Nonjudgmental awareness is seeing reality without filters. It means connecting with our experience in an unfiltered way.
Most of us have used or worked with filters in daily life. Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of filters:
- Those that distort/change the original content (e.g., camera filters)
- Those that let some things through but not others (e.g., coffee filter, strainer)
Regardless of the type of filter, the result is the same: We’re not getting the pure unadulterated version. We’re not getting the raw, unfiltered version of the original content.
Mindfulness is a technique to train the mind in nonjudgmental awareness, perceiving our life in each moment without filters. We do that by placing our attention on the breath, and watching everything coming and going in our minds, without clinging to them. And return our attention to the breath.
What would it be like, in your next meditation practice session, to look at everything that is arising in each moment without filters? Then, after seeing it and recognizing it, gently letting it go, and coming back to the breath.
What would it be like to do that in our life, from moment to moment?
Mindfulness FAQ 