Releasing Judgment,
A Core Meditation This is an extended version of the Releasing Judgment session in the Meditations for Deep Living series.
You can access the original recording if you'd like to hear the introductory discussion for this experiential exercise.
This guided meditation will help you explore the habit of judgment,
Its emotional impact,
And guide you through a means to transform judgment into simple discernment.
So please,
Sit or lie in a comfortable position,
Close your eyes,
And relax.
It's time to be present here and now.
Let's begin with a cleansing breath.
Take in a full breath,
From low in your belly to high in your chest,
And pause for a moment.
Then release it,
Allowing the air to expel in its own time.
Repeat this a few times,
Bringing your awareness to the sensations in your chest as it fills with air,
And sensing the wave of relaxation as the air expels.
Ujjayi breathing is an effective way to ground ourselves.
It involves breathing with the same slight contraction of the speech muscles you would use to whisper,
And results in a whispering breath.
We'll be using it shortly,
So try that now with your normal breath rhythm,
Observing both sound and sensations.
If you have trouble with ujjayi,
Allow your breath to return to its natural silent rhythm,
And simply observe the sensations as your chest rises and falls.
If you become aware that your mind has wandered,
Just acknowledge that and gently return your attention to your breath.
To begin this exercise,
Take a moment now to recall some act of judgment you made recently.
It could be something that happened within your personal life,
Or perhaps something in the world at large that you heard about through the media.
Pick an instance that has some meaning to you,
One that resulted in an emotional reaction.
If you have difficulty with this,
Feel free to pause here to give yourself more time.
When you have identified the incident,
Recall it with as much detail as you can.
Spend a few moments remembering the situation and the thoughts and feelings you had about it.
After you've spent a few moments in recollection,
Reflect on how you feel,
Right now,
By merely thinking about it.
Now take in a deep cleansing breath,
And as you let it go,
Allow it to take the incident with it.
Often,
An effective way to detach from a troubling memory is to visualize it and then imagine the image zooming back in space until it's a very small point.
Continue using cleansing breaths in this way until you feel reasonably detached from the memory.
Allow your breathing to return to normal and focus on your breath sensations.
Focus on the sensations in your body.
Reground yourself in the peacefulness of the present.
Recognize that there's nothing wrong in the here and now.
Now I'd like you to revisit that same instance of judgment,
But do so starting at a distance.
Imagine the incident,
Person,
Or situation being somewhat distant physically,
And bring it in just close enough so that you can clearly see what is happening and what's at stake.
When you do this,
Stay connected to the sense of peace and well-being that being grounded in the here and now brings.
Look at the situation with discerning,
Yet compassionate eyes.
Simply examine the facts of the situation as though you are someone with no vested interest in it.
Can you find an objective label that fits,
Such as undesirable,
Unhealthy,
Perhaps even tragic?
Whatever label of non-judgmental discernment fits and is not accompanied by any thoughts of condemnation or feelings of anger or resentment.
If you find yourself slipping back into judgment,
Simply pull back in your mind's eye,
Reground yourself,
Then revisit the situation with renewed objectivity,
How someone might who is not personally invested in the situation in any way.
Play with this process until you can look at the situation with discerning detachment and without the emotions that typically accompany judgment.
Now,
Clear your mind of this recollection with the assistance of a few grounding cleansing breaths,
And then either return to your natural silent breath or ujjayi and refocus your attention on your breathing.
If your mind wanders back to the incident or elsewhere,
Simply redirect your attention to your breath.
Now,
Let's return to a troubling event or issue you tend to be judgmental about.
It might be the same one you just used but a completely different one.
When you're clear about your choice,
Once again recall it with as much detail as you can.
Reflect on this issue or situation,
Allowing your thoughts about it to unfold as they normally would.
Are you engaging in judgment as you do this?
What feelings are arising for you?
Take in a deep cleansing breath,
And as you let it go,
Allow it to take the incident with it.
Use the technique of zooming back any related images if you found that helpful.
Continue using cleansing breaths in this way until you feel reasonably detached from the memory.
Allow your breathing to return to normal,
And focus on your breath sensations with or without ujjayi.
Once again,
Go back and revisit that same instance of judgment,
Starting at a distance and drawing it closer in your mind's eye so you can clearly see what's happening and what's at stake.
Try to stay relatively grounded as you do this.
Explore this memory of the event with discerning eyes,
A kind heart,
And an objective mind.
What are the facts,
Plain and simple?
Can you label these facts objectively?
Can you do this without judgment or any thoughts of condemnation?
Can you do this without any feelings of resentment or anger?
If you find yourself lapsing into judgment,
Detach from your reflections,
Reground yourself,
Then return with renewed objectivity.
Play with this process until you can look at the situation with discerning detachment,
And without the distress and negative emotions that accompany judgment.
You can remain with this reflective exploration for as long as you wish,
Or you can release your attention from the task and return your focus to your breath.
You can end this meditative exercise whenever you're ready.
