Principle 1: non-judgment

The first fundamental principle of Mindfulness practice is non-judgment.

Our mind has an almost automatic tendency to label and evaluate every experience.

We constantly classify situations, sensations, and emotions in terms of "good" or "bad," "right" or "wrong."

This constant judging activity is one of the main sources of our mental suffering.

When we label an emotion as "bad," we not only feel the original emotion, but we also add a layer of resistance and discomfort from feeling it.

This habit, in addition to generating suffering, is very unproductive.

As we have seen with paradoxical intention, when we judge an emotion like fear as something negative and try to avoid it, we are most likely to intensify it.

The practice of non-judgment invites us to adopt a radically different position. It's about being an impartial observer of our own experience.

We observe thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations as they arise and pass away, without needing to label them. This doesn't mean we don't have preferences.

It means we learn to relate to our experience from a place of greater equanimity and peace.

By letting go of fighting what is, we free up an enormous amount of mental and emotional energy.

Summary

The first principle of mindfulness is not to judge our experiences. Our mind constantly categorizes what we feel, which creates additional suffering by