Let the Compass Be Your Guide
Judgment, criticism, and harsh thoughts and words—we’ve all dealt with these in ourselves and with others. More than likely, we still do on a regular basis. They are protective mechanisms our egos create to establish a false sense of safety by feeling “better than” or “not as bad as”, depending on which mechanism we use.
Even when judging ourselves harshly, it comes from a place of protection. (We are trying to “protect” ourselves from the inherent “badness” we deem ourselves to have.)
This form of harshness with ourselves and each other erodes our sense of self down to a position of attack and defense. It exacerbates separation that keeps us lonely, isolated, and largely in suffering. Loneliness, isolation, and suffering are all elements of fear. Judgment, criticism, and harshness are the tools by which they are distributed in our world.
What can you do to alleviate this fear-based judging behavior? As we have established in previous “FACE Your Fears” blogs, the opposite of fear is Love. So, we must FACE judgment with its corresponding act of Love.
There are Four Acts of Love:
Forgiveness, Acceptance, Compassion, and Empathy (FACE)
Within the FACE acronym, the element of Compassion is the antidote to judging, criticizing, and overall harshing of ourselves and one another.
Compassion as a word is easy to say; however, as a principle put into action, it can be quite challenging. Our ego tends to resist compassion out of a sense of pride. Additionally, a large portion of society perpetuates a false belief that kindness is weakness. This belief often extends to compassion and is a mistake of immature, wounded masculine energy. Such an energy is underdeveloped and has not yet reached the empowered self. A person in this state of belief considers dominion over another as a place of power and safety. This is fool’s gold of course, and the universe inevitably brings such a false power back to stasis to even the score.
So, just how can we access this powerful element of Love within us called Compassion? Well, let’s take the word and have a closer look.
One day, as I was contemplating compassion within my mind and body, the word “compassion” broke apart in my head, clearly leaving the word “compass”. It resonated with me that a compass is a guide—a guide to show you what direction you are heading on earth. Furthermore, we as human beings have an internal compass, or a moral compass, that helps us know right from wrong. We use this compass to make decisions of all kinds within our lives.
The next thing I knew, I was envisioning a compass as compassion itself. I connected the feeling and experience of compassion, which includes a sense of connection of self, power greater than self, and others with kindness and Love. This feeling is innate in us all, without exception. We can be conditioned to suppress it in families and societies; however, it is always there to be remembered within us.
I began using this compass metaphor to activate the feeling of compassion in my body and mind. I now say, “let the compass be your guide,” to feel myself access the stores of compassion residing within me. We are all spiritual beings capable of accessing this powerful emotion.
Try it! When you find yourself judging yourself or others on social media, while watching the news, in conversations with your family and friends, or just while lying there awake in the middle of the night, say to yourself “let the compass be your guide” and feel the loving energy light up in your heart. Then feel it move upward towards your mind to shift the judgment and let it go. This will bring stillness to the intensity of the thought and peace to your body and mind, allowing your soul to be in its more natural state of well-being in the moment.
Much Love,
Noel Neu
Are you following along with the FACE Your Fears blogs? Stay tuned for the final piece of the series (Empathy), and for announcements on the upcoming FACE Your Fears course! Fill out the email signup form below to stay in the loop for all updates.