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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 |
