"All temptations are mental. Usually it is not what you do but what you think that is more troublesome. Be aware of how other people's vibrations affect your mind... Analyse what you feel and what you think... The moment there is any attraction or aversion, be on your guard. Salute all people who tempt you from a safe distance."
This is a beautiful summary of nonjudgemental discernment!
We tend to become caught up in a web of "finding fault". Our excuse is that a person's behavior is undesirable and affects us negatively, and that this gives us the right to shake or finger and set them straight.
In this quotation we learn, simply and clearly, that another person's behavior or character is not an object for our focus or concern! What we are to examine is our own reaction, whether positive or negative.
And if we have a reaction we are to remove ourselves, for our own spiritual sake. We are to "salute" those who stir up our own thoughts and feelings "from a safe distance," while we work to purify ourselves. We do not condemn them.
