I suppose we all know that if we wish to become adept at some skill or other, whether it be in some art activity, sport, or an intellectual activity, maybe learning a new language, for example, a great deal of work and commitment is usually required. It is tacitly assumed that the activity we choose has some positive value for us, and maybe our community as well. However, the goal of the aspiring adept may not be worthwhile. Thus the concentrated activity to acquire proficiency in a skill is not of itself laudable. It is the end to which our energies are engaged that may be deemed to be worthy or unworthy, sensible (sensical?) or nonsensical. Also, energy can be expended mistakenly so that bad habits and procedures are generated.
In the early days of my spiritual turnaround, it was made quite clear to me which of my character traits were positive and constructive, and which were negative and destructive. The practising of the positive traits brought about a new and positive way of thinking, whilst the practising of negative traits had had the opposite effect. In a very real sense, negative behaviour has the effect of sending one into spiritual sleep, that condition that Gurdjieff so often warned against.
One negative trait in particular (and not the only one!) that I needed to guard against was judgementalism. Trying to reach some understanding of the nature of this trait has occupied my attention, on and off, for a very long time. Of late, I have been reading excerpts from the New Testament because I wish to get to know (insofar as it is possible) this man Jesus of Nazareth, and what made him tick; what was he really trying to say? One thing that becomes very evident is his frequent verbal attacks on the 'Scribes and Pharisees' whom he labels as hypocrites. Now is that being judgemental or not? Similarly, wasn't St. Paul's calling the Galatians "stupid" also judgemental?
In my book such outbursts are indeed examples of judgementalism. Yet it also displays behaviour that is all too human. Gone forever, in my mind, is the notion of Jesus the Nazarene as the epitome of divine perfection, being replaced by someone I can empathise with, someone who made all the mistakes that I make. Yet for all that, something lived its life through that mortal man, to telling effect; Jesus the Christ, the Jesus Higher Self, the Cosmic Christ.
Of course, that does not mean that I can indulge in judgementalism with impunity. Gradually, I have come to believe that judgementalism is a negative activity directed at a person, not at their behaviour. I must surely become aware when I am engaged in a behaviour that is likely to damage my thinking process, that is going to turn my ways of thinking toward the realm of insanity, as they have done so in the past. Yet to say that I am this or that, rather than saying I am behaving like this or that, is as judgemental as if I am levelling my negative criticisms at others. Finally, after all these years I think I understand. And there is a bonus. If I can cease from being judgemental, I stand a chance of dealing with its accomplices, pride (arrogance) and self-righteousness. Now that can't be bad.
Hi Tom
ReplyDeleteOur parish priest frequently uses material from Fr. Richard Rohr which invariably become the subject of many of his better sermons.
Prof David Tacey also suggests that what first century people thought of as miracles would be to us to day not supernatural invasion at all, but an internal process of spirit. Hence embedded in the parable and sayings of Christ and in the letters of Paul are the warnings against the excessive reliance on just ritual and ceremony. Instead I think we are left with the idea of a maturing personality which reverts to a nonjudgmental higher self, to live life to the fullest. Unfortunately we have become misled by translations such as “made perfect in Christ” which gives us the wrong impression since “perfect” from the original Greek word “telios” was originally intended in the context to simply make more mature. From my perspective ethical behaviour begins from a base to be open to others and non-judgmental and in this context young children quickly grasp that principle, bit alas it can be equally just as quickly washed away. In my view a thought provoking post which aptly sums up the position,
Best wishes
Hi Lindsay; Yes, Fr. Richard is a remarkable (and maligned) man. I certainly understand the need to be free of an over-reliance on ritual and what Meister Eckhart called the things of God, rather than God himself. Thank you for the point you made about being made perfect in Christ, to mean becoming more mature. I like that.
DeleteReading your post was the last thing I did prior to going to sleep. I read and sat for 30 minutes thinking and wishing to be able to express my thoughts in writing.
ReplyDeleteAs time passes I loose my courage to write more and more.
A few minutes ago I woke up after a dream containing the colors pink, blond and black, an Irish accent and ending with me falling into a bottomless hole thinking I should fold my legs so that they won't get pushed into my body when landing.
There was more to the dream. These are the highlights. I'm off to my 'job'.
Dear Ellena; If my post gave you a good night's sleep, it has at least achieved something; I trust your dream was not a nightmare!
DeleteI am intrigued by your dream, in particular the point you make about folding your legs in preparation for a hard landing ....... in a bottomless hole? Maybe it would be better to break out of that protective, foetal position and land securely on your feet. Take courage and move out of your comfort zone. Often in the past you have said things that have made me think anew, things that I have found helpful. That bottomless abyss is the best place to be!
I'm interpreting this as your take on St. Augustine's phrase "With love for mankind and hatred of sins." - more commonly known as "Hate the sin and not the sinner." It's a very tricky business when you're face to face with someone who is determined to offend, or worse, hurt you or someone you care for.
ReplyDeleteA professional basketball player when asked why he refused to be baited by an opponent said: "You don't want to get into a fight with a pig because you both get dirty and the pig likes it."
All in all, though, a huge problem in the world today is a general leap to judgement without any attempt made to be understanding, or goodness knows, finding compassion for another suffering being.
I hope I haven't misinterpreted or oversimplified your meaning, Tom. This was a good one to think about.
Hullo Susan; No, I do not think you have misinterpreted or oversimplified my meaning. I was of course concentrating on the particular, and you have developed that theme to the more general, the logical extrapolation of what I was saying.
DeleteCertainly it is a tricky business, sometimes I think a business beyond my limited capabilities to effect any worthy response. The more people are "in your face" as the saying goes, the worse it becomes. As the basketball player said, the one behaving in a piglike manner likes it. One of the drawbacks with increased ability to communicate (Facebook and Twitter etc.), as well as the development of bonding in teams (heaven preserve us!) and peer group pressure, is that the worst of what we say and think is magnified almost limitlessly, backed and exacerbated by crude, unconsidered emotions.
Tom, as always, lots of fodd for thought in your writings! It reminded me that I too can be too quick in being judgmental at times, and so appreciate Susan's comment in the context of my own behaviour, that is to be more compassionate.
ReplyDeleteOne line bothered me a little, placed in another context other than spiritual practice: " the concentrated activity to acquire proficiency in a skill is not of itself laudable". I'm reading this in a personal way, ie. the practice of one's art such as developing one's skills such as drawing is to me a necessary activity. As I said, it is in a more physical rather than spiritual context though I don't think the latter is entirely missing in that activity as well. Just goes to show you that my brain works in a different sphere :-).
Hullo Marja-Leena; You raise a fine point here when you take gentle issue with the quoted sentence. What I am trying to say here is that it isn't the expenditure of energy itself that is laudable, but the skill for which that energy is expended. After all, one can devote enormous amounts of energy into a project that is bound to fail; a project that is actually causing great suffering (ISIS for example); persecution of targeted minorities (Nazi persecution of Jews), and so on. At a more personal level, and I will use my own experience here, doing all I could to stop an alcoholic from boozing. Without wishing to get into a debate about good and bad art, if indeed such a distinction can be made, I would say that art, and the development of the techniques necessary for its satisfactory execution, is an appropriate use of concentrated activity. But it is the art form and the techniques that are laudable, not the mere expenditure of energy which can be geared to all sorts of uses.
DeleteHi Tom again
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that the response to fledgling or bullying or corruption is all that complicated albeit stamping it out invariably carries with it some considerable personal cost. Having been involved in stamping out corruption in the business area in a small way both here and abroad I am convinced it’s more a matter of having principles and standing up for them and not laying idle, even at the risk of personal hardship. in my view most sporting codes are generally in much better shape now (with a few exceptions) than they were when I enjoyed sport ? Most simply wont tolerate those behaviours and have invested heavily in education for the players and at the grass roots.
I also see evidence that social media also has the capacity to bring out much better outcomes along with the rather awful group excesses to which you correctly reference. But I am inclined to think the only thing that has changed is the technology, not the peoples who will find different ways for their outbursts ?
In that respect don't you think the so called good old days included an awful lot of bad things which were hidden or covered up – unlike many I used to despair far more then than now – simply because in my view we are likely to be much more aware of the excesses and good people will always do something about it. ?
Best wishes
Hullo Again; I don't know the word 'fledgling' in this context, but I think I get your drift. The only point I would make about principles is that they need constantly to be challenged; not necessarily changed but certainly challenged. Neither would I wish to give the impression that I am against social media as such. I do think, however, that they are fraught with pitfalls and temptations which (I suspect) too few people care about. Certainly I am of the opinion, for what it's worth, that people change little - if at all unless they are pitchforked into change by painful circumstances - and it is indeed technology that changes, and that increasingly rapidly. Maybe it is too rapid for most people, who knows?
DeleteI wonder whether there ever were such things as the 'good old days'. Maybe there were if one keeps one shut, and the one looking through rose-coloured spectacles open. We do have a remarkable ability to forget what we do not wish to remember; sink into denial about things that are too painful; blame the outside world rather than look at ourselves. Yes, we may well be more aware of what needs to be changed around us, but as you say, peoples find different ways for their outbursts, and our numbers are increasing all the time. If I feel despair, as I do, it is because I see what is good being overwhelmed by what is not good. And to pick up on Susan's comment, those who are 'in your face' bad, enjoy it. There are I'm sure many people who will always do something about, but all too often they become compromised and/or overwhelmed.
A good chat, Lindsay. May I offer my best wishes in return.
Many years after childhood, I'm still trying to sort out my mother's admonitions to use good judgement from the less healthy habit of judgmentalism --which I'm not even certain is a real word. I seem to know what it means but, as a function of logic, it doesn't easily conform to valid judicature.
ReplyDeleteHullo Geo; This is admittedly a difficult area. All too often, in my experience, a word has slipped into the vernacular and subsequently lost its original mean and/or nuance. To make a particular point, a word which is (necessarily in some cases) similar needs to be brought into use. This later word may or may not appear in some dictionaries, yet there is a general understanding of the meaning of this amongst those who feel the new word to be necessary. 'Judgementalism' (which my computer has just underlined as being a non-word) is one such word. Certainly in the way that word has been used in my post would seem to be miles away from any meaning used in connection with judicature. I find it a real problem finding words which everyone - or even most people - accept as used. Two other words carrying this problem immediately come to mind; ego and denial. As I say, it is a problem.
DeleteTom, I wish I could contribute more relevantly and interestingly to this conversation but the more time goes by (and I do think time has something to do with it) the less capable I feel of engaging in abstract discussion. I don't mean to inject any derogatory sense to the word 'abstract', it's just that the kind of analytical reasoning required seems to be deserting me and I must admit I'm not displeased. I've done so much of it in the past...pages upon diary pages of it...that I won't object if I lose that tendency altogether. However, I could certainly give examples of being judgemental in my own life, and of how it doesn't work, and of how it sours personal relationships. But that would require a long, confessional kind of discourse...not appropriete!
ReplyDeleteHullo Natalie; You may feel that you have not contributed interestingly to this conversation, but your comment is interesting nonetheless. I suppose we all do, or not do, what seems most appropriate at the time, and time is a key factor. It does not bother me, therefore, if you do not get involved in 'abstract' discussion here. However, I think it would bother me if we lost contact. So if you feel it's alright just to say hullo once in a while, just so that we know you're okay, please do so in any way your wish.
DeleteTom, of course I never want to lose touch with you and Lucy! Sorry I've been silent - I'll email today.
ReplyDeleteBless you!
DeleteThank you for being so kind, dear Tom.
ReplyDeleteMy dream was not a nightmare but in its entirety it was like most if not all my recent dreams full of anxiety about not being able to finish what I set out to do.
I have a very sore spot when it comes to cease being judgmental. I have been and still am trying hard to reach this goal, maybe to a point of overdoing it by always trying to find a reason for 'them and me' to be and act in such and such a way. Does to completely cease judgment mean that there is no right nor wrong?
In conversations with my Mom during which she expressed her dislike about such and such a behavior of others she always ended the talk with "of course you are an angel". Need I explain the ton of her voice? It hurts to be called something one knows not to be. What I have learned from this is that I have to learn to express myself in a way where I don't give the impression of thinking that my moral standards are perfect. And how can that be learned when we don't know how others hear us?
Writing this is self-flagation (?). I'm following your advice and am scarred s......s.
Ellena; Thank you for coming back on this one. You ask whether "to completely cease judgement means that there is no right or wrong?" I do not think so. All the great spiritual teachers have taught that there is right and wrong, however one chooses to characterise them. But these characteristics describe behaviours, even when that may not be too clear. Whether there are absolute rights and wrongs beyond the reach of our consciousness, I cannot be certain. But our moral code which enshrine our right-and-wrong beliefs are a guide to our behaviours.
DeleteI well understand your need to express yourself in ways which do not come across self-righteous or sanctimonious. Indeed, that constant checking of our own attitudes is a necessary discipline. All we can do is our honest best in that regard, remembering always that other people will hear us as they choose to do so. Over their choices we have no ultimate control.
Incidentally, I think you're doing fine, not that I would call you an angel, of course :)