From sacred scriptures to modern-day memes, the phrase “Judge not, lest ye be judged” is familiar to many. But what if this instruction isn’t a divine warning, but a loving invitation to recognise the truth of who we really are – part of a connected whole?
What if there is no external deity waiting to condemn you when you transition after death – but rather a universal intelligence so unconditionally loving, it simply reflects your own self-awareness back to you? And all because it knows you will benefit from the experience.
What if you are the judge – and the judged? What then?
Let’s explore the ripple effect of judgement, not from the traditional religious lens of sin or salvation, but from the soul’s true perspective – and ask what this teaching truly reveals.
Judgement is not punishment – it’s reflection
In many Near Death Experience (NDE) accounts, people describe having a “life review” once they cross to the other side. It’s not the experience many have been taught to expect with St. Peter standing at the pearly gates deciding whether they can come into Heaven or not. Nor even, the weighing of the deceased person’s heart by the jackal-headed god, Annubis, as the Ancient Egyptians believed.
Instead, many NDEers describe watching their life, from birth to present, on a kind of ‘holodeck’ where each moment is relived, but not one where their actions or words are condemned or praised by an external being. Instead, they describe reliving events from the perspective of others – and not just watching the events, but really feeling the joy or pain they caused, and also seeing the wider impact of even small actions.
If they pulled the cat’s tail as a toddler, they feel the cat’s pain; if they helped someone in need, they feel how much difference it made; and if they abused or mistreated someone else, they relive the moments from the other person’s perspective too. But this is all done in the presence of unconditional love with no external judgement of even the harshest acts.
That’s because it’s not about judgement or punishment. It’s about understanding and learning. The phrase, “Everything you do comes back to you” is never truer than in the life review.
But I don’t want to scare anyone here. The most common theme that people report is that no one else is ever judging us because in the eyes of the Universe, we are eternal, unlimited fractals of pure Divine energy, connected always to each other and Source Energy. Our experiences in the Earth plane cannot change that, they are just things we can learn from – things we can use to expand our consciousness and that of the universe.
We are shown what we have become, what we have given, and what we have chosen – so we can grow. The reflection is loving, not condemning. It never says “you were wrong” but rather, “This is who you were being – do you want to keep choosing that?”
Many mystics describe this as a mirror-like universe – one that reflects not just our actions, but our essence. We do not get what we deserve, because we all deserve unconditional love – we get what matches the frequency of who we currently are. Just as quantum physics suggests that the observer affects the observed, perhaps the universe itself is a mirror—responding not to our deeds, but to our state of being.
“When you die, you go to the place you have prepared for yourself.”
The self is the only true judge
This truth can feel both confronting and freeing, and hopefully, a little thought-provoking.
There is no courtroom in the sky. There is no eternal damnation. But there will beYOU– as a fractal of Source, reviewing your choices with clarity, compassion and awe.
This is the true meaning of “Judge not” – not because it’s a moral failing to judge, but because the moment you judge another, you separate yourself from your oneness with them. You forget who you really are.
When you judge another, you reinforce a separation-based mindset that says:
“I am right and they are wrong.”
“I am better and they are lesser.”
But in truth, there are no “others”. There is only US – mirrors, fractals, expressions of All That Is.
So to judge another is, in essence, to judge yourself.
Judgement and the journey back to self-love
If judgement is separation, then self-love and unconditional love are the ways to return.
When we remember our true nature as sentient, creative, eternal expressions of Source, we realise: there is nothing to prove, nothing to earn, and no condemnation to fear. There is only expansion through experience.
This is why life reviews often highlight missed kindnesses more than overt errors. It’s not about rules – it’s about love. Not sentimentality – but the deep, soul-level love that recognises the self in everything else and every ‘other’.
The question is always: “What did you learn about love?”
Stories from around the world: judgement as awareness
Across cultures and continents, wisdom teachings echo the idea that true judgement is not punishment, but perspective.
- In Tibetan Buddhism, the Bardo realms reflect the mindstream of the dying person – they are not sent to hell or heaven, but experience their own vibration magnified – not as punishment, but as opportunity for liberation.
- In ancient Egyptian belief, the soul’s heart was weighed against a feather, The Feather of Ma’at. Not to condemn, but to measure the soul’s lightness – symbolic of truth, balance, and alignment with Ma’at (cosmic order)
- In First Nations traditions, the idea of “walking in harmony” reflects that our choices ripple through the web of life. Disharmony brings us lessons, not damnation
And in countless NDEs, from children to sceptical adults, the same pattern emerges:
The judgement they feared was never there.
Instead, they are shown, with infinite compassion, how they made others feel.
And in that moment, they remember who they really are and what they could have done instead with the perspective of infinite, unconditional love.
The ripple effect is your teacher
The reason we experience the ripple effect of our choices isn’t to shame us – it’s to awaken us. When we feel what others felt, we don’t just gain insight – we regain connection.
We realise that every word, every action, every thought is energy we put out.
And that energy echoes and eventually returns to us. Not because someone is keeping score, but because we are all connected.
This is why the judgement comes from within. You are not condemned – you are simply shown. And from there, you choose again.
What if the universe is just asking, ‘Who are you choosing to be?’ which in turn brings an answer to the highest question of all – ‘Who am I?’
At the highest level, all experience is Source exploring itself through infinite perspectives. Your life, your reactions, your choices – they’re not being judged from afar. They are being reflected back to Source – by you, through you.
As you navigate your life, you’re answering the same question the universe is asking:
Who am I?
Pause here. Breathe. Ask yourself—not with the mind, but with your heart—Who am I choosing to be in this moment?
“Every choice you make is a declaration of who you believe yourself to be.” – Neale Donald Walsch
For more information about Neale Donald Walsche, read our book review here.
In closing: Release judgement, return to truth
Let go of the old idea of a judging God.
Let go of your inner critic who whispers that you’ve failed.
Let go of the idea that anyone else’s journey is yours to evaluate.
Instead, turn inward.
Feel the love that you already are.
Recognise others as your brothers and sisters – brave souls in their own right, on their own journeys.
The only judgement that matters is this:
Are you choosing love or fear? Separation or unity? Truth or illusion?
And whatever your answer is – remember that you are still loved.
You are still Source.
You are still becoming.
You are me and I am you and that is reflected in all we do.
Next time you catch yourself judging, whisper inwardly: “I see you. I honour your path. I choose love.”
