Today’s Troubled World Needs More Self Compassion and Compassion
This is an interactive activity on contemplation between your executive brain, your conscious mind, and your emotional brain areas.
Looking at the world today any aware person must admit the human race is in serious trouble. This reality impacts the developing, industrial, and post-industrial cultures of the world. Let’s list only 11 serious concerns about the state of the world and our own country.
My list will not be in any specific order of difficulty.
Here is the list of problems.
1) Rampant greed – more poverty, more hunger, even clean water financial speculation, and possibly more SES/class violence;
2) Extremely high levels of mental illness, especially depression, anxiety, substance misuse, trauma, eating disorders, etc.;
3) Dramatically increasing levels of childhood mental illness (for the USA) with earlier ages of onset;
4) Global climate change and its effects;
5) More self-centered, immediate gratification-based entitlement;
6) Greater narcissistic grasping, with extreme levels of inner insecurity and outer aggression;
7) Probable devaluation of the US dollar as the world’s currency standard (lots and lots of disruption with this one);
8) More terrorism and more HATE;
9) Increasing levels of digital, electronic addictions – with brain plasticity implications of “me first,” frustration intolerance, shorter attention span, a way to obtain one’s dopamine fix for the day;
10) For the USA and many other countries, generally ineffective federal governments; and,
11) Pessimism about the future, so more “me first,” I/me tendencies for material grasping.
Quite a serious list!
Some of these conditions may improve; we just have no idea which ones will become less severe. To help you deal with the “ups” and “downs” of all this trouble, I invite you to participate in a contemplation activity. This activity will use some of The Dalai Lama’s personal advice. After each recommended practice, I encourage you to contemplate your responses to the instructions.
If you modify unhelpful habits, be kind to yourself. It is difficult to change unhelpful habits to healthful habits.
Be gentle with yourself.
Brief Meditation/Yoga Practice on a Daily Basis – Please contemplate on three benefits you may obtain by following this recommended practice.
1)
2)
3)
Real World Regular Practices of Compassion, Self-Compassion and Kindness – Please contemplate on three benefits you may obtain by following this recommended practice.
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2)
3)
Improving Your Emotion Regulation By Practicing #1 and # 2 Above – Please contemplate on three benefits you may obtain by following this recommended practice.
1)
2)
3)
Practicing unconditional “love” (at least liking) of yourself on a regular basis – Please contemplate on three benefits you may obtain by following this recommended practice.
1)
2)
3)
Please read over your 12 expected benefits. :let’s hope you find them motivating.
For more information refer to: The Dalai Lama (2007). (Ed. C. Kelly-Gangi). The Dalai Lama: His Essential Wisdom. New York: Fall River Press, pp. 15-32.
By Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC
From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, Vermont
Author of Mindful Happiness
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