Compassion Vs Empathy Brain Training And Science

Learn the science behind Compassion versus Empathy training in the brain and the neural networks of each. Learn why compassion never tires and how to practise compassion to overcome fatigue, pain, empathetic distress.

Transcript

Today we're looking at a meditation,

Compassion versus empathy,

And the different experiences in the brain between the two.

When we move towards compassion,

Certain regions of the brain that are usually stimulated by positive emotions are activated.

And more activated than when you remain in a state of empathy towards another.

What we know about empathy is that when we're faced with another's suffering,

It can be correlated with negative feelings,

Pain,

Distress,

Anxiety,

Discouragement.

And the neural signature of empathy is similar to that of negative emotions.

So generally we know that the neural networks involved in empathy for another's pain,

The anterior insula and the cingulate cortex are also activated when we ourselves feel pain.

So instead we choose compassion.

It's a really constructive mental and heart state.

It's courageous,

It's motherly love,

It's altruistic love,

It's determination to find a way to help.

And it isn't the negative mental states that can be correlated with empathy that can engender distress,

Aversion,

Discouragement and avoidance.

So I want you to now move into your heart space and develop that sense of resilience in the heart space,

Concentrating on the effulgent,

Everlasting light of your heart.

Resilience is the ability to overcome traumatic and challenging situations by summoning your inner resources so we concentrate on the light of our heart.

Concentrate on the light of your heart.

And we overcome any initial feelings of distress and substitute it for active benevolence for ourselves and others.

We really use this to help control our emotional experience and not enter into suffering when we are working with others suffering and not to see suffering everywhere,

Acknowledge suffering but also acknowledge that we have the ability to transform our own suffering and assist others.

As Thich Nhat Hanh would say,

No mud,

No lotus.

We understand our suffering,

We acknowledge that we have suffering and we wish to transform the suffering of others by being a benevolent,

Compassionate being and really resting in our heart space knowing that it is resilient and we can open it with freedom,

Love,

Courage.

As we move into this state of deep compassion,

Continue to open the heart space engendering the state of compassion,

Exploring the electromagnetic field of the heart as you engender this compassion increasing the gamma wave brain activity which is associated with feelings of blessings in monks and nuns and is seen very regularly in highly advanced meditators,

The gamma wave frequency increasing as we practice compassion meditation.

This should be an almost enlightening transcendental experience,

Keep opening the heart space,

Opening the heart space,

Really engendering compassion towards self and towards a significant other.

This will also increase the activity in the cerebral areas involved in maternal love,

Altruistic love and feelings of affiliation.

This is the medial insula and not the anterior insula as in pain.

When you observe your significant other acknowledge that they suffer and instead of them entering into suffering to see them suffering see if you can enter into the state of compassion over empathy,

Compassion over empathy.

And by feeling compassion you can train and acquire these states of mind.

So you won't increase your distress as you work with the suffering of others.

Expand the heart space even further and start to incorporate into your awareness a difficult person and just acknowledging their suffering and if you wish you could even breathe in their suffering and transform it within yourself and breathe out a sense of deep compassion and care for this being and their suffering.

Don't enter into the empathetic state with their distress just acknowledge they suffer and see if you have the potential and the ability to acknowledge their suffering you can breathe it in if that's not too overwhelming for you and then breathe out a sense of deep compassion.

If it engenders states of distress do not breathe their suffering in just sit there as a compassionate being and really breathe out deep compassion,

Deep love,

Deep altruistic care for this person who has caused you this perceived pain.

As you practice you really want to avoid increasing your own suffering so remember to try and control your emotions and keep it as positive and as compassionate as possible.

Understanding that we all suffer but we have the potential to transform our suffering and our states of mind.

So remember you're increasing the neural networks of feelings of affiliation and compassion.

This is not the case when we meditated just with them when you meditate just with empathy which tends to activate a sense of pain or distress.

The neural networks involved in empathy for another's pain are activated when we ourselves feel pain.

Please now acknowledge that all beings suffer from time to time and we wish to try and transform the suffering of all beings by being the most compassionate being available possible.

And we do this through mind and heart training.

Continue to breathe in and out of the heart and just acknowledging that the planet and beings on the planet suffer.

Being calm and compassionate towards this suffering and really work now to elicit deep compassion for life and all beings on the planet itself.

Cultivating deep benevolence for life.

Deep compassion and altruistic love.

We want to reinforce our strength of heart.

The everlasting light of our heart.

Our inner balance and our courageous loving determination to help those who suffer.

Love and compassion do not get exhausted like empathy does.

Doesn't make us weary or worn out.

On the contrary it helps us to surmount fatigue and rectify it when it occurs.

So when we begin to reflect on the sufferings that affect and afflict living beings and the causes of these sufferings.

We engender a deep state of compassion and profound aspiration to remedy these sufferings.

This is the work of the Bodhisattva.

The determination is to put everything into our heart and our being to relieve them.

So we reflect on the profound causes of suffering now.

Ignorance which just sorts one's perception of reality.

The mental poisons,

Hatred,

Attachment,

Desire,

Jealousy which constantly engender more suffering.

The process then leads to an increased readiness and desire to act for the good of others.

So upon reflection now.

See if there's a readiness and desire to act for the good of others.

Come back now to the person who is close to you.

Someone who you feel limitless kindness towards.

Then extend this kindness,

This limitless kindness,

Compassion or altruistic love to a difficult person.

See if it's easier this time.

Then send it to all beings everywhere,

All sentient beings.

Extending this same kindness to all beings like a sun shining that illuminates without distinction,

Everything in your path.

Eliminating everything without distinction in your path.

Then when altruistic love encounters suffering,

It manifests as compassion with training.

This transformation is indeed triggered by empathy which alerts us to the fact that there is another one,

Another being,

Another person suffering.

What we know is that when altruistic love passes through the prism of empathy it becomes compassion.

When altruistic love passes through the prism of empathy it becomes compassion.

May your whole being be filled with the deepest compassion.

May your whole life be truly blessed with compassion and may you help everyone who comes into your path with your compassionate being,

Your compassionate heart.

Come back into the heart space,

Seal your field of energy with awareness and present moment breathing into the heart space.

May you be happy,

May you be healthy,

May you be filled with deep compassion and may you be at peace.

I wish you well.

Reviews

Excellent. I never realised it was empathy that was draining and not compassion. Thank you.

Hi Celia.
Useful and practical and effective🤍
Thank you.
🌀
Orly
Israel

Wow, thank you for this powerful meditation. Much Gratitude and love

I love these ... so wonderful.. thank you so much..

Really thought provoking, I hope all empath's get to work with this to understand they can move through the pain of others to a more beautiful state. Thank you.

I heard a thing... Its not necessary to set yourself on fire, to keep others warm. Practicing compassionate empathy, to a point, feels right. Namaste.

Wow! Amazing - it really clarified my loving kindness meditation! Excellent!

I love when I find meditations that actually help me to understand what’s happening inside of me❤️ Thank you for assisting me on my path to understanding the difference between empathy and compassion. I now have clarity around my healing desires to serve others and why I developed pain when I enter in to “too much” empathy. I shall listen again and remind myself to find compassion

That was truly helpful. Thank you!

Thank you for sharing this message. I will be doing a workshop tomorrow for people working in addiction treatment and dealing with multiple overdose deaths. The distinction between empathy and compassion is piece that I will be focusing on. Learning and exercising compassion, going beyond empathy I believe will help them to continue their work.

Illustrative and positive

As a member of the helping professions, I found this fascinating and full of useful insight.

Interesting, inspiring and lovely

Good teachings! I was a bit distracted by the bumping noises in the background though.

Very timely, very helpful & challenging as well (compassion vs empathy). I will practice this again🙏

Wonderful! A very needed perspective shift as very strong empathy has always been very draining for me. Thank you very much!!

This was so helpful to me during difficult circumstances. Thank you so much. 🙏💗

This is such a powerful, wise and restorative practice!! I love it! It clearly took me in a generous and loving path that I value and will cultivate. I am very grateful for this wonderful gift! Namaste 🙏🏻

Such a powerful meditation...thank you so much