By Arash Emamzadeh — 2019
Psychology of compassion is discussed (part 2)
Read on www.psychologytoday.com
CLEAR ALL
Compassion gets a lot of attention in positive psychology, and for good reason – it’s a major concern of many religious and philosophical leaders, including the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis.
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Attention is like a spotlight—whatever it shines on becomes brighter in the mind. This knowledge can help us build compassion, says Paul Gilbert.
At a weekend workshop I led, one of the participants, Marian, shared her story about the shame and guilt that had tortured her.
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According to the dictionary, to forgive is to stop feeling angry or resentful toward yourself or others for some perceived offense, flaw, or mistake. Keeping that definition in mind, forgiveness becomes a form of compassion.
It’s a spiritual truism that trading places with the less fortunate, psychologically if not literally, can be a powerful motive for doing unto others as you’d have them do unto you.
Call it love, kindness, compassion for all beings—it’s the real elixir, the only one that truly transforms life for ourselves and others.
How do shame and compassion relate to one another?
In 1989, at one of the first international Buddhist teacher meetings, Western teachers brought up the enormous problem of unworthiness and self-criticism, shame and self-hatred that frequently they arise in Western students’ practice.
Through the acronym RAIN (Recognize-Allow-Investigate-Nurture) we can awaken the qualities of mature compassion—an embodied, mindful presence, active caring, and an all-inclusive heart.
Simply put: compassion is lovingkindness in action.