwards and nourish yourself with this free downloadable: Bhava.

Meanwhile, do come and say hi on Instagram! Check out other Your Journey Inwards resources below!