How Labelling and Judgement Block Peace

“When you are totally, continually immersed in a mental state of thinking, you create a conceptual reality that separates you from the inherent aliveness that is all around you. The source of separation is the involuntary continuous labelling of everything.” - Eckhart Tolle

Imagine being immersed in this idyllic little slice of wilderness.  As you walk by the pond, what are you thinking? Are you silently naming what you see? 

“…lovely pond… *checks for fish*…lily pads…nice reflection on the water… lots of clouds…look at all the different trees…so green…” 

Whether conscious, or unconscious, your constant stream of thinking creates separation between you and the earth upon which you walk.  

Instead, can you simply be there?  Breathe the air. Feel the wind on your face. Sense the ground beneath your feet. 

When you stop automatically labelling and judging, you naturally ease into a state of being. Separateness falls away as you return to a state of non-judgement, where you - and your inner child - feel safe. And what does a child do when they feel safe?  They play.  They take off their shoes to dip their toes in the water. They lie on their tummies to search for frogs. They pluck a pine needle to enjoy its scent, listen to the birds chattering in the branches above, or cartwheel across a grassy field on the other side of the pond. They immerse themselves in their senses, enraptured by wonder and awe - no longer separate observers, but aligned with the natural world through a near-palpable energy of wholeness. 

Eckhart calls this energy “aliveness,” while poets and writers refer to it as the “magic of childhood.” 

As adults, we forget how to be and lose this sense of aliveness. Childhood magic seems all but gone - a bit of fairy dust, blown away by decades of struggle, scattered over barren stretches of responsibility, and buried under layers of loss.

Even if you feel completely disconnected from your inner child, the energy remains. Cartwheels may truly be a thing of the past, but childlike wonder can still be glimpsed through the senses: the tightness in your chest at the sight of a rainbow; an explosion of flavour when biting into a crisp autumn apple; the bliss of being safely at home during a rainstorm, wrapped in a cozy blanket while a purring cat makes biscuits on your lap.

The senses are the link to the energy of aliveness - the pathway to your inner child - and a gateway to feelings of reverence, gratitude, belonging, and joy. But, no matter how hard you try to build a bridge to your inner child, they will not come forward until they feel safe.

One way to create that safety is to notice how you speak to yourself. Most of us would never speak to a three-year-old the way we speak to ourselves. I cringe as I remember the brutality of my own self-judgement and labelling: “You’re not good enough. You’re just a foolish old woman. You don’t matter. No one would even notice if you died.” My inner critic created a state of mind that threatened my life and forced my inner child into hiding. With no one to guide me, I acted purely from instinct and self-preservation. To make a long story short, I assumed my inner critic and my ego were one and the same, and I named him Negative Ned. In no uncertain terms, I told Negative Ned to back off, muscled through a forgiveness exercise, and dis-identified from that beast of an ego.

When you detach from the ego, the impulse toward involuntary, continuous thinking begins to quiet. The instinct to label, judge, and blame starts to dissolve. It becomes, quite literally, an “out with the old, in with the new” transformation. The former egoic blockage gives way to wholeness and peace.

In choosing to identify with your heart space, Source Energy ignites and expands, and you remember your soul. The shift from negative to positive triggers an energetic reunion of all aspects of Self, including your inner child.‍ ‍ With a sigh of relief, you melt into safety and belonging, enveloped by joy, reverence, empathy, and gratitude. You are filled with a remarkable ‘knowing’ - a profound clarity and understanding of your life’s purpose and our shared reason for being. As you reconnect with the energy of childhood magic and aliveness, you may even be able to see the grand paradox of it all, which is perhaps why spiritual teachers like Eckhart Tolle and the Dalai Lama find so many things to be funny.

There is no denying that living in this human world can be unspeakably difficult - brutal, heartbreaking. Yet every challenge serves as a lesson towards awakening unity consciousness.

The belief that something or someone can be judged as better or worse has caused unfathomable human suffering for centuries. It continues to fuel conflict among people of all races, religions, and cultures - and between people of different ages, body types, genders, abilities, and backgrounds. In an ego-driven society, we label others instead of celebrating our differences and recognizing each other as souls emerging from the same source. Despite the beauty and diversity of humanity, the unifying message of Love has been overshadowed by the ego’s need for power and control. I know the dangers of self-judgement and judging others - it blocks empathy, absolutely and completely. I also know that living without empathy is like living without Love, and, since Love is the key to peace, then judgement must stop.

For this to happen, we need to learn the biggest lesson - to shift from mind identity to heart identity.

For too long, we have been conditioned to believe that the human mind is king and the heart is sentimental or weak. The mind is a powerful and useful tool, but centuries of accumulating knowledge - of labelling and judging - have not ended human suffering. Wisdom and inspiration will. The ultimate irony is that the heart is - and always has been - home to the most powerful energy that exists, as well as vast stores of ancient wisdom. And - the heart is the home of the inner child.

“There is a wisdom in children, a kind of knowing...that we, as adults, do not have.”

Do not underestimate the importance of reconnecting with your inner child, for that is where the love is. When Divine Love works in tandem with an awakened mind, there is no limit to what we can achieve.

Imagine a world in which we all operate from connection and aliveness - aligned with the universe, with each other, and within ourselves. A world rooted in wisdom, inspiration, reverence, gratitude, wonder, and awe… and perhaps even a little childhood magic.

“The meek shall inherit the earth.” Indeed.

D 🩵