The Compassion Initiative: Just Two Guys in Brisbane talking Compassion. www.thecompassioninitiative.com.au

Loving kindness for others meditation with music. Spoken word by Stan Steindl, classical guitar accompaniment by Anthony Garcia. Performed as part of Convergence: The Science, Art and Spirit of Compassion. Approximately 18 minutes.

Affectionate breathing with music. Spoken word by Stan Steindl, classical guitar accompaniment by Anthony Garcia. Performed as part of Convergence: The Science, Art and Spirit of Compassion. Approximately 18 minutes.

In this episode of the Compassion Initiative Podcast, James and Stan speak with Professor Paul Gilbert about compassion as a motivation, the nature of suffering, and compassion as a powerful response. As Professor Gilbert says, compassion involves finding "the wise way of engaging with the inevitable suffering of life."

Me at my own door by The Compassion Initiative: Dr Stan Steindl and Dr James Kirby

In this podcast, James and Stan discuss (among other things) their recent experience with running compassionate mind training groups, especially working with participants around the role of the compassionate self in helping them to differentiate, integrate and transform multiple selves and old patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

This is a song for my father, my son and me. It's about the way early experiences of warmth, safeness, validation, reassurance and encouragement can last a lifetime. I am very lucky to have had these experiences!

Here, James speaks with Dr Nico Petrocchi, reviewing Day 1 of the 2018 Compassionate Mind Foundation international conference.

A song inspired by Dr Deborah Lee and her wonderful recent visit to Brisbane, Australia, to present on compassionate resilience. One of her catch cries: a calm mind thinks differently. Thanks Deborah!

On Fathers' Day I went to the Wynnum Jazz Festival and felt somewhat inspired. I went home and pulled together some of my #presentmomentawareness tweets, and wrote and recorded this song. It is very rough around the edges, a few glitches, bits out of time, not professionally mixed, and the singing's not great, BUT have a listen and let me know what you think.

In today's class we discussed fears of compassion and whether you can have compassion without mindfulness.