Imagine Compassion:: The Seven Compassions

By Kelly Wight, Kara Pandolph Munn and Jennifer Tissot

Imagine you can change the world one act of compassion at a time. Believe you can make a difference with kindness. Know this is why you were created. Compassion is the action we take in response to understanding our connectedness to all beings everywhere. The Seven Compassions articulate a path for living in tune with your truth and moving towards unity and peace. These seven practices build your capacity to experience happiness and well-being. Join us on this journey and be the light!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Aug 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504362856

Kelly Wight

Kara Pandolph Munn With the loving help of her husband, Kara is raising four children and various pets in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains. She has been teaching and learning with elementary students for 20 years. She is also a Reiki Master and enjoys sharing this gift with her with her family, friends and animals. She loves books, music, art, coffee and the sun. Jennifer Tissot, LCSW Jen is a clinically trained social worker. She has been working in therapeutic and educational settings with children and families for over 30 years. For the last 20 years, she has been working in elementary schools presenting whole class lessons on social and emotional skills. She is the author of several children's books. She is also a trained mindfulness teacher and practitioner. She has been on a spiritual path of self-discovery for most of her adult life, and many elements of her eclectic practice are woven into her work with others. She loves to dance with her family, ride bikes, paddle, play outside and travel. Kelly Wight Kelly is a special education specialist and school leader. She has been working in public education as a teacher, coordinator, administrator and school improvement specialist for over 30 years. As long as Kelly can remember, she has loved camping. been drawn to anything purple and found sunflowers irresistible. She cherishes traveling and adventures with her wife, especially ones that involve surf, sun and sand. Her tribe includes her beloved wife, children, grandchildren, fairy godchildren, siblings, in-laws, parents and dear friends. She is a creative and intuitive soul whose motto is Believe.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

Kara

In my dream, I enter a large conference room full of at least one hundred people. There is an exit on the opposite wall, and my intent is to go through these strangers and out the other door—just passing through, so to speak. As I enter, many of the people turn to look at me, so I smile and begin to walk through them. I am only able to take a couple of steps before someone grabs my leg. I look down to see a little girl looking up at me with a sweet smile. I don’t know her, and I am aware that she also doesn’t know me. She opens her mouth and says with certainty, I love you. All seem to wait now, to hear my response …

Dear Re

ader:

How are you? How are you finding your way? Not just through the day-to-day routines of life, but in the stillness of each moment? Or is it that your moments have no stillness? And what role does the rest of mankind play in your life story? Do you take the lead role? Or does someone else? When you look past your immediate human interactions, do you see an environment—work, home, community, world— you are happy with? Are you able to love yourself? Others? Is life happening to you or for you? You may have asked yourself some of these questions before, or perhaps you haven’t.

We at Imagine Compassion are committed to seeking our own answers to these questions through reading and research, study and discussion, attending and facilitating retreats, and through meditation and prayer. Our conclusion is this: love is the answer. Until love has prevailed and reached every corner of this earth, we must continue to teach and learn about love through the practice of compassion. The purpose of this book is to communicate a vision for a compassion-fueled life.

Learning and practicing compassion have become the focus of our lives and professional work. Individually and collectively, we have explored the beliefs and actions that have empowered us to experience the peace and joy we desire. We are a teacher, a social worker, and an educational leader. We share a deep desire to help ourselves and all with whom we come into contact to live authentic and full lives. It was this common thread that pulled the three of us together on this path and led to the work we are currently doing. As we articulated and identified that work, we knew we were meant to share it with others. We have had fascinating success using these principles in our work with children in the classroom as well as with adults. We continue to be amazed at the depth of understanding that even our youngest students have with these concepts.

The great feedback we have received from workshop and retreat participants has led us to the conclusion that this work should be available to anyone interested in a path that leads to a rich and inspired life of which compassion for self and others is the cornerstone and foundation.

But what is compassion, and why is it the answer? There are many different definitions for this word—some very deep, and some that only seem to scratch the surface of the meaning. Dictionary.com defines compassion as a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. Merriam-Webster.com defines it as a feeling of wanting to help someone who is sick, hungry, in trouble, etc. Google compassion and you will find sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others. We prefer this understanding of compassion as described by the Dalai Lama XIV: Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek. Thomas Merton explains, The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another. Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen Master, teaches, Compassion is a Verb. We, too, believe that compassion is more than emotion; it is the action we take in response to our understanding of our connectedness to all beings everywhere. For this reason, we have titled the practices we are sharing Compassions.

In essence, compassion

• is secular, and yet it is the foundation of all religious doctrine.

• can remain when sympathy and empathy do not.

• is within us all.

• is the necessary ingredient for recognition of and honoring our oneness.

• means loving ourselves completely and taking actions that seek to share that love with others.

• means wanting for others as much fullness, joy, abundance, and peace as we want for ourselves.

The Seven Compassions articulate a path for living in tune with your truth and moving toward unity and peace. These principles are embedded in the wisdom of the ages and are not our own concepts or ideas. What we have done is compile them in such a way that they are easy for anyone to understand and practice regardless of their values or beliefs. It is not affiliated with any religion and is appropriate for people of all ages.

We have identified seven practices that build capacity to experience happiness and well-being. We Imagine Compassion is possible when we all follow these Seven Compassions:

1. Be Here Now

2. Be Aware of Your Thoughts

3. Know Your Authentic Self

4. Strive for Balance

5. Practice Gratitude and Forgiveness

6. Let Go

7. Shine Your Light

In each of the following chapters, we will share our understanding, experience, and examples in our own words. Our hope is that one or all of our voices will resonate with you and help to illuminate your way on this journey. Following our individual writing about each, we’ve included a section called Compassion in Action with practice exercises. We have used all of these exercises in our retreats, workshops, with students, and in our own lives. They are a great jumping off point for putting the Seven Compassions into practice. Whether you choose to practice them all together, one at a time, or even just when needed, they have lasting benefits and can increase well-being in all areas of your life: mind, body, and spirit.

These practices will take you from a journey inward to outward action, and they build on one another. The order is purposeful when beginning to practice them. As you work through them, however, the linear process will fall away. A deeper understanding for each Compassion will allow you to move fluidly between them—any one of them helping you with practicing another—until, in your highest wisdom, they all eventually become one. This is compassion. This is love.

LOVE AND FEAR

Before we can explore the Seven Compassions, we need to introduce our foundational belief that everything we do is motivated either by love or fear.

Ask one hundred people to describe love, and you will likely get one hundred different responses. Some will speak of feelings and emotions or affection and connection. Others will reference the religious doctrine to love one another. Some will speak of its universality while others will talk of their difficulty attaining or maintaining it. Some say love is a noun, others, a verb. Many will reflect that we spend our whole life searching for it. If there is any consensus about love, perhaps it is this: love is complicated. Yet sometimes what seems complicated can really be quite simple, and this simplicity can be achieved once we realize we’ve been holding the answer all along. In fact, we are the answer.

Despite the differences in our values, beliefs, and perceptions, there exists one truth: we are made from, for, and of love. When our thoughts and actions come from love, we can be at peace with one another and ourselves. This love is infinite and always available to us. What is it then that causes love to feel out of our reach at times? How can it be that our very essence can feel so blocked and inaccessible?

It is fear that becomes a direct block to love. Fear can take many forms, including but not limited to, anger, hate, worry, anxiety, and resentment. Regardless of its manifestation, it is fear. Fear resides in our mind. We worry or stress about what might happen and become afraid of the possibilities. We are afraid of the unknown. We dwell on and replay the past and are afraid similar events will occur again and again. Fear is a reaction, a reactive state of being. Fear robs us of joy and happiness. When we are worried, distressed, preoccupied, and frustrated about the past or future, we are unable to enjoy the present moment—our lives.

When we are experiencing fear, we feel uncomfortable. This dissonance—this loss of the experience of well-being—serves an important purpose. It motivates us to move on and to not get stuck in fear. Fear can be productive when we use it as a teacher. We must come to recognize that the way we are is not how we want to be or feel. We dislike the negative