Psience Quest

Quote:Emotionally, all this stress puts us in “survival mode,” destroying our peace of mind and impairing our ability to make wise decisions. Stress makes us more reactive, and more susceptible to people who try to manipulate us, both personally and politically (Doty, 2019)

A surprising solution to all this stress and anxiety is compassion, “an open-hearted way of relating to the world that responds to the suffering of others with care, kindness, and helpful action” (Neff & Seppala, 2016, p. 189). Compassion also includes self-compassion, being kind to ourselves, especially when we make mistakes, treating ourselves as we would treat a dear friend (Neff, 2011).

Research has shown that cultivating compassion for ourselves and others can relieve stress (Jazaieri et al, 2012; 2018). Compassion Cultivation Training at CCARE involves nine weekly two-hour sessions along with daily meditations at home. Researcher Thupten Jinpa’s book, A Fearless Heart (2015), describes this training, offering mindfulness and loving-kindness meditations to promote greater compassion and self-compassion.