PRACTICING NONJUDGMENT
There is a practice in the Zen teachings of Japan that when
they mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. It is a way of finding beauty and perfection in
imperfection, and it is a way of training the mind to go beyond judgment.
It is the nature of the mind to judge and compare. It is nothing bad, it is just what the mind does, and it is the mind’s way of analyzing things. It is good to notice our thoughts when we judge ourselves for judging. Being in the place of allowing and not attaching, the judgmental thoughts just pass by. Accepting, noticing, and allowing every judgmental thought in the mind is the kindest and gentlest way to find clarity.
A non-judgment meditation involves noticing the things we judge about others, and trying to feel it from that person’s place. For example we can try doing simple things like writing or drawing with our left hand if we are right-handed or write or draw with our right hand if we are left-handed. We can visit a museum of art, look at the paintings and sculptures, and notice the rush of judgments that come to our mind. You can try looking at simple things like a rock, a flower, or a coin, notice the mind story, and let go the mind story. Then practice looking at the object without the story of good or bad. After practicing with objects, it will become easier to practice with people.
Take a broken vase, an unevenly shaped pottery, or a broken instrument and make a simple shift of perception through your creativity. You can take pictures of the broken object in different lightings, in different places of nature, or grow flowers in them. Find at least ten different ways of creatively looking at the broken object and transforming it by shifting your perception. This practice opens our mind and brings clarity to our vision.
Noticing ourselves judging, we notice that our bodies also react in a negative way to the judgments. Practicing to send blessings is one of the most powerful ways to move beyond judgments.
Excerpt from Twelve Steps to Inner Peace
Copyright © 2012 Premlatha Rajkumar , Sheryl Lynn Christian
All rights reserved. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AGFNQTG
they mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. It is a way of finding beauty and perfection in
imperfection, and it is a way of training the mind to go beyond judgment.
It is the nature of the mind to judge and compare. It is nothing bad, it is just what the mind does, and it is the mind’s way of analyzing things. It is good to notice our thoughts when we judge ourselves for judging. Being in the place of allowing and not attaching, the judgmental thoughts just pass by. Accepting, noticing, and allowing every judgmental thought in the mind is the kindest and gentlest way to find clarity.
A non-judgment meditation involves noticing the things we judge about others, and trying to feel it from that person’s place. For example we can try doing simple things like writing or drawing with our left hand if we are right-handed or write or draw with our right hand if we are left-handed. We can visit a museum of art, look at the paintings and sculptures, and notice the rush of judgments that come to our mind. You can try looking at simple things like a rock, a flower, or a coin, notice the mind story, and let go the mind story. Then practice looking at the object without the story of good or bad. After practicing with objects, it will become easier to practice with people.
Take a broken vase, an unevenly shaped pottery, or a broken instrument and make a simple shift of perception through your creativity. You can take pictures of the broken object in different lightings, in different places of nature, or grow flowers in them. Find at least ten different ways of creatively looking at the broken object and transforming it by shifting your perception. This practice opens our mind and brings clarity to our vision.
Noticing ourselves judging, we notice that our bodies also react in a negative way to the judgments. Practicing to send blessings is one of the most powerful ways to move beyond judgments.
Excerpt from Twelve Steps to Inner Peace
Copyright © 2012 Premlatha Rajkumar , Sheryl Lynn Christian
All rights reserved. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AGFNQTG
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