I was facilitating session 3 of the compassionate mind training course last week, and we were talking about the compassionate self taking compassionate action in response to suffering in others or ourselves.

I often speak about three key elements to consider: validation, reassurance and encouragement. But someone in the group mentioned the importance of affirmation, and self-affirmation, and I thought, “that’s brilliant!”

So, here are some thoughts and practical ways to explore and affirm strengths, in others and ourselves, as we cultivate compassion and self-compassion and work to alleviate and prevent suffering.

TARGETED PLAYLIST LINK:

Compassion in a T-Shirt

LINKS:

If you would like to know more about compassion, self-compassion and compassion focused therapy (CFT) please check out my booK The Gifts of Compassion at your favourite online bookstore:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Gifts-Compassion-understand-overcome-suffering/dp/1925644480

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compassion, self-compassion, affirmation, self-affirmation, strengths, confidence, validation, reassurance, encouragement

Last week I spoke about how enemies can be our best teachers of compassion…they give us the most trouble, and so if we truly wish to practice compassion, then they give us an important opportunity to do so.

But I was thinking, there are also enemies of compassion itself. Some of them are near enemies, wolves in sheep clothing, and some of them are far enemies, aspects to human nature that take us a long way away from compassion.

So here are the top five enemies of compassion, three near enemies and two far enemies.

In today’s video, I’ll explore how compassion might help with the day to day battles we find ourselves in with people who give us trouble, our so called enemies. In fact, we can think of it in this way. It’s not really those who we already like or love, and love quite easily, that help us to practice our compassion. Obviously, we want to be compassionate towards our friends and loved ones too, but to really deepen and embed a compassionate motivation, it’s the people who are difficult to like or difficult to love that offer us a chance to practice.

TARGETED PLAYLIST LINK:

Compassion in a T-Shirt

LINKS:

Dalai Lama's Blog

https://www.dalailama.com/messages/compassion-and-human-values/compassion

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

https://www.amazon.com.au/Meditations-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/0140449337

Apicella and Silk (2019). The evolution of human cooperation.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982219303343

Thich Nhat Hanh, Living Buddha, Living Christ.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Living-Buddha-Christ-10th-Anniversary/dp/159448239X

If you would like to know more, please check out my book, The Gifts of Compassion: https://www.amazon.com.au/Gifts-Compassion-understand-overcome-suffering/dp/1925644480

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YouTube Video URL: https://youtu.be/nxkCgWH3z8Y

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Note this description contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this video and support the channel at no cost to you. While this channel may earn minimal sums when the viewer uses the links, the viewer is in no way obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support!

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Compassion, Thich Nhat Hanh, Marcus Aurelius, Dalai Lama

Compassion is a good thing! But our compassion is not boundless. And it’s useful to be aware of this, reflect on it a little, and work out what might get in the way of our own compassion. Having boundaries makes complete sense. But our compassion can also be bounded by certain appraisals, judgements, biases that can often be brought to consciousness, examined, and softened or even discarded. So here are five ways our compassion is not boundless.

TARGETED PLAYLIST LINK:

Compassion in a T-Shirt

ARTICLES MENTIONED:

Goetz JL, Keltner D, Simon-Thomas E. Compassion: an evolutionary analysis and empirical review. Psychol Bull. 2010 May;136(3):351-74. doi: 10.1037/a0018807. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2864937/

Iconic photographs and the ebb and flow of empathic response to humanitarian disasters. Paul Slovic [email protected], Daniel Västfjäll, Arvid Erlandsson, and Robin Gregory (2017). https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1613977114

ALSO SEE:

Brene Brown Boundaries

https://youtu.be/-WpdsRPzKco

If you are interested in compassion or compassion focused therapy, check out The Gifts of Compassion from your favourite online bookstore, such as https://www.amazon.com.au/Gifts-Compassion-understand-overcome-suffering/dp/1925644480

Say hi on social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drstansteindl

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Website: https://www.stansteindl.com/

YouTube Video URL: https://youtu.be/tsolkmpo-Tg

*Affiliate Disclaimer:

Note this description contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this video and support the channel at no cost to you. While this channel may earn minimal sums when the viewer uses the links, the viewer is in no way obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support!

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compassion, self-compassion, evolution, boundaries

In this video, I experience the practice of therapeutic humour under the kind and wise guidance of Mallori DeSalle and Dr Lodge McCammon. They demonstrate some warm up exercises, therapeutic exercises, and we have a lot of laughs! It was also interesting to consider how therapeutic humour might relate to compassion and self-compassion, as well as in the practice of compassion focused therapy (CFT). Would love to hear your thoughts on how humour fits within the CFT framework!

Mallori DeSalle, MA, LMHC, NCC, CMHC, MATS, CPS, CHP

Therapist, Trainer, Humorist, Indiana University

Mallori DeSalle is a licensed mental health counselor, an internationally certified prevention specialist,motivational interviewing trainer and a certified humor professional. As a speaker and trainer, she has sparked curiosity in both the young and young-at-heart. Her passion for creating a lasting impact led her to the public health field and for the past 14 years she has worked at Prevention Insights, a center within the School of Public Health at Indiana University, Bloomington. Mallori works with people all over the world. She served on the Board of Directors for the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor and in 2021 became a TEDx speaker. Her credentials don’t impress her family, but occasionally her corny jokes do make them laugh.

Lodge McCammon, PhD

Humorist, Musician, Educator, Speaker

Dr. Lodge McCammon is a therapeutic humorist, instructional designer, author, musician, and international education consultant who provides professional services, including keynote speeches, workshops, curriculum development, and a variety of training programs. He works with school districts, universities, nonprofits, and businesses (e.g., Palm Beach Schools, University of the West Indies, Discovery Education, Microsoft, Amazon). Most recently, Lodge facilitated a month of therapeutic humor for the Nourished Teachers Community, which is a Facebook-funded initiative focused on helping educators cope with work stress and avoid burnout. He uses a program that he designed called “Laugh It Off!" to help his clients transform their daily frustrations into humor.

TARGETED PLAYLIST LINK:

Compassion in a T-Shirt

LINKS

malloridesalle.com

drlodgemccammon.com

If you are interested in compassion, check out Stan's book, The Gifts of Compassion, available at your favourite online bookstore, such as:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Gifts-Compassion-understand-overcome-suffering/dp/1925644480

Say hi on social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drstansteindl

Twitter: https://twitter.com/StanSteindl

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_stan_steindl/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stan-steindl-150a5264/

Website: https://www.stansteindl.com/

YouTube Video URL: https://youtu.be/7W_dyLKL3mk

*Affiliate Disclaimer:

Note this description contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this video and support the channel at no cost to you. While this channel may earn minimal sums when the viewer uses the links, the viewer is in no way obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support!

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Humour, humor, laughter, therapeutic humor, compassion, self-compassion, compassion focused therapy, compassionate mind training, CFT, CMT, self-criticism

Going Mainstream (or trying to): Assessing compassionate action in clinical practice as part of routine outcome measurement.

UQ CMRG One Day Symposium

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YouTube Video URL: https://youtu.be/BqfBwR4t3Wo

I’ve read, thought, talked, and written a lot about compassion, and so in this episode I wanted to give you 10 guiding principles for living a compassionate life, drawing not least on the work of Professor Paul Gilbert and compassion focused therapy!

If you are interested in compassion or compassion focused therapy, check out The Gifts of Compassion from your favourite online bookstore.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Gifts-Compassion-understand-overcome-suffering/dp/1925644480

Something you'd never guess about me is that I love the Greek tragedies! Agamemnon and his family, Hippolytus, Phaedra and Theseus, and, of course, Oedipus, his father and mother. And the main themes of the Greek tragedies? Love, loss, power, pride…and shame. Let's think about shame from the point of view of the Greek tragedies, and consider where compassion might fit in.

Over a year has past since the last TCI podcast, but James and Stan are back with a new episode, jamming about all things compassion: compassion research, compassion focused therapy, and upcoming compassion conferences, not least, the UQ Compassion Symposium. That's a lot of compassion! Let us know your thoughts!!

What is self-criticism? Well, it comes in different forms and has different functions. And perhaps there is an alternative approach. Find out more here!