Compassion

Hierarchy, CSR, Compassion and Health

Written By Dr. Daniel Martin

• 10 Nov 2012
• • The Huffington Post
• 0 Comment

Every day we wake up and start making judgments. How does your preference for hierarchy impact those judgments? For example, public opinion polls find most people support equality but see income distribution as being unfair in society. At the same time they see our economic system to be highly fair and legitimate. Stereotypes seem to help justify inequality in social …

Compassion Behind Bars

Written By Dr. Emma Seppala

• 11 Sep 2012
• • The Huffington Post
• 1 Comment

A few weeks ago, an unprecedented letter arrived at our office at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University. Here is an excerpt: The purpose of the inmate’s letter was to request reading materials pertaining to research on meditation and the brain. His goal upon his release is to get a Ph.D. in psychology or …

Brooklynites, Bike Accidents and the Science of Compassion

Written By Dr. Cade McCall

• 23 Aug 2012
• • The Huffington Post
• 0 Comment

About 11 years ago I was hit by a car while bicycling through Brooklyn, N.Y. When I returned to consciousness I was lying in an intersection, blood streaming from a damaged hand, head, and knee. A small group of people had materialized out of the seemingly-empty street. They must have been walking past or eating in the nearby diner. Whatever …

5 Ways to Do Good and Feel Good — Fast, Free and From Your Desk

Written By Dr. Emma Seppala

• 06 Aug 2012
• • The Huffington Post
• 2 Comments

Science tells us compassion is good for our health, and we know that helping others makes us feel good, but sometimes it feels like there just aren’t enough hours in the day. There is so much to do, can I possibly find time to contribute? Yes! In minutes, at no or low cost, and from your desk, you can contribute. …

The Science of Compassion

Written By James R. Doty, MD

• 03 Aug 2012
• • The Huffington Post
• 0 Comment

It is imperative that each of us try to garner insight into our prejudices. Awareness is the first step toward more compassionate decisions.

10 (Science-Based) Reasons Why Compassion Is Hot

Written By Dr. Emma Seppala

• 18 Jul 2012
• • The Huffington Post
• 0 Comment

Science suggests that compassion may well be the most important thing in your life. 1. It makes us happy (as happy as getting money)! A brain-imaging study headed by neuroscientist Jordan Grafman from the National Institute of Health showed that the “pleasures centers” in the brain, i.e. the parts of our brains that are active when we experience pleasure (like …

The Science of Choosing Compassion

Written By Daryl Cameron

• 16 Jul 2012
• • The Huffington Post
• 0 Comment

As I walk down bustling Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, I often pass homeless people who ask me for spare change. Sometimes I let myself feel compassion for these individuals. But other times I don’t want to get emotionally involved, so I look away and keep walking. Maybe you’ve had a similar experience. Pondering such experiences has led …

Putting Compassion to Work: Google, Gratitude and Getting Canned

Written By Dr. Erika Rosenberg

• 14 Jul 2012
• • The Huffington Post
• 0 Comment

In 2009, I taught the Stanford Compassion Cultivation Training Program at Google. My group of Googlers included engineers as well as people from various other technical and non-technical positions. Diverse in temperament and ethnicity, these folks shared a typical Googler profile: They were young, tired, overworked, stressed about deadlines, and smart. My task was to teach them how to become …

The Science of Compassion

Written By James R. Doty, MD

• 06 Jul 2012
• • The Huffington Post
• 0 Comment

It is indeed a paradox that so many from what are considered developing countries wish to come to the West, where we have an epidemic of depression, isolation, and loneliness, while the U.S. alone consumes 25 percent of the world’s resources. However, it is often these “third-world” cultures that offer some of the most profound wisdom and insights that have been garnered over …

The Science of Compassion

Written By James R. Doty, MD

• 07 Jun 2012
• • The Huffington Post
• 0 Comment

Why, in a country that consumes 25% of the world’s resources (the U.S.), is there an epidemic of loneliness, depression, and anxiety? Why do so many in the West who have all of their basic needs met still feel impoverished? While some politicians might answer, “It’s the economy, stupid,” Based on scientific evidence, a better answer is, “It’s the lack …