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Compassion-empathy-listening

Updated: Dec 23, 2018



Compassion and empathy are essentially different emotions. Exposure to the suffering of the other leads to reactions of empathy and compassion.

Scientists have found that empathy evokes different neural circuits than compassion. Compared with compassion whose influence is positive, empathy with over-involvement can have a negative effect.

An empathic response is participation in the feeling of the other, while connecting with the other in first position.

Despite the important contribution of empathy to understanding and sharing the feelings of the other, there is a danger of identification that can increase personal distress, negative feelings and avoidance reaction.

Only when we do not mix with the other can we really help him.

If one is in a place of compassion, the negative side of empathy is avoided.

Compassion, whose main purpose is to benefit the other, raises positive feelings in the other and elevates the help behaviors in order to reduce and assist the other person's suffering.

Brain science studies have found that compassion is based on a neural network different from the neural network of empathy.

Compassion includes empathy to the extent desired, and both need listening and breathing exercises to develop.

Buddhism has methods for developing compassion.

As we learn to be compassionate, empathetic, listening, so we fill with love, joy and are able to help ourselves and those around us.

When I heard other people's suffering stories over the years, I tried to give advice and solve the problems of the sufferer as quickly as possible.

This film helped me to be more attentive, to give advice only when I was asked to, and so I discovered empathy.

With time the need arose for compassion, and I understood that it was the one that could protect me from the dangers of empathy.



The way to reach compassion is through listening exercises, breathing and self-pity.

The ability to listen is not self-evident. Usually we have the natural tendency to throw things that about ourselves, and immediately respond with a personal story.

The first step in listening is to learn self-listening.

Yemima taught me self-listening, being attentive to my heart:

"You have to be attentive to your heart, to get closer to yourself, to listen from a clean, good heart and to expand the good.

Attention, listening is energy. The heart is the center, the axis that activates everything, all the information, and feeds everything around, the axis, when there is a center it does not need anything around. A part that returns to its place - does not need others, it simply exists on its own. A person who spreads too many words is missing something, if everything is clear to me then there are no words, I just am.

We exist in space, with ease, no explanation is required.

The silence is focused, but if we fight then there is no answer, because it's like a contraction, the opposite of relaxation.

When we are accurate, we have the courage to see our limitations.

Our limiting behavior rises to consciousness, to be released, if we are constructive, we release, if not it stays, but it is good that it rose and then can be cleaned, we need to learn to exist in healthy constructiveness.

When we reach self-awareness, in harmony with ourselves and our breathing, we reach self-pity, self-forgiveness, self-love.

We love ourselves and we have a place to send love to another. Thus, we are protected by love, it is a safe place to be empathic in it.

What we send, returns back to us, the Law of Attraction.



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