Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) Aug/Sept 2017 Aspire Mag Full Issue | Page 65
10 Healthy Reasons to
Practice Compassion:
1 I t makes us feel good (e.g., helping
someone in need) it activates the
pleasure circuits in our brain.
2 It makes us less prone to heart
disease.
3 It lowers stress hormones.
4 Brain scans done during loving-
kindness meditation show that the
mind wanders less and as a result we
feel happier.
5 It makes us more caring parents.
6 It makes us better partners.
7 It makes us better friends.
8 Employees who are treated with
kindness and consideration at work see
their workplace, fellow employees and
the organization itself in a better light.
9 Being kind to one person makes us
less angry with another, the feeling
expands.
10
olding back on feelings of
H
compassion hurts our self-esteem and
undermines our morality.
Kuan Yin is known as the Goddess of
Infinite Compassion and Mercy, she is like
the Mother Mary of the East. Her name in
Chinese means “the one who hears the
cries of the world.” She is often depicted
holding a vase which is pouring the nectar
of wisdom and compassion onto the world.
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We need to feed a loving voice in ourselves:
compassionate, aware, kind and patient.
As we start being nicer to ourselves,
more accepting of our shortcomings and
exercising patience, this feeling of openness
and understanding ripples out to the world
around us. After all, compassion is not only
heroic deeds, but small unseen and often
unthanked kindnesses done by any one
of us, those apparently small effects do
resonate out in the world.