“Judge Not Lest ye Be Judged”
“I cannot but see you as myself.
It is in the very nature of love
to see no difference.”
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, “I Am That.”
( This was written the day after protestors stormed the US capital)
Even though the world may still feel turbulent, it’s clear we’re living in a time where anger, fear, and a deep sense of division are bubbling to the surface. But within this discomfort lies an incredible opportunity for growth, healing, and deeper understanding.
If you’re committed to inner mastery and personal evolution, the most powerful way to grow is to use what shows up in life. And right now? Life is showing us a massive mirror.
I’ve had a range of emotions about the chaos and division we’re witnessing. But I also see a deeper pattern—how humanity has long focused on “differences” that it cannot or will not tolerate, pulling us further into separation.
Yet, when we choose to shift our perspective and meet these moments with curiosity instead of judgment, the impact can be transformational—not just for us, but for everyone we touch.
“Seeing Ourselves in “The Other”
Try this: Consider looking at the most shocking or upsetting public behaviors—not to condone them, but to recognize any tiny reflection of yourself in those actions.
Why? Because when we soften the separateness within ourselves, we reduce the separateness between ourselves and others. That’s how we begin to dissolve “us vs. them” thinking and step into a more peaceful state of being.
This doesn’t mean you’re like “them.” It means you’re willing to ask:
- Have I ever been swept up by a crowd or influenced by others?
- Have I ever felt so angry or betrayed that I wanted payback?
- Have I ever dehumanized someone in my mind?
I know I have—more than once.
¨If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself.
What isn´t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.¨
Hermann Hesse
“What Isn’t in Ourselves Doesn’t Disturb Us”
“If you hate a person, you hate something in them that is part of yourself.
What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.”
— Hermann Hesse
Let that land for a moment.
This doesn’t mean we approve of harmful actions—it means we take responsibility for how we respond. When we choose to look beneath the surface, we can often trace even the most destructive behaviors back to pain, fear, and confusion.
And if we’re honest, we’ve all had moments where we’ve acted from those places too.
The Wisdom of Spiritual Teachers
In the Bible, when an angry mob brought a woman accused of adultery to Jesus, hoping for her punishment, he didn’t argue or fight. He simply wrote in the sand. When he finally spoke, he said, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” Then, he went back to writing in the dirt.
That stillness, that pause, that refusal to join the frenzy—that was power. That was mastery.
Eckhart Tolle speaks to this so clearly in A New Earth:
“To sin means to miss the mark…
It means to live unskillfully, blindly, and thus to suffer and cause suffering.”
Sin, in this sense, is not moral failure—it’s misalignment. It’s forgetting who we are and why we’re here.
How Do We Recenter in a Divided World?
Start by noticing how the images, videos, and commentary in the media are reflecting something back to us—about humanity, and about ourselves.
- Do they trigger old pain?
- Do they activate judgment or superiority?
- Do they reveal the very fear or rage we work hard to suppress?
Rather than reacting, what would it look like to simply pause—like Jesus did—and ask: What is this moment here to teach me?
“According to Christian teachings, (from the ancient Greek)… to sin means to miss the mark,
as an archer who misses the target, so to sin means to miss the point of human existence.
It means to live unskillfully, blindly, and thus to suffer and cause suffering…..
The term,… points to the dysfunction inherent in the human condition.”
Eckhart Tolle , A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose
Becoming Peacekeepers in a Chaotic World
If we want to stop witnessing so much hate and reactivity, we must first become the peacekeepers. Not passive bystanders, but conscious participants in a new way of operating.
It starts with humility. It grows with courage.
I’ve felt what I imagine others feel when they act out: righteous indignation, blame, superiority, resentment, even hatred. I’ve also felt victimized, swept away by emotion, quick to judge, and eager to be “right.”
If you’re honest… haven’t you?
The difference now is that we have the tools to observe these reactions, learn from them, and shift. From that place of honesty and humility, we become change agents in our communities, families, and inner worlds.
The Invitation
This is not a call to agree with everything or everyone. It’s an invitation to elevate your response.
It’s time to become more humble, not more righteous.
More compassionate, not more combative.
More united, not more divided.
Because change doesn’t just happen out there—it begins in here.
