"The Second Judge"

Coffee from 7 Brew in Newport News, VA.

Thoughts are judged more than once.

First, by you, your body, the "ego" if you will;

Then, by your intuition, your spirit, the mind that knows it has a mind.

Journaling allows you to review how you feel through what I'll call the second judge.

The second judge may make their judgment when you go back and read your journals or in real-time as you write down feelings that the second judge has qualms with.

What does the second judge feel like? And now do you know the difference?

That's pretty subjective (My experience and its bodily texture will be different from yours).

For me, the second judge radiates discomfort through my body. This discomfort distinguishes itself differently from emotional pain, acting like a signal rather than a reaction.

This is similar to how you can tell the difference between a "gut feeling," a deep hunch, and a sour feeling in your stomach generated from nervousness, shame, sorrow, etc — one acts as a signal, the other a reaction, though they're physically located in the same place.

The Second Judge isn't better than the first one, it is simply the voice of something in you that disagrees, even somewhat, with your body's reaction or with what your first mind suggested...

Journaling Technique to Try

Journaling, specifically "This ⇄  That journaling" about the sensations and subtle differences between feelings, has grown my ability to distinguish between the first and second judge.

I also have an intuition journal where I journal when I hold the most clarity. That journal is particularly useful for calming me when I'm disconnected from my clarity.

If you struggle with self trust, isolating the thoughts from the version of you that you trust from your more neurotic journal entries is active practice in discernment and listening to your intuition.