Judgement
"The harshest judge? Ourselves!"
Introduction
Defining Judgement
The state of judging is a state experienced when one is declaring in the mind that there is something imperfect in the world. We can judge others, ourselves, experiences, objects, and so forth.
In this article, we will explore the suffering states of mind that one can experience when in the state of judgement and the ways to transform it.
Judgement In Depth
Every day, we can easily find people who are in the acts of judgement. For instance, our friends may complain about the horrors of their day; our parents and teachers can scold our imperfect behaviours; our boss and colleagues can give remarks on the quality of our performance at work; as we browse through the internet, we can find videos of people judging this and that. When we are sensitive to being judged, life can sometimes feel like a courtroom.
But, judging one another is really not that bad. It's only natural for one to judge others and be judged by others as well because we are all born with unique personalities, so no doubt we will all have different ways of thinking. From this perspective, judgement is simply a sharing of beliefs, the opportunities to know one another, the chance to see the world from different perspectives and to learn new things.
However, when one judges another out of the intention to reject them, the consequence is that one will experience the suffering states of mind, i.e. anger, fears, hate, unhappiness, and so forth.
Thus, whilst judging others out of the intention to share can be enlightening, judging others out of the intention to reject others can be suffering.
That is why if one wishes for greater happiness, one must explore the cause of their desires to reject others.
Importance
Importance Of Addressing Issues Of Judgement
When we experience the suffering states of mind in moments of judging someone or something, it means that at some level of the mind, we are in the state of rejection towards the person or the thing that we are judging—we are essentially declaring in the mind that something is imperfect and should be changed. This is a very limiting state of mind because a judging mind will always refuse to see things from other people's perspectives. To grow, is to learn to see the world in different perspectives. Thus, a judging mind will have little opportunities to grow and refine its beliefs about the world.
The deeper causes of judgement will always recede to the ideas of right and wrong that we have created in the mind. The more we become attached to these ideas, the more imperfections we will see in the world, and the more we will be compelled to enforce our ideas of what is right and wrong on others. Thus, the more ideas of right and wrong we are attached to, the more reasons the mind will find to be in the state of Self-Rejection, rejecting personalities, appearances, habits, cultures, and so forth—the more the mind will experience pain and unhappiness.
Realize that when we judge others, we are also judging ourselves as well because one's ideas of a Perfect Self will always apply not to just others but to oneself as well.
When one is constantly judging, it will be difficult for one to find the beauty that is around them and also inside them because a Rejecting-Mind will always be focused more on finding Imperfections rather than Perfections. Living every day with a Rejecting-Mind can be truly miserable!
When we have a habit of judging all the time, we can end up spending too much time in our mind, imagining and fearing certain "imperfect" scenarios that may happen throughout the day. This habit can create an ungrounded mind, making it difficult for one to enjoy their experiences in the Present Moment.
Path Of Creator
Judgement In Relation To The Path Of Creator
Everyone will have their reasons to judge. Maybe some believe that judging others will help them to improve. Maybe some people believe that it's necessary to judge oneself as a form of punishment for doing something wrong. Maybe some people like to judge things to showoff their intellect. Maybe some do it for the humour. Maybe some do it for the fame.
One can begin their journey of addressing the judging mind by looking within to discover the reasons why it needs to judge.
And then after discovering these reasons, one can then ask the following question:
"Are these reasons worth me keeping the judging mind?"
"Is my judging mind giving me happiness or suffering?"
The practice of meditation can help one to see the answers to these questions clearer. Meditation will help one to develop the awareness of their inner world, allowing them to become aware of the rise and fall of their happiness throughout the day. Without developing such an awareness, one will never truly know whether one is suffering or not in moments when the judging mind is active.
Through developing the awareness of the suffering states of the mind within, one can develop more motivation to transform their judging mind to an accepting mind. Without developing inner awareness, one can easily become stuck in the surface thoughts generated by the judging mind, which are often filled with compelling reasons for one to continue judging.
Thus, a big challenge that one will face on their journey is in deciding whether to choose the path of reason and intellect or the path of heart and happiness. The more one incorporates meditation into their life, the more the thinking mind can be put aside so that one can become more aware of their desires for greater happiness than suffering. Otherwise, it can be difficult to convince oneself to let go of their judging mind.
At the Idea Level
Generally, as one works on releasing their Negative Ideas, all the problems that one face with judgement will naturally resolve itself.
Negative Ideas are the Ideas that promote Self-Rejection.
For instance—
“It is not ok to be fat.”
“It is not ok to be loud.”
“It is not ok to be arrogant.”
The more Negative Ideas we create, the more reasons we will have to judge others. The more we become attached to these kinds of ideas, the more intense the suffering we will experience.
And whenever we create a reason to judge others, we will also create the fear that others will judge us for that same reason.
The key to Self-Transformation thus is to develop Self-Acceptance.
The way to accelerate the journey is in developing the wisdom to accept ourselves and others and to develop the Knowing that when we accept others, we are essentially learning to accept ourselves and vice versa.
Thus, when you forgive others for being stupid, also become aware that to develop Self-Acceptance, you must also develop the wisdom to direct that Self-Acceptance toward yourself too. If you only accept others for being stupid but criticize yourself for being stupid, you will simply be taking a step forward and another step back, achieving little progress.
These Catalysts will help you to learn more about Self-Acceptance
Life experiences will always be the catalyst that can accelerate your journey. So, you can do things in the world to challenge the judging mind, for instance, to laugh when others judge you instead of fighting back with judgement, to learn from people who can be happy when they are judging others or when they are being judged by others, to learn from people who don't judge themselves even though they may be imperfect in your eyes, and so forth. It's up to your creativity as how you can use life experiences to develop greater Self-Acceptance.
And as you transform your beliefs and perceptions about the world, the world will really change for you. What you thought before was an ugly person will appear to be less ugly. What you thought before was an imperfect experience will become less imperfect. The more you can accept, the more beauty you will be able to find in the world. With time, you will realize that you have always been the Creator of the world inside and outside.
The destination is towards Accepting all there is rather than the path of Rejecting all there is. Once one can accept, one will be able to share their thoughts and emotions out of the intention to share their wisdom rather than out of Self-Rejection.
Know and Transform The Self!
Reading articles helps with understanding, but to transform the mind, one realizes the truth from experience.
For such an enlightening journey, the Self-Transformation Course has everything you will ever need!
