It is often the case that disasters like hurricanes, floods and earthquakes cause us to feel for another who might have lost their home or lives. It is natural for us to understand the suffering of another living being, to feel compassion when another human or animal is in pain, because most of us have felt pain ourselves from illness, injury and other tragedies.
When we feel empathy for another, we feel that person’s feelings intensely. But too much empathy causes us to take those feelings on as our own, causing confusion and misunderstandings.
Knowing how to maintain a core sense of presence and balance creates a foundation of strength to move from empathy to compassion, and at your finest, altruism, when you take action to help another without concern for yourself.
These qualities come from our sense of connection to one another, providing that inherent ability to identify with other people and respond with acts of kindness, bringing direct comfort in moments of need.
Self-compassion may seem like an opposite trait, but taking action to tend to the loving compassion you feel for yourself is part of cultivating a core sense of presence and balance. We all feel better when we’re around someone who, in a moment of crisis, emanates calm, competence and compassion.
Putting compassion into action involves taking care of yourself so that the energy you naturally resonate to the world around you feels nurtured, cared for, and loved.
Start with generating feelings of gratitude in the heart. Use Sacred Acoustics recordings to enhance those feelings, taking care, should any unexpected emotions arise, to be gentle with yourself and move at a comfortable pace for you. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
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Meditation can help us find moments of peace and offer a gentle reminder that we are not alone, even in our darkest times.
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Karen Newell
Author
co-founder of Sacred Acoustics and co-author of Living in a Mindful Universe