Contents: Mindful Compassion how the science of compassion can help you understand your emotions, live in the present, and connect deeply with others |
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Preface |
xi |
Acknowledgments |
xix |
Introduction |
1 |
Training the Mind |
2 |
Our Multiple Selves |
4 |
Understanding the Mind |
5 |
The Self We Might Choose |
6 |
The Importance of Wisdom |
7 |
The Lotus in the Mud |
8 |
Key Points |
9 |
Part I The Issues |
|
1 Waking Up |
13 |
The Four Noble Truths and Modern Psychology |
16 |
Emergence and Interconnectedness |
24 |
The Buddha's Story and Us |
28 |
Key Points |
30 |
2 Evolved Mind and Motivations |
33 |
Understanding Our Origins-The Flow of Life |
33 |
The Evolutionary Journey |
34 |
The Consequences of Evolution for Mindful Compassion |
36 |
Old and New Brains |
38 |
The Problems with Humans Getting Smart |
40 |
How the Brain Coordinates Itself |
45 |
Motives Coordinate the Mind |
46 |
Mind Full of Conflicts |
48 |
The Affliction of Self-Identity |
50 |
The Shamed Self |
52 |
The Compassionate Self and Its Benefits |
53 |
Bringing Our Story Together |
55 |
Key Points |
58 |
3 Emotional Systems |
59 |
Problems with Emotions |
60 |
Emotional Regulation Systems |
62 |
Threat and Self-Protection System |
64 |
Why the Threat System Gives Us a Hard Time |
69 |
Drive and Resource-Seeking System |
71 |
The Soothing/Affiliation System |
78 |
All Want Love and to Be Loving |
90 |
Key Points |
91 |
4 Emergence of Compassion |
93 |
What Is Compassion? |
95 |
Healing: Definition of Compassion |
97 |
The Attributes of Compassion: Engagement |
106 |
Bringing the Attributes Together and the Emergence of Compassion |
120 |
Skills of Compassion: Alleviation and Prevention |
121 |
The Two Psychologies of Compassion: Bringing Them Together |
128 |
Key Points |
130 |
5 The Challenge of Mindfulness Practice |
133 |
The Role of Mindfulness |
134 |
Problems That Can Arise with Mindfulness |
140 |
Mindfulness and Motives |
140 |
Key Points |
151 |
6 The Lotus in the Mud |
153 |
Understanding How Compassion Can Be Undermined |
155 |
Compromised Soothing/Affiliation System |
156 |
Misunderstandings About the Nature of Compassion |
157 |
Fears of and Resistances to Compassion |
157 |
Fear of Happiness |
160 |
Emotional Memory |
161 |
Affiliation and Emotional Memory |
162 |
Affiliation and Emotional Fusion |
164 |
Affiliation and Anger |
165 |
Affiliation and Slowing Down-In the Culture of Speeding Up |
166 |
Psychology of Avoidance |
168 |
The Story of Chenrezig |
168 |
Compassion as Ascent to the Angelic? |
171 |
Compassion as "Cleansing and Purifying" Inner Poisons |
172 |
The Real Story of Compassion-Descent |
174 |
Descent: Choden's Personal Journey |
176 |
Descent and the Emergence of Compassion: The Beginning of New Life |
178 |
Compassion and the Flow of Life |
180 |
Key Points |
181 |
Part II The Practices |
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Introduction: Compassionate Motivation |
183 |
Outline of Practice Chapters |
185 |
7 Mindfulness Practice |
187 |
Recognizing the Unsettled Mind |
187 |
Beginning to Work with Attention |
190 |
Slowing Down and Settling |
192 |
Opening Up to Our Senses |
196 |
Single-Focus Attention and Open-Field Awareness |
198 |
Grounding in the Body |
199 |
Body Scan |
200 |
Body Awareness and Compassion |
203 |
Sitting Practice |
205 |
Little and Often |
211 |
Conclusion |
211 |
Key Stages |
212 |
8 Working with Acceptance |
213 |
Habitual Reactions |
213 |
Familiarization and Cultivation |
214 |
Intention, Attention, and Acceptance |
216 |
Experiential Acceptance |
217 |
Two Psychologies of Compassion |
220 |
How Do We Practice Acceptance? |
221 |
Cultivating the Observer |
229 |
Key Points |
230 |
9 Building Compassionate Capacity |
233 |
Compassion as Flow |
234 |
Working with Imagery |
236 |
No Clear Pictures |
237 |
Safe Place |
238 |
Compassionate Color |
241 |
Compassionate Image |
242 |
Recognizing Our Wish for Happiness |
248 |
Key Points |
250 |
10 The Compassionate Self |
253 |
Cultivating Helpful Patterns |
253 |
Imagining Our Compassionate Self |
255 |
Method-Acting Techniques |
256 |
The Qualities of Our Compassionate Self |
257 |
Remembering Our Compassionate Self |
262 |
Doing the Work of Compassion |
263 |
Focusing Our Compassionate Self: Compassion for a Loved One |
264 |
Focusing Our Compassionate Self: Compassion for Oneself |
265 |
Self-Compassion Break |
268 |
Working with the Anxious Self |
268 |
Working with the Angry Self |
270 |
Working with the Critical Self |
272 |
Compassionate Behavior |
275 |
Key Points |
276 |
11 Widening Our Circle of Compassion |
277 |
Four Limitless Contemplations |
279 |
Practicing Compassion for Others |
281 |
Dissolving and Equalizing "On the Spot" |
289 |
Self-Preoccupation |
290 |
Tonglen: Taking and Sending |
291 |
Practicing Tonglen |
293 |
Tonglen on the Spot |
297 |
Conclusion |
298 |
Key Points |
299 |
Conclusion: The Compassionate Journey |
301 |
Find Out More |
305 |
Books |
305 |
CDs |
306 |
Websites |
307 |
Notes |
311 |