Freeing Ourselves From Judgement

I cannot lie–as the midterm elections draw closer, I find myself in a lot of judgement (let’s just say more than usual) about many of these yahoos running for office–not to mention all the crazy hate crimes that have evolved and I would put money on the fact that I’m probably not alone–no judgement there, right?

I found this analogy regarding judgement from a site called “Yoga Journal” by Sally Kempton–judgment is like cholesterol: there’s a “good” kind and a “bad” kind. It continues to define the good kind of judgment as “discernment” while the bad kind “the enemy of love.” Let’s dig a bit deeper.

Judging or being judged can be very challenging to our spirit. Human insecurities and self-imposed restrictions are born out of fear of judgment. Not only are many religious beliefs stemmed from this ultimate fear, our society is structured around it. The Ten Commandments, governmental laws, and the even the golden rule have set a standard of what “thou shall not do” and if we deviate from these ideals, the sting of judgment can not only land us in jail, it can leave damaging and permanent scars on our spirit.
Truth be told, judgment and blame are products of the ego, that part of the psyche that identifies “me” with the body, personality, and opinions. I plan to focus on this judgement connection in my next article.
However, meanwhile, how can we discern when something is wrong without being judgmental, without disliking the offenders and without filling ourselves with negativity?

Many spiritual leaders as well as the Bible taught that one of the sources of suffering is our failure to remember that we are all One. This separation of “me” from “you”, “them” and/or “it” keeps us bound to our crazy ego. Nowhere is this more apparent in modern society than in instances of social discrimination.
Instead of pushing back against black, white, gay, straight, man, woman, transgender, annoying, cloying, rude, cruel, soft, hard, bitchy or beautiful, blend with it. Bring that person into ourselves and see them for who and what they truly are–just another human being trying to do the best they can with the tools they have available to them.
The following are a few tips the article shared to help us release our fear of and desires to judge others and ourselves.
Observe
To judge is to exercise authority or hierarchy over something or someone. To observe is to see, witness and watch from a neutral point of view. When we can let go of the illusion of clout in our assessment, we take a non-judgmental stance. When we do not act on the need to judge, we lose our fear of being judged.
Have Compassion
Realistically, no one is capable of being perfect 100 percent of the time. We all make mistakes. That is how we grow, learn and ultimately evolve. Instead, let’s use the experience to make ourselves better and encourage others to do the same. Carrying around a guilty complex doesn’t feel very good, plus it facilitates the potential to judge others and ourselves too severely.
Forgive
Holding onto a grudge makes us more apt to judge unfairly as a protective mechanism to guard our wounded ego which actually leaves you more exposed and fearful of being judged in return. To free ourselves of this vicious cycle, we must learn how to forgive. It is a lot easier said than done, but we’ll thank ourselves for it when we’re finally free from carrying the heavy burden of resentment.
Mother Theresa said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” And if we are judging ourselves, how can we experience the type of self-love that can lift our spirit and bring us happiness and joy and finding our true selves?
I challenge all of us to observe instead of judge, to have compassion, to forgive others and most importantly, to forgive ourselves. The moment we feel judgment coming from or towards ourselves, silence it immediately. Today is not judgment day; it is our day to be ourselves and as a result, feel totally free.

Breed compassion, Warriors! Progress–not perfection!