Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life PDF Author: Karen Armstrong
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0307595633
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
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.

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life PDF Author: Karen Armstrong
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0307595633
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Get Book

Book Description
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
ISBN: 9781576757567
Category : Career development
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
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
ISBN: 0861713788
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
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.
ISBN: 0819227234
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
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
ISBN: 0834840138
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
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.

First Invite Love In

First Invite Love In PDF Author: Tana Pesso
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0861719417
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
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.

The Seed of Compassion

The Seed of Compassion PDF Author: His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0525555161
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description
For the first time ever, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate His Holiness the Dalai Lama addresses children directly, sharing lessons of peace and compassion, told through stories of his own childhood. One of today's most inspiring world leaders was once an ordinary child named Lhamo Thondup. In a small village in Tibet, his mother was his first great teacher of compassion. In everyday moments from his childhood, young readers begin to see that important lessons are all around us, and that they, too, can grow to truly understand them. With simple, powerful text, the Dalai Lama shares the universalist teachings of treating one another with compassion, which Bao Luu illustrates beautifully in vibrant color. In an increasingly confusing world, The Seed of Compassion offers guidance and encouragement on how we all might bring more kindness to it.

Mindfulness for Compassionate Living

Mindfulness for Compassionate Living PDF Author: Dr Patrizia Collard
Publisher: Hamlyn
ISBN: 0600627896
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
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.

The Compassionate Mind

The Compassionate Mind PDF Author: Paul Gilbert
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
ISBN: 1572248408
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 546

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Book Description
Leading depression authority Paul Gilbert presents The Compassionate Mind, a breakthrough book integrating evolutionary psychology, new insights from neuroscience, and mindfulness practice. This combination of techniques forms a new therapy called compassion focused therapy that can enhance readers' lives.

Seeking the Compassionate Life

Seeking the Compassionate Life PDF Author: Carl Goldberg
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313057834
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
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.