Another take on the importance of empahy

This video expresses very nicely several ideas I've touched upon in many of my posts.  It also makes a perhaps optimistic but certainly heartening call for all of us to expand our notions of family and tribe.

As well, the video hints at raising the question, but then never quite gets there: are our political and economic systems fundamentally contrary to human nature?

Midfulness Meditation and Empathy

I’ve written previously (here and here) about the importance of spiritual education and practice in developing the human capacity for empathy.  A recent article suggests that mindfulness meditation practice may help cultivate this ability in a physiologically detectable way.

As in this press release from Massachusetts, General Hospital, an 8-week mindfulness program resulted in changes in particular regions of the brain associated with empathy.  Reading the full article (referenced below), it seems that the association of the areas of the brain studied with compassion is a little questionable, but the results are still very promising.

As I’ve written before, compassion is an innate human faculty, but like any other ability: mental, physical, or spiritual; it needs to be practiced, exercised, and cultivated.  Mindfulness meditation certainly isn’t the only way to do this, but it seems it may be an effective choice.

In the big picture, encouraging the practice of mindfulness could be a very important part of dealing with the social problems and the violence that we, all together, face today.

Hölzela, BK., Carmody, J., Vangel, M., Congleton, C., Yerramsetti, SM., Gard, T., & Lazar, SW. (2011) Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 191, 36-43