Compassion Archives - Minding The Bedside

Our Meditative Mind Reminds Us of Compassion While Minding the Bedside

How can we call remaining in the present “meditation?” Is meditation merely a state of non-distraction? When do you find yourself most present? Most distracted? Whether distracted or present, each moment is an opportunity, an invitation, to meditate. Many people assume that we mediate by finding a cushion or quiet place and then sit, motionless, in a state of calm bliss. But, every moment that we’re awake can also be a moment when we’re aware. Each Moment is an Invitation to Practice Each moment that we’re present, whether with our family, friends, or those we care for, is a moment [...]

2019-02-26T11:58:19-07:00By Jerome Stone|Compassion, Nursing|1 Comment

Losing Compassion at the Bedside? Five Instant Tips….

COMPASSION ISN'T OUTSIDE OF YOU Compassion isn't something foreign to our minds and our hearts. It isn't something "out there" that we have to get or acquire. And, it isn't something that we need to learn (although we may need to remember it at times). Granted, there are times when we feel that to find even the smallest compassionate impulse for certain patients requires of us the most Herculean effort. There are also times when, either due to the amount of stress that we're experiencing, or the number of patients we're dealing with, it doesn't feel like there's "...enough to go [...]

2019-01-17T14:22:08-07:00By Jerome Stone|Compassion, Nursing|7 Comments

What Is Compassion and How to Integrate it Into Your Daily Life

When I write that we need to practice compassion in our daily lives, you may wonder how exactly to do this. After all, you're probably a pretty compassionate person, so is there a need to do anymore than to simply be who you are? Read on...

2015-03-09T16:29:05-06:00By Jerome Stone|Compassion, Meditation|0 Comments

Do Politicians Deserve Compassion? Meditate on This…

How do we meditate on compassion for politicians when we’re completely fed up with politics as usual, or when our preferred party doesn’t seem to be getting it right (or maybe our least preferred party seems to be getting it “wrong!”) Try these four steps:

2014-08-25T17:35:10-06:00By Jerome Stone|Compassion, Meditation|2 Comments

On Meditation and Compassion: Is it Only a Dream…That There’ll Be No More Turning Away….?

What Stops You in Your Tracks? I've always been a sucker for guitar solos, especially ones that invoke a strong emotion of sadness or intensity. For me, when the message of the music hits the heart of the lyrics, it brings me to a state of stillness or reflection...similar to meditation. When I think of something that can stop me in my tracks, something that causes me to catch a glimpse of something beyond myself, music stands out clearly in my mind. What about you? James Joyce used the phrase of "aesthetic arrest" to describe a state where [...]

2015-02-03T13:13:10-07:00By Jerome Stone|Compassion|2 Comments

What is Meditation? What is Compassion?

Meditation is the practice or the art of non-distraction and compassion (in meditation) is the art of being compassionate for ourselves when we are distracted.

2015-03-25T15:10:50-06:00By Jerome Stone|Compassion|3 Comments

Meditation and Compassion, Part 4: Meditating on Suicide

(Photo courtesy of Audrey Nadia Rubenstein) At first I felt as though my heart had been ripped open. Then my mind went into a state of disbelief and confusion. I felt a sort of numbness and despair. Finally, my heart and mind came to rest in a state of meditation and compassion… and I didn’t even know her. I just learned of the suicide of a brilliant young woman, Sharoni Stern Siegel, a local artist who was beloved by those who knew her and had shared in her art and her passion for life. Her Facebook page has [...]

2014-08-25T17:37:54-06:00By Jerome Stone|Compassion, Meditation|6 Comments

Meditation and Compassion, Part 3: Open Your Mind, Open Your Heart

In the past two weeks, we've talked a lot about meditation and compassion, and how the meditative mind opens up the heart of compassion. This week we'll continue on this topic by reflecting on a comment made by Sogyal Rinpoche, meditation master and author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. In a teaching that Sogyal Rinpoche presented on July 6, 1999, at the retreat center in Lerab Ling, France, he stated that, "...without an open heart, the practice of your mind [meditation] won't work...The true nature of your mind is wisdom and compassion..." I had to think about [...]

2015-01-28T19:03:10-07:00By Jerome Stone|Compassion, Meditation|1 Comment

Meditation and Compassion, Part 2: Get Real!

In last week's post, Meditation and Compassion, Part I: The Man in the Mirror, we discussed the need to examine ourselves and the nature of who we call the "self" as a means to entering into an understanding of the relationship between meditation and compassion. This week we'll continue with that theme and "get real" with ourselves as a means to engaging in our most compassionate nature. What does "getting real" mean to you? Does it mean getting honest? I know that sometimes when someone says "get real," I think of honesty...to the point of being "brutally" honest. But, what [...]

2014-08-25T17:39:58-06:00By Jerome Stone|Compassion, Meditation|1 Comment