Level of Consciousness - Judgments & Reactions

"When someone criticizes you, instead of retaliating or defending yourself - do nothing. Allow the self-image to remain diminished and become alert to what that feels like. For a few seconds it may feel uncomfortable as if you have shrunk in size. Then you may sense an inner spaciousness that feels intensely alive. You have not been diminished at all. In fact you have expanded."

- Eckhart Tolle


Question: Does that mean we shouldn't stand up for ourselves when we feel attacked?


I think the idea is to not be so re-active about things and to address them in a level-headed manner. If we can learn to not be so offended, then we take the emotion out of it.

If we feel something to be offensive, we tend to re-act and seek "revenge" for the way that person made us feel, when in fact, their perceived personal attack on you, is simply a reflection of their own internal perceptions, thoughts and feelings, however incorrect, inaccurate, or seemingly unfeeling.

An Offense is made up of equal parts -- The person doing the offending and the person who is feeling offended. The key is to take one of those two out of the equation, and since you can't control how others feel, your only option is to control how you react to an offensive situation.


Question: Is it not ok to feel offended?


It's not wrong to feel. You are going to feel the way you feel. The trick is to condition yourself not to get offended, to be aware of your feelings and your beliefs on certain matters. If someone attacks you and you don't get offended, than it's not an issue. Evolve beyond your need to be "right".


Question: Is it ok for that person to judge and/or to criticize?


It's not so much that that person is wrong for judging you, it's more the fact that they don't know how to get out of the "judgment" zone of it all or they just aren't capable of showing positive, constructive, thought-felt criticism.

Judgments tend to reflect someone who is in a lower vibration (consciousness) than others. If a person isn't in a positive place in their life, they seem to judge others a whole lot more. They are in the mindset of addressing "flaws", which most likely is because they are just as critical with themselves as they are with others.

Any personal (verbal) attack on you shouldn't affect your value or how you feel about yourself, but unfortunately, that's exactly what happens to most of us. We perceive that attack to devalue or disrespect who we are. In turn, we feel like that person has taken something from us, that they haven't respected who you really are and what you really feel.

To turn around and attack them only shows that you share their vibration and that you're on the same level as they are, whereas if you were to approach it from an intelligent, unemotional stand point, you would be able to get your point across, feel good about the exchange, and possibly teach them something in the process.

There's nothing wrong with standing up for yourself, but do it in a positive manner. To offend the judgmental person who just made you feel bad, is only to continue the cycle. But there are those people who only care about hurting others, and they do not deserve your undivided attention. To play their game is only to get sucked in.

An offensive comment does not reflect you, it reflects the person making the judgment. The only thing it reflects about you, is how you react to it. If you approach something like this in a firm, intelligent and respectful manner, without offending the other person, it seems to naturally resolve itself. :D

Most importantly it's how you react to the situation. If you can learn to not get so offended by people's judgments about you, it shows that you are obviously the bigger person, which in-effect will attract fewer judgmental people to you.

If you find yourself in a place where you are surrounded by people who tend to be critical of you, you need to analyze the type of people you are hanging out with, your personal beliefs, your reactions to those criticisms and where you stand on a conscious and emotional level.

Remember - Life is meant to be effortless.

Meditate on the Stream / River


- Chris Earl | Fresh Connect