Can it be completely done? Are we slaves to our own preconceptions? Have
you ever been pleasantly surprised at someone and a bit disappointed in
your judgement?(not for being wrong....
...for judging in the first place)

I think being able to process thought in a rational way is the key to
freedom...Living

I have learned through my life's ups and downs to not judge the book by
its cover,, For it is the inside that hold Depth beyond anyones
imagination,,, One must be willing to listen to the book and be able to
hear what it is telling you,,, We all walk different walks of lives and
no one is the same, sit back and watch, learn and listen,,, Its amazing
what can actually be seen...

but does it depend on the rational that you are taught?

My niece once said she dislikes that bumpersticker...

"Mean People Suck".

She said, "mean people don't suck, they're just hurt."
...still a judgement (Granted), but a less "judgemental rational.

Who are we to judge?


We all have a past.

How clean is yours?

Just as guilty as anyone, but trying to learn.

Example:

I was walking down the hill to the beach. About 150-160 yards (meters if
you want, it's apprx.) I saw 2 boys walking up the road. I could tell by
the body language they were about 13 or 14. They were making it a point
to spit dramatically. They were mock fighting (one pushing another into
the road making a car hit it's brakes). They were using one arm to carry
their boards and each would use their free arm in some kind of
rapper/gangsta fashion (the Hip Hop Community being such a force in La
Jolla, CA ).......Help!

I vaguely remember what it was like so I wasn't saying
" Damn Kids", but there was a definite roll of the eyes and sigh.

Just then in my foreground I noticed and old lady with a walker a bit
disoriented trying to cross the street.

The boys beat me to her as they ran up, put their surfboards down,
gently guided her across the street, and made sure that she got in the
building.

I got kind of choked up.
There's a lot of good in the world.
And I need to "try" to suspend all judgement.

Ahhh Beachy my friend, you know I do love these kinds of philosophical
musings...

Judgments - can they be suspended completely - sure it is possible for
the truly enlightened. Is it likely? Doubtful for the masses....how
many truly enlightened people do you know?

We are by virtue of being human and becoming adult filled with layers of
perception and exerience and belief systems...some conscious but most
unconscious.

They are always between the true essence of us and our projection to the
world ... the same is true for the other so between you there are
layers and layers and layers of distortion...


real me }}}}}}}}}}}}}} perceived reality {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{real you


We are then by our very nature making assumptions even if they are
subtle and perceived as harmless or even beneficial. A judgment does
not have to be a negative one. We can just as easily make a positive
judgment or assessment about someone and be just as wrong.

The more we live in the ego, the stronger our attachment to making
judgments.

I am on a mission to annihilate my ego...it is full of holes but it is
there nonetheless so as much as I do not like to judge others, I believe
it is inevitable.

My judgments are softer and tend to be more humanistic but they still
exist on some level....for now.

I am a conscious work in progress.

Beautiful and eloquent as ever (that's MY judgement) Sherrie.

With the ultimately "enlightened" being free of judgement, are those who
give the benefit of the doubt (dangerous words I know)....perhaps MORE
enlightened than those coming to a more "common" conclusion?

(Like my Niece saying "Mean People are just hurt)

Not that I'm asking you to judge.

no I wouldn't define it that way at all.

Both are judgments... and by their very nature denote our attachment to
them at some level. Our attachment whether positive or negative is ego.

My vision of enlightenment is non-attachment. It is not a conscious
effort to not judge. There is no attachment and no judgment - it is
effortless, without thought. It is a way of being ... like breath - we
don't think about it - it just happens.

I am still human human and I still have ego ... so judge I must

The concept of just being part of the "Isness" is very appealing to me,
as much as I can wrap my brain around it. Not to get into the
nature/nurture "thing", but I just don't think humans are wire that way.

I'm afraid deep love is as close as I'll ever get.
(Thinking "she is just exquisite" as she is telling me to take out the
trash)

it is a human existence after all ...


for now

I'll be the Judge of that.

I won't judge you for it

A shameless copy and paste message from Swami Beyondananda:

Are You Ready for Nonjudgment Day?
I have a dream. I have a dream of Disarmageddon and Nonjudgment day, a
day of civil discourse when the Elephant lies down with the Donkey . . .
and doesn’t roll over on top of him. I have a dream that the leaders of
the world will all commit Hokey Pokey together at the U.N., and the
forces of laughter will become greater than the farces of negativity,
criticism and judgment. With no one criticizing, we will have uncritical
mass and — it goes without saying — Nonjudgment Day. Now this may sound
like some wild, pie-in-the-face vision, but I ask you: Which world would
you choose to live in? The world where we dance the Hokey Pokey
together, or the one where we blow each other up? The choice is ours
every day and every minute . . . love or fear. Will we continue down the
well-worn path to Armageddon . . . or take the road less traveled to
Disarmageddon instead? Are we going to buy into original sin, or go for
humanifest destiny where we actually realize our human potential?
Because no matter what I see on the 6 o’clock news I believe we have the
potential to be human, that mankind can treat man kindly, and that we
can bring about Nonjudgment Day where all heaven will break loose! May
we laugh, laugh, laugh till the sacred cows come home. For truly the
farce is with us.

Do I need a wig, and robes???

I suck at judgement..

I was absent that day

nice thread Joel......no judgement! just observation..



the farce is certainly with us

yes beachy guilty as charged.

I try not to judge....Instead I try to have empathy and understand the
other person....I have been guilty of it in the past and learned that
not one of us is perfect...and not one of us is the same!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Just because someone is not like me doesn't mean they are wrong or
deserve to be scrutinized because of it!!!!!!!!!