Our ‘fight or flight’ mind continually surveys our environment for things we should be wary of. Guru Singh calls this the negative mind. While it is ultimately trying to protect us, it is also the source of judgement. Without focus and attention the negative mind tends to run rampant.
The negative mind has a major impact on our thoughts and emotions. When we become the object of our own judgment it can be crippling. In the age of social media we have learned new ways to judge ourselves even more intensely. I read a thought-provoking article about the major phobias associated with social media. These include LinkedIn (is my career good enough?), Instagram (why didn’t I have as good a weekend?) and Pinterest (42% of American mothers worry they are not crafty enough).
We are judging ourselves into the ground.
Ram Dass posted this week about how meditation helps us suspend self-judgement. Through meditation we can find stillness, explore why we are good enough and affirm our self worth. Ram Dass notes that these techniques create a space where “you’re not sitting around saying, ‘How am I doing? Am I a failure in life? Am I a success?’ You’re not judging. Your life is just a process unfolding.”
What if you are actually enough just the way you are?
What changes for you if you simply think of your life as a process unfolding?
Suspending judgement and accepting ourselves the way we are allows us to become grounded in and mindful of the present moment. In my daily compassion meditation one of the most important reminders is to “accept things as they come”. While I still have moments where I shred myself, through these practices I have cultivated a deeper sense of appreciation for who I am, instead of what I am not.
You are enough.
(Originally posted at ChiefYogaOfficer.com)