Judgments² >>>
In the case of awareness and disdain of our judgments, we are actually only a few (but more aware) steps away from where we were before we could recognize the nature of the judgments we operate by.
I call this manner of disdain toward evaluative thinking, or judgments against judgments, “judgments squared.” An inner monologue of this way of thinking often looks something like this:
“Wow, why on earth would someone honk at me for stopping for pedestrians? What a jerk!
“Ah! That was a judgment! Oh great, why am I still thinking that way? I’ve done so much inner work — I ought to have stopped thinking like that by now. I should meditate more, and I should stop judging others. Judgments only make the world a lesser quality place to live…
“Wait, why am I ‘should-ing’ myself like that? That’s a judgment, too! Crap, I’m doing worse than I thought!…”
If you at all resonate with this inner conversation (possibly between parts of yourself that stimulate discouragement or fear or anger), you’re already walking the beautiful path of a growing competency around the evaluative thinking-oriented capacity of your mind.
With the growing competency of evaluative thinking, however, can come an awareness of the reiterative way judgments can recursively act on themselves. That is, not only might we experience judgments regularly now, but we may also become aware of how we judge our judgments.
Having recognized a recurring fatigue and backache, one may be (unconsciously) inclined to continue his reliance on strategies that he’s noticed best work for countering our symptoms. In my own case, I’ve been one in the past to choose coffee to counter the fatigue and a few minutes of stretching or shifting of position to counter the backache.
But what have I done in this?: I have merely relieved myself temporarily of the “afflictions” (the symptoms) without concerning myself for their origin. (I’ve since then realized that my body and brain at times like this have been yearning for more stimulation and movement in my lifestyle, and so I’ve made a point of taking a long walk or going for a run outside in recognition of the symptoms pointing to these needs.)
And what of judgments?
In the midst of a monologue like the one above, a dramatic difference in response can be given to the exponential reiteration of judgments by slowing down, tuning out distractions (that is, focusing attention on the experience), and gently inquiring into the origins of the experience.
One might not remember this option right away, but a practice of recognizing when this reiteration has been sparked begins to shape the mind to be able to recognize it more easily the next time.