What Gives Us the Right to Judge? (How meditation supports us in suspending judgement.)

The more that I watch my mind in meditation the more clearly I see how easily judgments arise: about myself, about others, about circumstances and experiences. About everything.

We think we’re in a position to know, to judge. By judgment I’m not referring to the myriad ways, small and big, in which life asks us to make decisions. We reach a fork in the road: do we go right or left? In our business or our personal life, do we make decision A or decision B? This kind of judgment—let’s refer to this as discernment—is necessary.

But if we want to live a more fulfilling and happy life it’s worthwhile to suspend our judgments for a period of time to understand how our minds work. That’s one important aspect of mindfulness meditation: noticing what is happening in the present moment without judgment.

Judgments can and do block our ability to see clearly: we think we already know, so there’s no space for wisdom to arise.