Gnostic Psychology: Conscious Judgment

Published: Oct. 25, 2015, 2:19 a.m.

Consciousness is not only the capacity to perceive physical phenomena, but psychological and spiritual realities as well. An essential function of awakened perception is discrimination: comprehension of what is real from what is illusory. Likewise, many spiritual schools refer to this faculty as intuition, a form of knowing without the need for intellectual deliberation or reasoning―to understand the truth of something without the need to think. Intuition can also be referred to as the voice of conscience: a hunch, sense, or whisper in the heart that identifies how certain behaviors or actions are positive or negative, real or false. Our inner states determine our existence. Therefore, knowing our defects in meditation is fundamental for genuine change. Conscience or conscious judgment is the ability to distinguish between beneficial and harmful psychological states, so as to arrive at understanding and elimination of the internal causes of suffering.  By following the voice of intuition, inner judgment or conscience, the meditator strengthens their connection with divinity, performs upright action, and learns to destroy mistaken conditions of mind: the ego, the myself, the "I." The result is genuine serenity, insight, and freedom in practical life.