Into a Compassion Culture

Compassion is showing up in every facet of our lives: in families, with friends, at the office, in community.  It is a whisper in the breeze and on the tip of our tongue.  Do we superficially talk about being more compassionate, or do we create a culture of compassion?

In most circumstances, parts of any group culture are compassionate although we need to search for compassion components.  In an organization, there are policies and procedures in place that alleviate suffering.  These can be identified through level of trust, degree of resiliency, and depth of connection.

Values based upon compassion create a safe environment.  Within this space, trust is built.  Compassion creates an environment of an open heart and a listening ear.  We know that we can share our self and make suggestions without being judged.  Not only does a sense of team flourish, but we have also crafted a place of assured success.   We collaborate and cooperate as we create.

Trust forms connections that are relationship.  Relationship is the most important aspect of alleviating suffering.  We connect with others in ways that say, “you matter,” and  “I am listening.”  Trust guides us to knowing that even if the outcome isn’t what we expected or wanted, it will be the best outcome for all involved.

Relationships are sustained by both compassion and trust.  As individuals and groups, we have resiliency.  No longer inundated by the fatigue of suffering for we know that others are with us.  A culture of compassion provides us with tools to move through the dark angst of suffering and into the space of compassion given and received.

We grow connections, trust, and resiliency in families, organizations, friendships, and other groups by sharing compassion.  Try it.  Use these simple steps:

• Identify how a community or organization of which you are part, has compassion at its core
• For 21-days, within the culture of compassion, be a compassionate presence.  Find ways to expand the culture of compassion
• At the end of 21-days, let me know what you discovered and what changed

Practicing Compassion, Growing the Lived Experience,

Vanessa F. Hurst

Vanessa is an Intuitive, Community Builder, and Compassionista, and Author of Engaging Compassion Through Intent & Action

www.intentandaction.com

Just Words

When a recent meeting attendee told me she would be attending a peace protest, I found myself internally cringing as I thought, “How can a protest be peaceful?”  Using the RI² process (reflection, introspection, integration), I answered that question. 

What do you think about those words?  Try the RI² process learn how this phrase impacts the four aspects of the self — body, mind, spirit, and heart.

Reflection: Spend a few moments focusing on the in and out of your breath.  Silently say the word, “peace.”  Notice where you react in your body; what does peace feel like in your body? (Peace rests in my upper chest midway between my heart and throat.  As I focus on the words, I feel lighter.)

Return to your breath.  Say the word “protest.”  Notice your body’s reaction to that word.  Is there a particular place in your body where protest is triggering a sensation. (The word protest manifests as a heavy feeling in my armpits that travels down my body pushing and lodging into my pelvic area.)

Introspection:  Process the information that you discovered about the impact of the words on your body.  Ask yourself what additional information you need to understand how these words affect you in all aspects of your being.

Gaining additional information, I looked up the words in the dictionary.  Protest is dissent.  Peace is freedom from dissension.  The definitions provided additional support that uttering the words together creates a dissonance in the body.  Combined they cause a disruption in the connection between my body/mind/spirit/heart.  Those two words combined provided imbalance in my harmony.

Words matter not only to those who hear them to but also those who utter them.  They impact the four aspects of our self — body, mind, spirit, and heart.  Words are not benign.  The energy behind a word can uplift and balance or disrupt and sever the connections in our self and our connections with others.  A word is not just a word; it is a source of energy that can bring harmony or tumult in our life.

Wishing you harmonious word choices,

Vanessa

Vanessa is an Intuitive, Community Builder, and Compassionista, and Author of Engaging Compassion Through Intent & Action

www.intentandaction.com

Until the Water Clears

Mud, ooey, gooey stuff, is squishing between toes and splashing up legs.  Not one of my favorite feelings.  Mud is more than a nuisance; it plays a prominent role in many creation stories.  All forms of life came from mixing water with dust.  The Tao Te Ching encourages us to have patience; to wait until the mud settles and the water is clear.

When the mud of our life settles, we see clearly our life situation.  With clarity, we make better decisions. But, what about the mud that settles in the bottom of our cup?  What can we form by the muck?  How might we use the mud to create newness in our life? 

I have never been the most patient person.  Waiting for the water to clear is often a painful time of angst.  At times I leap only to discover that the mud has not yet settled.  Instead of creating, I’ve just stirred up the gunk.  No longer able to see the pathway to transformation, I perch on the rim of my cup as I wait for the sediment to settle.

At last!  Mud finally settles.  I peer deeply into my silence and listen to the whispers of intuition.  These whispers call me into transformation that requires me to be in the mud while partaking of the pure water.  The mud is no longer icky and ooey and gooey.  The exploration of the mud becomes a task of inspiration and creativity.

So, when I peer deeply into the contents in my cup,  I ask myself, “Is it time? Can I see clearly enough to form the mud into new life? And, how my guidance lead me clearly into creation?”

Wishing you much patience until the water clears,

Vanessa

Vanessa is an Intuitive, Community Builder, and Compassionista, and Author of Engaging Compassion Through Intent & Action

www.intentandaction.com

Your Life, Your Message

Nonviolence, the last of my 4nons, is perhaps the trickiest of all to navigate.  In the stance of the objective observer we notice when we are clinging to or pushing away from a person, an idea, or an thing. We identify our judgments and defensive posturing by listening to our internal monologue.  We curb our attachments, do not react judgmentally, and no longer defend our positions. But how objective are we about the subtle ways we react violently?

In practicing the first 3nons, we may say, “I no longer say nasty things; I do not act violently toward another.”  While we may not be overtly violent, our tendencies to hurt and harm may have burrowed deeply into who we are and manifest in ways we do not recognize as violent.   By listening to our internal monologue, we may discover a repeated script that has desensitized us to its our inherent violence. 

The violence in our words and actions begin as seeds of fear in our thoughts.  Telling our self that we are stupid or critiquing the actions of another or even saying that we are right or our way is the only way are all laced with violence.  Even if we never act upon our thoughts, we are fertilizing our violent tendencies. 

I continue to be amazed by the non-violent model of Mahatma Gandhi who reminded us, “We may never be strong enough to be entirely nonviolent in thought, word and deed. But we must keep nonviolence as our goal and make strong progress towards it.”   Re-scripting our internal monologue is the way of strong progress.

As I reflect upon this quote, I know that there is hope for me.  When I recognize the violence and rescript my thoughts and beliefs, I am a presence of peace instead a perpetrator of aggressive and passive violence.  Even if I am a presence of peace for only a moment, then that is enough.  Shifting my way of being in that moment creates  peace that moves from me spiraling into the world.

I may never be a nonviolent messenger like Gandhi, but I can be the nonviolent force that I am meant to be.  My life will be my message (Gandhi.)

Living the message while listening to the message of others,

Vanessa

Vanessa is an Intuitive, Community Builder, and Compassionista, and Author of Engaging Compassion Through Intent & Action

www.intentandaction.com