Throughout the day, if you take the opportunity to observe, it is easy to notice the mind labelling experiences, people, and even ourselves as good or bad. A meal, a song, a conversation, a fleeting thought. So much of life is filtered through judgments of your mind that seem automatic, or practically unconscious.
These patterns extend beyond the mind, extending to our actions and responses. We give likes or dislikes online, rate films or restaurants, or express approval or disapproval, often without a pause. We like or dislike posts, comments or reels by others on social media. We give a thumbs up or thumbs down to films, to restaurant experiences, and songs. It has become ingrained in thinking processes, and many companies now pester you for reviews even before you have left the proverbial building. Judgement has become habitual, a lens through which the world is increasingly being rated and assessed.
But what might it feel like to release that lens through which you view or rate things in life for even a moment? To allow experiences simply to unfold, without the immediate need to classify them as positive or negative? Observation without judgment opens your thinking to see the world and events around you as they are, without distortion or comparison.
Try it right now – when asked to do it immediately, was there any reaction within? Even if there was no reaction, notice your current sensations, the rhythm of your breath, and the feeling of your body at this moment. Do not analyse whether these sensations are pleasant or unpleasant. Simply notice them, allowing them to exist on their own terms, without the need for evaluation. You may find it really hard not put a label on any of these sensations. These sensations are phenomena happening within you or the world around you. They do not require your approval or resistance. The world is not centred on you, and yet your experience of it can alter significantly when this perspective is embraced.
Frustration, anger, and disappointment often arise from your mind’s insistence that events should conform to personal desires or expectations. What if the centre of the universe were not you? By recognising that experiences are simply occurring, not aligned with or against us, a change in your way of thinking can emerge.
Of course, humans naturally judge, and this is part of being alive. The suggestion is not to eliminate judgment entirely, but to notice when it is habitual and make a choice to relax or release some of your judgments. Dropping judgment allows experiences to be felt directly, with curiosity and acceptance.
Even brief moments of non-judgement can transform ordinary experience. Seeing the world without the constant filter of good or bad creates an openness that might otherwise go unnoticed. It is in these spaces, even fleetingly, that life is experienced in its simplest and truest form.
♾ Awaken your Mind ♾