Thanking Judgment

Judgment. (Again?!, you might say. Yes - absolutely... we all need the reminders and it's been a couple of months since the last post about judgment.) ;)

The spin today, however, is SELF-judgment... which is actually the seed of our judgment of others.

We often hear talk of how to "stop" self-judgment...how to "get rid" of it...in pursuance of self-love. Well, I'm here to offer another practice to consider - THANKING the self-judgment. (Hang in there with me for a moment!)

Most self-judgment (if not all) emerges earlier in our life to protect us from experienced and/or anticipated external judgment or shame. At that point in life, we do not have the developmental capacity to perceive all of the complexities of self and other, so we figure out a way to protect self - judge before being judged. Over time, the learned pattern continues and, eventually, its benefits are outweighed by its consequences. And...if we judge the judgment or fervently reject it, we are continuing a pattern of tension with ourselves.

So...how do we shift?

1) Awareness of the judgment.
2) A gentle thanking it for its past service and protection. (You might be curious with self about how this judgment functioned to protect in the past.)
3) Letting it go on its way.

Rinse and repeat! Give it a try - if you do, we'd love to hear how it goes...comment below!

Go forth and thank your self-judgment for its service on this Mindful Monday!

https://gabbybernstein.com/judgment-detox-blog/