7 POWERFUL BENEFITS OF COMPASSION
7 Powerful Benefits of Compassion

7 POWERFUL BENEFITS OF COMPASSION

INCLUDES GUIDED MEDITATION TO HELP DEVELOP COMPASSION

Compassion is what connects us as human beings. It’s what enables us to learn from situations and takes us on a journey to a place of hope for the future.

The other day I was talking to a beautiful lady who’d do anything for you. She mentioned that she had the hardest time doing any type of work that involved showing love and compassion to herself.

Looking at the old adage “As above, so below. As within, so without” – how can we create a society, or a culture based on love and compassion, when we are incapable of showing love and compassion to ourselves?

Firstly, let’s get really clear on what compassion is and then we’ll delve into the why and the how.

According to the Cambridge dictionary, compassion can be defined as: “A strong feeling of sympathy and sadness for the suffering or bad luck of others and a wish to help them.”

But compassion is not necessarily an automatic response to seeing someone in pain or suffering in some way.  It is a response that occurs mainly when the situation is perceived as serious, or unjust and most importantly, it has to be relatable to us on an individual level.

I have been through the experience of having lost an immediate member of my family.  My dad passed away and left a gaping hole in my life. So, I find it easier to relate to other people who are going through, or have just gone through a similar situation.  

That is not to say you don’t feel sadness for people that are going through a different situation. I just don’t think you feel it as strongly as to when you can relate to it through self-experience.

Why be compassionate?

It’s simple- people need people.  It is through relationships that we learn more about ourselves, about the human race in general and most importantly, about happiness. We cannot do everything alone, and it’s through feeling compassion for others that we become inspired to help others. It is through a compassionate heart that we connect with others and develop lasting, meaningful relationships.

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”                                          -Dalai Lama

All of us want to feel happy, we all try on a subconscious level to stay away and avoid pain or suffering.  It is a natural instinct we are all born with.  Every action we take is based on the thought of how much pain we will avoid and how much happiness we will experience.  This can lead to a selfish attitude based around “I”, “me” but as we grow emotionally, mentally and spiritually, we find the need to look more at the “we” 

Here are 7 powerful benefits of compassion: 

  1. It opens your middle hara which helps you to connect to your true intention
  2. It helps you to become clearer on who you are as you discover the things you have in common with others.  You realise that, just like you, they experience suffering. You also become more aware of your strengths and weaknesses with acceptance and love, not judgement.
  3. Compassion increases your happiness, fulfilment, and wellbeing.  With your vibration set to a compassionate level, there is less space for negativity and the “I” factor.
  4. It enables you to become better connected to both yourself and others, improving your social, ecological, and spiritual relationships. 
  5. Studies show that compassion improves your health by strengthening your immune system. It also helps to normalise your blood pressure, lowers your stress and depression, and helps improves your physical recovery from illness. As you build a compassion-based vibration within your energy fields, your healthy (life giving) energy increases within your body. Within the Japanese Reiki system, this energy is called Genki.  And it is Genki that nourishes our organs, tissues and cells and keeps us alive and full of energy. When we have a lot of Genki, our physical health is high, we feel good about ourselves and others, we are confident and able to accomplish things easily, and we are less likely to get sick.  When you move out of a state of compassion, into one of selfishness, you deplete your Genki. and fall out of balance, allowing the formation of Byôki (unbalanced, stagnated energy) which can lead to dis-ease (illness).
  6. Compassion increases the possibilities for peace and reconciliation where there is conflict. Anger only exists in the body for 2 seconds as a chemical reaction.  Any anger after this is a choice you have made to keep feeling angry.  Anger held within the body only ends up creating imbalance and sickness within yourself.  It is better to let the anger go and focus on compassion in order to move forward.
  7. It is contagious and spreads outwards, inspiring others to greater acts of gentleness and kindness. Imagine you are a lighthouse, firm and steady, shining out your light of compassion.  Other “ships” or people in need of some love and compassion can see your steady light and be guided by it, ultimately becoming lighthouses themselves and shining their light out into the world.

HOW TO DEVELOP COMPASSION

To be compassionate we need to remove anger and hatred from our thoughts and our vocabulary.  Life happens, but we get so focused on what is happening around us, that we become distracted.  The distraction of our own emotions causes a kind of veiling that prevents us from observing ourselves carefully. We do not give ourselves enough time and space to use our innate wisdom to observe ourselves before we act.

According to the Dalai Lama: “The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes. Cultivating a close, warm-hearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. This helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the ultimate source of success in life.”

Practise time…

Start your day with intent and your day will flow in the way you desire it to.

My Perfect morning routine: 

  • Drink water – nourish your cells, flush out toxins accumulated overnight, balance your emotions.
  • Journal – write down your dreams, but for me most importantly, list 10 NEW things you are grateful for.
  • Practise compassion meditation (have meditation)
  • Exercise – I prefer to do Qigong in the morning to get my circulation moving, keep limber, stay healthy, and I also get to keep my meditative mindset going.
  • Eat a healthy breakfast – you are breaking the fast from the last meal (dinner), you need food that will nourish and feed you, it is the most important meal of the day.
  • Write a to-do list – not only does this avoid overwhelm, but you also get to tick things off the list which makes you feel super productive and inspired.

Remember:

Try to treat whoever you meet as an old friend. This gives you a genuine feeling of happiness.  It is the practice of compassion.

The one thing I always try and adhere to is:

“Before you speak, let the words pass through 3 gates:

  • Is it true?
  • Is it necessary?
  • Is it kind?

Meditation to help develop compassion

*please meditate responsibly

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