How to Practice Spiritual Discernment Without Becoming a Spiritual Asshole

How to avoid the ego's favorite pulpit like your life depends on it

Earlier this week I called out the ego’s favorite pulpit and how judgment masquerades as spiritual discernment. The response was… predictable. Half of you felt seen and validated. The other half wanted to pray for my soul while simultaneously proving my entire point (*cough cough* my DMs were FLOODED).

But here’s what I noticed in the comments and DMs that followed… a lot of you are actually asking the same question underneath all the defensiveness and revelation.

“Okay Bri, but HOW do I actually practice healthy spiritual discernment without becoming the judgmental asshole you just described?”

Fair question. Because the answer isn’t to abandon all spiritual boundaries and accept everything as equally valid. That’s spiritual bypassing in a different costume.

The answer is learning the difference between ego-driven judgment and soul-led discernment. And then practicing that difference until it becomes as natural as breathing.

The Truth

Most of us were never taught how to develop genuine spiritual discernment. We were taught rules, regulations, and rigid theological boxes. We were taught to fear getting it wrong more than we were taught to trust getting it right.

So we default to one of two extremes. Either we judge everything that doesn’t fit our spiritual framework, or we abandon all discernment and call it “spiritual openness.”

Both are forms of spiritual immaturity.

Real discernment isn’t about being right or wrong. It’s about being attuned. It’s about developing such a clear relationship with your own inner knowing that you can sense what’s aligned for you without needing to make pronouncements about what’s aligned for everyone else.

It’s the difference between having boundaries and building walls. Between protecting your energy and policing other people’s choices.

And here’s what no one tells you. This kind of discernment can only be developed through practice, not through doctrine.

The Framework