Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

I Practice Mindfulness

I recently took a mindfulness course. In a way, it was quite useful, it made me realise how often I am distracted, and how many of my daily chores I do in an 'automatic mode', not really paying attention to them.

However, there was something that did not agree with me, it was how repeatedly we were told to accept and not judge things. I know we cannot change many things, and the only way for happiness is accepting that some things have to happen.

However, I am positive that not everything must be accepted and remain unjudged. Some things are right, others are wrong, and the first step to try to change a situation is realising it is wrong.

I find mindfulness (and psychology in general) too individualistic, too focused on 'what can I do in such state of things', but oblivious of the 'what can I do to change, if only a tiny bit, such state of things'. I cannot help thinking it encourages conformism, and that's the reason why it is so in fashion now.

Top | New | Old

JustNik · 51-55, F

Interesting! I’ve never taken a course on it, but I have a tendency to bend what I’m taught to suit me on things like this. I’ve heard about the acceptance business, and to me it just means to skip the denial and justification and static of trying to make sense of something that may or may not have any sense to be found and just accept what is so you can go about the business of determining best course of action. The not judging thing I just take as a reminder to judge with care and sometimes a grain of salt with the understanding that my understanding may be incomplete. This might not be true mindfulness, but we’ll just have to accept that. 😆

Mamapolo2016 · F

This global ban on judgment is a straw man. It is nonsense for anyone to say they ‘do not judge.’

Walking home at night, you pause on a corner and see a dark figure lounging in a doorway on one of the two routes you can take, and you take the other route. Judgement.

You share a deeply personal secret with a friend who then shouts your secret from l the rooftops. You end the friendship. Judgement.

It’s 15 minutes to end-of-day at the office and you decide not to start a new task until tomorrow. Judgement.

Cierzo · M

@Mamapolo2016 True. This 'I do not judge' thing sounds very cool, but it is a lie. If we did not judge at all, children would still die from smallpox or polio, since it would not be considering a bad thing.

We have to judge wisely, trying to walk in other people's shoes and understand their reasons, and realising that our actions have an impact on others.

novembermoon · 51-55

We really can't run away from making judgments. I guess it also comes with an awareness of what things we can change and what things we can't. Conformism is a huge problem here. I have often wished that the people here were more vocal like the west.

Cierzo · M

@novembermoon We must be wise in our judgment, trying to understand before judging.

As we have said so many times, we must choose our battles wisely 😊

Mamapolo2016 · F

@Cierzo Judgement is an unavoidable part of life. It becomes oppression when it is used to assess and deem wrong something that is none of my business.

Deciding what is or is not my concern is the tricky part. My personal decision is ‘if what you are doing does not in my perception cause harm or loss to another, AND no person or animal who is not competent to give consent is involved, then it’s nunna mine’. (Not my business.)

Anything which falls outside those parameters IS my business, as a citizen of Earth.

In my philosophy, consensual adult sexual behavior is not my business. Using children or animals for the sexual aims of adults IS my business.

A boxing match between adults is not my concern. Humans staging a dog fight for entertainment and profit IS.

Add a comment...