How often are you judging others or things? I like this. His hair is crazy. I wish things were different. Most people do this hundreds of times a day. I want to suggest that most of these judgments are negative or give us a negative feeling and that all of them are unnecessary. Try to notice when you are judging another person or a situation. Being aware in the present moment does not involve judgement. Our judgments come from past experience or anxiety about the future. You can start to decrease judgment by simply becoming aware of the act of judging and how often you do it. Then notice the thought and feeling that go with the judging when you do it. Is it negative, positive, helpful, irrelevant? Often our judgments are subtle, negative thoughts
that we don’t even realize we are creating. Next, when you notice yourself about to judge a person or a situation, let it go. This is something that is. I can notice it without adding my judgment. Perhaps you can see it in a new way. See the event and choose to observe it and let it pass. You can say something to yourself like “That's interesting.” Try to even let go of labeling it as good or bad, liked or disliked.
Situations are often beyond our control and our reaction is not necessary. When we judge others, it assumes a great deal about them that we do not know. They are on a different path that we do not understand. The judgement creates separation. This can increase our fear of criticism. Because we judge, we assume that others are judging us. Most often our fear of what others will think, comes from ourselves. And again, there are many assumptions made regarding their opinions. It is freeing to focus on your own decisions and care less about what others think of us. Try it for an hour and then for a day. Create a Lack of Judgement Day. It reduces stress and anxiety and creates more time that you can be fully present in what you are experiencing.