Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life PDF

Author: Karen Armstrong

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2010-12-28

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 0307595633

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One of the most original thinkers on the role of religion in the modern world—author of such acclaimed books as A History of God, Islam, and Buddha—now gives us an impassioned and practical book that can help us make the world a more compassionate place. Karen Armstrong believes that while compassion is intrinsic in all human beings, each of us needs to work diligently to cultivate and expand our capacity for compassion. Here, in this straightforward, thoughtful, and thought-provoking book, she sets out a program that can lead us toward a more compassionate life. The twelve steps Armstrong suggests begin with “Learn About Compassion” and close with “Love Your Enemies.” In between, she takes up “compassion for yourself,” mindfulness, suffering, sympathetic joy, the limits of our knowledge of others, and “concern for everybody.” She suggests concrete ways of enhancing our compassion and putting it into action in our everyday lives, and provides, as well, a reading list to encourage us to “hear one another’s narratives.” Throughout, Armstrong makes clear that a compassionate life is not a matter of only heart or mind but a deliberate and often life-altering commingling of the two.

The Compassionate Life

The Compassionate Life PDF

Author: Marc Barasch

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781576757567

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With a keen balance of hope and skepticism, Barasch sets out on a journey to the heart of compassion, discovering its power to change who we are and the society we have become. He describes encounters with empathetic apes, and with Buddhist monks whose brain scans prove the power of compassion; with a man who forgave his daughter's murderer; with teenage Palestinian and Israeli girls trying to wage peace; even with astronomers trying to send a missive to E.T. that we're not only clever, but kind.Barasch poses vital questions: What can we learn from exceptionally empathetic people? How do we open our hearts to those who do us harm? What if the great driving force of our evolution were actually "survival of the kindest?" Drawing on science and spirituality, history and popular culture, button-down business and a high sense of fun, he creates a smart, provocative argument that a simple shift in consciousness changes "pretty much everything."

The Compassionate Life

The Compassionate Life PDF

Author: Dalai Lama XIV Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2001-06-15

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 0861713788

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The Dalai Lamai offers teachings on the virtue of compassion, with advice on how to incorporate this important quality in daily life.

Simpler Living, Compassionate Life

Simpler Living, Compassionate Life PDF

Author: Michael Schut

Publisher: Church Publishing, Inc.

Published: 2009-07-01

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 0819227234

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A diverse compilation of essays that explore the complex idea of simplicity in our lives, community, and environment, and how buying less and decluttering creates an enriching and sustainable life. In a rare collection of voices, the authors of Simpler Living, Compassionate Life explore voluntary simplicity as a path to wholeness and abundance. Henri Nouwen, Cecile Andrews, Richard Foster, and 19 other writers encourage you to listen to your own story, and to respond to dialogue about the fundamental issues of life: time, money, food, spirituality, heritage, and community. A diversity of voices and a helpful study guide make this an effective tool for individuals and groups ready to consider alternatives to high-price, high-stress “good life”: the riches of simplicity and compassion. “Simpler Living, Compassionate Life is an excellent resource for anyone wishing to have a comprehensive overview of the myriad ways living more simply has positively affected our culture. It is a delightful and practical guide for creating simplicity in our own lives, our communities, and for the benefit of our culture.”—Elaine James, author of Simplify Your Life and Inner Simplicity

The Intelligent Heart

The Intelligent Heart PDF

Author: Dzigar Kongtrul

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2016-05-10

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0834840138

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Compassion arises naturally when one comes to perceive the lack of solid distinction between self and other. The Buddhist practice known as tonglen—in which one consciously exchanges self for other—is a skillful method for getting to that truthful perception. In this, his commentary on the renowned Tibetan lojong (mind training) text the Seven Points of Mind Training, Dzigar Kongtrul reveals tonglen to be the true heart and essence of all mind-training practices. He shows how to train the mind in a way that infuses every moment of life with uncontrived kindness toward all.

Mindfulness for Compassionate Living

Mindfulness for Compassionate Living PDF

Author: Dr Patrizia Collard

Publisher: Hamlyn

Published: 2014-08-04

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0600627896

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Self-compassion is a life-changing way of thinking that is rooted in Mindfulness. By learning to have more loving kindness and forgiveness for ourselves, we have more empathy and compassion for others. The self-compassion movement has been growing rapidly over the past two years with recent research into the neuroscience of compassion showing that changing our thinking habits makes new neural pathways in the brain - and that compassion can be learned. The benefits of this practice are personal and global, from learning to manage chronic pain to relieving stress, boosting the immune system and circulation, along with improving relationships as we connect more authentically with others.

First Invite Love In

First Invite Love In PDF

Author: Tana Pesso

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2010-03-10

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 0861719417

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A Spirituality & Practice "Best Spiritual Books of 2010" winner. First Invite Love In is a beautiful collection of exercises inspired by the ancient meditative arts of Tibetan Buddhism. Tana Pesso and the Penor Rinpoche work together to create a guidebook for anyone who would like to live more compassionately, wisely, and with an open and inviting heart. Moment by moment, thought by thought, step by step we can transform our minds through time-tested compassion practices, and ultimately create a garden of delight out of any life history or current circumstance, regardless of how traumatic or difficult. There are countless examples of people from all spiritual paths, faiths, and religions who have experienced terrible hardships or even themselves created hardships and suffering for others, who have turned their minds towards love and compassion and found peace and happiness.

Compassionate Woman

Compassionate Woman PDF

Author: John E. Kolstoe

Publisher: Baha'i Publishing

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781931847858

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A captivating biography of Patricia Locke, of Lakota and Chippewa heritage, who was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, and dedicated her life to bringing Native Americans both academic and spiritual opportunities. Active in government policies and procedure as well as education codes for Indian tribes, she is admired for her work to save tribal languages that were growing extinct throughout the United States.

Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion

Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion PDF

Author: Robert Firestone

Publisher: Amer Psychological Assn

Published: 2003-01-01

Total Pages: 461

ISBN-13: 9781591470205

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Clinical psychologists identify and describe the defensive process that constrains people from making positive changes in their lives. They summarize the insights they gained while developing a more decent and respectful way of living as a response to the destructiveness of society.

Seeking the Compassionate Life

Seeking the Compassionate Life PDF

Author: Carl Goldberg

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2004-06-30

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 0313057834

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Morality is a subject most ignored and little understood by modern psychological investigation. Why a person acts honorably, or heinously, is one of the most puzzling and least answered questions regarding human behavior. Here the authors posit that despite the fact that hatred and arrogance continually battle compassion and decency as humanity's driving force, people continue to develop altruism, empathy, and concern for others. Goldberg and Crespo demonstrate seven factors crucial to achieving a compassionate life. Goldberg and Crespo take us inside their treatment rooms, through history, across cultures and into their own personal worlds-at-large to meet clients and acquaintances including a would-be rapist, a virtuous stalker, an adulterous minister, and a young boy with little more than a matchbook and some pride to call his own. Together, the stories of these clients and historical figures including Nazis at Nuremberg reflect a vital theme: Virtuous behavior should not be a mystery. Morality is a subject most ignored and little understood by modern psychological investigation. Why a person acts honorably or heinously is one of the most puzzling and least answered questions regarding human behavior. The authors demonstrate that although within every human breast hatred and arrogance battle compassion and decency as a driving force, people do indeed develop altruism, empathy, and concern for others. Goldberg and Crespo outline seven crucial factors in the achievement of a compassionate life. This book addresses two audiences. First, it questions modern psychological scientists who have ignored the importance of compassion, virtue, and morality, focusing instead on contrived experimental situations rather than pursuing investigations in—as part of—the actual world in which we live. Yet it is also written for all people concerned with the moral crisis in comtemporary society, and all people seeking personal and social solutions to deal with this crisis.