7 Easy Steps to Compassion

We can’t heal the world today,

but we can begin with a voice of compassion,

a heart of love, and an act of kindness.

Mary Davis

 

 

This morning, as I contemplated compassion, a tiny spider descended on an invisible thread before me. Hello, I said silently as she continued her journey. Hurry off the floor before some unaware foot crushes you.

I recently completed an online exploration of compassion from the perspective of various religions around the world. It was an uplifting journey. I learned about religions that I had known little or nothing about, and gained more appreciation for those with which I was familiar.

The most outstanding result was a reinforcement of what I knew - that most religions around our world are based on the same underlying principles – love and gratitude for the loving intelligence that had created us, love and compassion for one another, and an awareness of our oneness with all that is, including one another, this beautiful world and everything in it, and the greater expanse of life beyond our understanding.

We experienced a head, heart, hands approach to each religion. Reading a summary of the religion gave us an understanding of the religion and their view of compassion, with resources that enables us to go deeper, if we wished.

A practice enabled us to take what we learned into the world through acts of compassion. Often, they required us to get out of our heads and into our hearts.

We learned of many simple practices that enable us to easily experience compassion in our daily lives. I have begun to incorporate some of them into my life, and I want to share them with you, so that you may also benefit from them.

I have found that having a daily practice helps me to incorporate my beliefs into the way I live my life. The more I repeat them, the more they become a natural part of my day. We call them practices because they require practice.

 

Indigenous Religions

Ancient, small-scale, land-based societies across the Americas, Australasia, Asia, Africa, and Northern Europe had similar ways of interpreting and experiencing life on Earth.

They saw all aspects of creation as sacred, and there was no separation between religion and their daily lives. They saw the natural world as alive, intelligent, and integrated with humanity – abundant and providing what people needed to survive and flourish. From that awareness, they lived with compassion and gratitude.

Practice

Any activity that enables us to engage with nature helps us to connect with the Earth.  Gardening, walking barefoot on the ground or sitting on the earth are nurturing practices. If you don’t have access to natural spaces, breathe deep into your belly and feel your body. Imagine that you are a tree and feel your roots go deep into the earth and your branches high in the sky. Then, feel the nurturing energy from the earth flow into your body.

 

Judaism

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of the UK, was a scholar of the relationship between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He said that there are three core principles that these Abrahamic Faiths have in common: Love God; Love your neighbor; Love the stranger.

A central teaching from the Torah is “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

According to a parable of Creation, in order to create the universe, God, the Infinite Light, had to contract into an infinitesimal point. Otherwise, there would be no space for the universe to exist. But since no vessel in the material universe can possibly contain the Infinite Light, the vessel shattered, scattering the sparks of the Infinite Light in all directions throughout the universe.

Practice

"As we realize that we each have a spark of God within us, we are able to feel our kindship with one another. This opens the possibility for compassion, even for strangers.”

Rabbi Yitzchak Luria taught that our purpose, as humans, is to find those sparks of the Infinite Light in this world, by looking within each person we encounter, for the holy sparks within that person. Then, raise those sparks by lifting the person’s spirits.

When you encounter a stranger, see if you can see, with your inner vision, the holy sparks within that person. If you don’t see them at first, look deeper. Then see what you can do to raise those sparks by lifting that person’s spirits.  Do the same with a loved one, a family member, a friend.

 

Christianity

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Matthew 22: 37-39)

Jesus taught us, through The Parable of the Good Samaritan, that a stranger, even an outcast, can be more compassionate than a respected neighbor.

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.

Two highly respected men from Jericho saw him but passed by without helping. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw the man, he took pity on him. He tended his wounds, put him on his donkey and took him to the nearest inn, paying for his care.

The moral of the story, of course, is that the real neighbor was the compassionate man who helped him, although at that time, Jews saw Samaritans as outcasts.

Jesus challenges us to love our enemies as well. The question is not, “If I do stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” The question is, “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”

Practice

We can embody compassion by finding ways to be of service to someone in need. We could volunteer with a program that helps people less fortunate. Often helping an individual in need is more satisfying, because it enables us to have a personal connection. Look in your neighborhood for someone who needs help, then step up with your heart and hands. Perhaps someone homebound who can’t run errands, a child who needs tutoring, someone grieving who is lonely. With your compassionate intention to help, your heart will guide you to where you are needed.

 

Islam

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem
With the name of Allah, The Compassionate, The Dispenser of Compassion.

Many people say that this phrase is the essence of the entire Quran. It is the most repeated phrase in Muslim culture. Before you eat, enter your house, start your car, begin almost anything, you dedicate that action to the Divine and connect yourself with the source of all compassion. That connection is a constant reminder to expand your heart in every action as you move through your day.

Muslims pray five times a day. The Arabic word for prayer, Salah, means "connection," so prayer is literally a Muslim's connection to their Creator. When Salah is seen as an opportunity, rather than an obligation, it becomes a way to deliberately connect with compassion.

Practice

Today, feel your connection with the source of compassion by invoking the Divine ("Bismillah") before you begin an activity. Some people who are not Muslims have found this practice meaningful by connecting with the higher power in their lives - which they know by a different name - before any activity. Some of us connected with Love before each encounter.

As you become still and recite Bismillah, notice the vibration in your heart. Then, notice as you go through your day, the sacredness of all things, no matter how mundane -- while washing the dishes, sitting down at your computer, folding laundry, picking up your kids.

 

Sikhism

For a Sikh, three fundamental principles provide the bedrock for living a wholesome life:

• Truthful living:doing "honest work" and making a living that does not harm anyone else.

• Naam:remembrance of the Divine. This helps one grow towards God.

• Seva:through compassion for the world and service to society, one overcomes their own ego.

Seva can be done in three ways:

• Tunn(physical service, e., labor),

• Munn(mental service, such as wholeheartedly serving others with love), and

• Dhan(material or financial support for those in need).

Practice

Service (Seva) is compassion in action. Today, do one conscious act of Seva that helps someone else. It doesn’t matter how big or small that action is, truly put your heart and good intentions into whatever you decide to do.

 

Hindism

Hinduism views compassion as the visible form of service to the sacred, totally distinct from any sense of pity.

When I see the sacred in others, any pain to the other is felt directly as pain to me. My visible actions to alleviate pain are the outcome of this seeing, and others may interpret that action as arising from compassion.

Swami Vivekananda spoke of “Unity in Diversity” to describe the ancient philosophy of seeing the sacred in all, in-spite of fundamental differences in appearance and thought. This is the basis for acceptance of diversity, an idea that goes far beyond the notion of tolerance.

Hinduism places great emphasis on being a well-wisher to all that exists, including the animate and inanimate world. When we see the sacred in all, we see the guest as divine. Whether a guest is invited or uninvited, Hinduism tells us that our treatment of the guest should be the same as welcoming the sacred.

Practice

If the person, animal or plant in front of you is really God in disguise (or living out a value you consider deeply meaningful), how would you respond?

How would you feed God, or that which you consider sacred? Take the opportunity to do just that by practicing “Atithi devo bhava” -- Guest is God/Sacred -- and offer a meal to someone with a sense of deep sacredness, where you feel blessed when the meal is received and partaken. To step it up, you can offer the meal in this way to more than just humans. Reflect on how you feel when your gift is being received and appreciated.

 

Atheism.

Atheism has no doctrines, no teachings, and no book in which to find moral prescriptions or inspirations. Giving priority to the wellbeing of others is an attitude that comes from within. This most basic emotional platform on which the rest of morality stands is unique and self-directed.

Atheists tend to have an inner code of behavior that reflects their personal values. For many people, that code includes adding to the wellbeing of others. The atheist may succeed to one degree or another, in cultivating and following their moral compass, just as anyone else; but there is something ennobling and authentic about doing the work oneself.

Practice

Many of us, atheists included, believe that universal compassion is a worthy goal to pursue. Yet, it is extremely difficult to unwaveringly adopt this attitude.

If you are willing to accept it, here is a compassion challenge:

Approach every person you encounter today with the intention to make it as easy as possible for them to come away from your interaction feeling happier than they would have if your paths had not crossed.

In order to do that, approach every person as they are, not judging them or wishing they would act differently. Remember, the way you act is about you, and you have chosen to show up with compassion.

By the way, if you are not able to do that in some cases, give yourself a break. This is a journey, and we all learn we go. Just give it your best shot. The more you practice, the more easily you will slip into a kinder approach, and soon, it may become your natural way of being in the world.

A special side-effect is that this practice will make your days more joyful, too.

 

Well, that has been quite a journey. If you’re still with me, I hope you gained something of value from these ideas. I’m having fun trying them out in my life and keeping a few for the long run.

My deep gratitude to the amazing volunteer staff at Awakin who provided a complex, thought-provoking and heart expanding 21-day journey for well over 1,000 people. As part of ServiceSpace, they produce quality inspirational offerings that inform and inspire us and provide a reliable homebase to return to when we need a little uplift.

Click here to check out all of the ServiceSpace offerings.

…..Image by Prawny from Pixabay 

What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment below.

Help us spread the message of kindness. If you know others who might appreciate these ideas, please share below.

We’re grateful that you are on this journey with us.

With love from our hearts to yours,

Pat and Larry

f kindness.