Non-Judgmental Concentration Discipline

“Leave Judgment at the Door The path to radical acceptance begins with non-judgmental concentration, which is part of mindfulness. With non-judgmental concentration, you’re fully present in the moment, putting all your attention on one thing to the exclusion of everything else. You can direct awareness to your body, your mind, your emotions, or how you’re feeling. You can be aware of how your heart is beating, how you’re breathing in and out, the thoughts you’re having and how you’re reacting to those thoughts, or the emotions you’re experiencing as a result of those thoughts. Or your attention can be on the person you’re speaking with, the room, the group, or the business environment. Whatever it is, you’re focusing on that one thing alone.”

“Non-judgmental concentration is step one for me when a thorny issue arises—it’s how I put my mind in a good space, because it keeps me in the present and quickly lowers my stress level. I’m not brooding over what happened or worrying about what might happen. I’m not thinking about the past or the future or anything at all except what’s in my mental crosshairs. When using this technique, it’s important to refrain from projecting bias onto the subject of your concentration. If you choose to focus your attention on a person, don’t rush to judge that person as being good or bad. In many ways, the concepts of good and bad are just tools that our self-centered minds use to sort through sensory data. For example, a controlled fire at a comfortable distance feels warm, so your brain thinks that’s good. An uncontrolled fire that’s burning your hand hurts, so that’s bad. It’s the effect the fire has on you that makes your brain think it’s good or bad, not the simple fact that it’s a fire.”