Landmark: Observe Your Judgment and Non-Judgment
The Landmark of Observe Your Judgment and Non-Judgment is where you will learn about how to simply observe experience and thoughts. Observation is a necessary part of being Non-Judgmental, as it is a neutral way of experiencing things. Additionally, before we can learn more about the thoughts in our mind, we first must learn to Observe them. This Landmark is within the Realm of Enrollment, and is part of the Beacon of Attention, more specifically the Lens of Non-Judgment.
Landmark: Observe Your Judgment and Non-Judgment | |
---|---|
Beacons | Attention |
Realms | Enrollment |
Lenses | Non-Judgment |
Guides | Doing Chores |
Landmark Lookouts:
- Observe Experience: Are you able to simply observe what is happening, including both what you see, and what you think about what you see?
- Observe Judgment: Can you observe the Judgmental thoughts passing through your mind without judging those thoughts themselves, just observing they are there?
- Observe Non-Judgment: Are you able to observe yourself Experiencing The Now and feel the difference between Judging what you see, and resting in Non-Judgment?
Observing Non-Judgment could be done in many places, but shopping is a great example because this is one place where we see a lot of different things that we commonly "judge" over and over. This is a Landmark of Enrollment so as you go through these steps, remember the goal is to practice simply Observing what is going on around you, and if you have any Judgmental thoughts, "Observe" those thoughts, and let them pass by. Everyone is different, but as you shop, you might have these types of Judgements:
- The parking lot is packed... there will probably be long lines inside.
- This shopping cart has a gross piece of trash in it.
- Why is everyone blocking the aisle?
- His shoes are so dirty.
- This costs way too much.
- Why did they put the apples near the coffee, that doesn't make any sense.
- This line is too long.
During your Shopping, you are going to try two things:
- Observe everything you see, and make sure you take in a variety of things. You want to "Experience the Now", and all the things that are happening.
- If you experience any Judgment about what is happening, try to notice that thought as it passes through your mind.
By doing those two things, you are strengthening your ability to practice Non-Judgment, by first being more present in the moment, and second, learning to replace the Judgment with something else. Here are some counter-examples of how you might Shop with Non-Judgment practicing those two things - observing The Now and observing your judgmental thoughts.
- I have arrived at the parking lot.
- I selected this shopping cart.
- I will come back to this aisle in a few minutes.
- That man is wearing shoes. I see they are dirty, and I see that I am using that to pass judgment on him.
- This item costs $2.99. I can see I am experiencing some sort of frustration because of that.
- There are apples here. There is coffee here.
- I am in a line. There are 4 people in front of me. That person is buying paper towels.