Posts Tagged ‘wisdom’

Can we learn compassion?  Some people are naturally more compassionate, while others seem to walk away or have no feeling what so ever.

Why is compassion so evident in some and not others?

Read these words of wisdom from a couple of researchers looking for scientific evidence to these questions. 

Compassion Meditation Changes The Brain
ScienceDaily (Mar. 27, 2008) —

Can we train ourselves to be compassionate? A new study suggests the answer is yes.

Cultivating compassion and kindness through meditation affects brain regions that can make a person more empathetic to other peoples’ mental states, say researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This study was the first to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to indicate that positive emotions such as loving-kindness and compassion can be learned in the same way as playing a musical instrument or being proficient in a sport. The scans revealed that brain circuits used to detect emotions and feelings were dramatically changed in subjects who had extensive experience practicing compassion meditation.

‘Compassion is a profound human emotion prompted by the pain of others. More vigorous than empathy, the feeling commonly gives rise to an active desire to alleviate another’s suffering.”

When I was healing and was a complete emotional mess, compassion was a invaluable gift.  Those that were truly able to feel my pain and listen and be there for me were like angels from heaven.  My heart was so heavy and I felt completely lost and alone.  It was in those moments that I really learned what compassion was.

When I was in the deep dark hole and didn’t know if I could climb out, compassion helped lift me one step forward.

“Compassion is that which makes the heart of the good move at the pain of others. It crushes and destroys the pain of others.” – The Buddha.