The Mirror of Self-Judgement
What if we didn't have any mirrors? I have often asked myself this question but then I let it go only to have the thought or question revisit me again.
I envision myself on a deserted island with no one around, no mirrors and no reflection from any body of water.
All of the sudden, it happens! I start feeling this deep understanding of the process of how we look at ourselves.
I start to understand that having access to a mirror carries deeper implications for me than just having something to look at when my hair is done.
Now, I'm not telling everyone to get rid of all of your mirrors.
I'm asking you to imagine with me, how you would feel if you did not have the immediate access that we have grown so accustomed to.
When I think about mirrors, another question comes to mind.
If we couldn't judge ourselves by looking at ourselves physically, how would we self-analyze? Obviously we would do this introspectively but do we judge other people based on how we judge orselves? The answer is yes, however this may not seem obvious to many people.
I believe that mirrors are an external reflection of how the process works internally.
Let's have a closer look from the inside out, instead of the outside in.
When I look at myself, almost without notice, my mind goes to work (based on familiar response) as I begin to make a judgement.
I hear myself saying things like, my hair is out of place.
I don't have enough make-up on.
My stomach is too big.
My heels should be higher.
I need to change this shirt.
This color doesn't look good on me.
The list goes on and on.
We carry these same judgements around first, in our own minds, spell-bounding ourselves to the point of what we perceive as belief, and then impose (from ourselves) what we think we see, on others as we look at them.
WHY? Because we have already judged ourselves according to the EXACT same judgement as if looking at a mirror reflection of ourselves.
However, we perceive this process as happening in the total opposite direction.
The question is, are the judgements we're making about ourselves true or have we amassed so much external/mirror-reflected judgement from others, that we have not asked ourselves whether we believe the judgements we impose upon ourselves? Now that the mirror is facing you, I know that the reflection you now see, brings to mind thoughts like, I sure am beautiful.
I feel really great today.
There is nothing I can't accomplish.
I envision myself on a deserted island with no one around, no mirrors and no reflection from any body of water.
All of the sudden, it happens! I start feeling this deep understanding of the process of how we look at ourselves.
I start to understand that having access to a mirror carries deeper implications for me than just having something to look at when my hair is done.
Now, I'm not telling everyone to get rid of all of your mirrors.
I'm asking you to imagine with me, how you would feel if you did not have the immediate access that we have grown so accustomed to.
When I think about mirrors, another question comes to mind.
If we couldn't judge ourselves by looking at ourselves physically, how would we self-analyze? Obviously we would do this introspectively but do we judge other people based on how we judge orselves? The answer is yes, however this may not seem obvious to many people.
I believe that mirrors are an external reflection of how the process works internally.
Let's have a closer look from the inside out, instead of the outside in.
When I look at myself, almost without notice, my mind goes to work (based on familiar response) as I begin to make a judgement.
I hear myself saying things like, my hair is out of place.
I don't have enough make-up on.
My stomach is too big.
My heels should be higher.
I need to change this shirt.
This color doesn't look good on me.
The list goes on and on.
We carry these same judgements around first, in our own minds, spell-bounding ourselves to the point of what we perceive as belief, and then impose (from ourselves) what we think we see, on others as we look at them.
WHY? Because we have already judged ourselves according to the EXACT same judgement as if looking at a mirror reflection of ourselves.
However, we perceive this process as happening in the total opposite direction.
The question is, are the judgements we're making about ourselves true or have we amassed so much external/mirror-reflected judgement from others, that we have not asked ourselves whether we believe the judgements we impose upon ourselves? Now that the mirror is facing you, I know that the reflection you now see, brings to mind thoughts like, I sure am beautiful.
I feel really great today.
There is nothing I can't accomplish.
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