How to Meditate: Reflect on Margaret Meade for Compassion

Cultural anthropologist and writer Margaret Meade once wrote the oft-quoted line, "Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only  thing that ever has." When we meditate on compassion and on how we, in our smallness, can make a difference in the world, let's embrace Meade's view of what a "small group of committed people..." can do to change our world. When we begin to practice meditation, we can find ourselves caught up in our claustrophobic sense of self, lacking compassion for ourselves as well as for others. [...]

2014-08-25T17:41:21-06:00By |Compassion, Meditation|0 Comments
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How Do I Meditate? Use Compassion…For Yourself!

HOW DOES COMPASSION HELP YOU TO MEDITATE? Good question... Let's start this post with the wisdom of a wonderful writer, James Finley. I've used this quote in other posts and keep coming back to it because...it's so good! Our feelings of impatience and frustration with ourselves in meditation are certainly understandable, especially when they persist in spite of our best efforts to overcome them. But as we sit in meditation we can begin to recognize the subtle violence inherent in our impatience with ourselves. As our awareness and understanding of our limitations in meditation continue to deepen, we begin to [...]

2014-08-25T17:42:26-06:00By |Compassion, Meditation|2 Comments
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Meditate on the Compassion of…Martin Luther King’s Dream!

Today, in celebration of the anniversary of the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King (his birthday was actually January 15th), I'd like to post a full transcript of his famous speech, known as the "I Have a Dream Speech." Its words are so moving and to me, celebrate the compassion that we often speak on on this site. On this site, I occasionally I like to highlight works of "compassion in action." I can think of no person more deserving of such recognition as Dr. King. In memory of all that Dr. King did to bring our country to the [...]

2014-08-25T17:43:20-06:00By |Compassion, Meditation|0 Comments
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Compassion in Action: Teen Nick Halo Awards Score!

This blog is devoted to the discussion of compassion as it relates to meditation. However, as has been the case in the past, there are times when acts of compassion or organizations dedicated to the promotion of compassionate action warrant inclusion within this site. Last night while trying to find a soccer game on television, I stumbled upon the 2011 Teen Nick Halo Awards. What? That's what I said. Some of you may know what this is, which puts you (at least) a step ahead of me. The Teen Nick Halo Awards is a yearly program that honors teens and [...]

2011-11-09T12:34:15-07:00By |Compassion|0 Comments
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Politics Getting to You? Meditate on Compassion – Four Steps…

Can meditation on compassion change the way that we view politics? Regardless of our political inclinations or leanings, we are all subject to the political fracas that erupts years before Presidential elections, and that is almost ongoing in the general and special elections within the local political arena. Do you ever get the impression that many of these politicians, regardless of their party, don't have any idea of how badly we all want things to change for the benefit of everyone? For instance, I don't think that any of us want Medicare to disappear, leaving the elderly in dire straits. [...]

2014-08-25T17:45:31-06:00By |Compassion, Meditation|1 Comment
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How to Overcome Distraction While Practicing Compassionate Meditation

Recently, while doing a meditation practice based on compassion, I found - much to my dismay - that my focus was anywhere but on my practice. What made it even worse (and even embarrassing) was that I was doing the practice for a friend of mine who had experienced a significant medical emergency. In a previous post in this site, Forget About Yourself, Meditate for the Sake of Others!, we discussed using our meditation as an opportunity to meditate for the benefit of others. But, what about when we are meditating for the benefit of others and can't even bring [...]

2014-08-25T17:46:09-06:00By |Compassion, Meditation|4 Comments
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How’s Your Good Heart? Meditating on the Moment with Compassion

There's an expression that's used in Tibet when one meets a peer or friend, one says, "How's your good heart?" The notion that one addresses the "good heart" of another is inspiring. Instead of asking how one is "doing," one addresses how the other is "being." Inherent within this greeting is the acknowledgment that another has within themselves a good heart, a heart of compassion. Compassion as it relates to meditation has been the focus of previous posts on this site (see below, Related Posts). Within many contemplative traditions, the distinction between, or the separation of meditation and compassion doesn't [...]

2015-02-26T16:34:40-07:00By |Compassion|2 Comments
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Forget About Yourself, Meditate for the Sake of Others!

While there are many reasons to practice meditation, one of the main reasons that I have found to practice meditation is to be less distracted and more present, to be more aware of what is going on within my mind and to be more aware of those around me. With an increased awareness of what goes on in my environment, there's also the potential to become more aware of what is happening to those around me and to attend to those who need my help or assistance. This "compassionate impulse" is a benefit that is not always found in discussions [...]

2014-08-25T17:47:42-06:00By |Compassion, Meditation|2 Comments
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