The Compassion Meditation

This practice is part of the core training of the 2020 Meditation Online Course and is fully supported for course members with additional content, training and personally coached support.To find out more about the course, visit our website at: https://2020meditation.comYou can also just subscribe to our mailing list and get updated regularly with new sample content and offers.Compassion isn't an emotion, it is a basic drive for social animals. Chimpanzees for instance, consistently display compassion. I define Compassion as: "The drive to alleviate the suffering of a being that we identify with". Compassion allows us to connect, understand and forgive. It is an essential social lubricant that can overcome the friction of living in a complex world with conflicting loyalties, ideologies, beliefs, perspectives and behaviours.Compassion needs to be practiced. We can easily fall into an unhelpful cycle of being protective and avoidant. Compassion practices can help us to connect and form the important fulfilling relationships that are essential to growth and healing.There has been a significant amount of study into compassion and the effects of a compassionate outlook resulting in the formation of a therapeutic practice known as Compassion Focused Therapy. This has a promising degree of success in some difficult areas such as psychosis and eating disorders.For the rest of us, developing compassion through practicing the Compassion Mantra will help to build a compassionate response in our interactions. It is particularly useful for defusing potential unhelpful angry or resentful responses.May you be well, may you be happy, may you find peace of mind. Support the show (https://2020meditation.com/coffee)