Biography
Biography: Jacquelyn A. Rinaldi
Abstract
The current research from the field of neuroscience interprets compassion as a learned behavior with meditation being a key component to deepening this aptitude. Developing our compassion as a collective will counter the epidemic of human injustices that pervade our world. As more people see human beings, rather than objects on the opposing side, we will manage conflict differently. When we objectify others, inhumane treatment is possible because their experience matters less whereas compassion equalized everyones’ experience.
We develop compassion by understanding clearly what compassion is and what it is not. There are five main hiderances to compassion—people pleasing or giving out of obligation, pity, changing or fixing, judgement (thinking our perspective is right without consideration for the other side), and reactivity (up regulated reactions that stem from deep seated emotions that have not been tended to or healed).
We cultivate a more compassionate way of being by fostering self-awarenews, tending our unresolved emotional pain, and through mindfulness meditation. When we work on these three things together our compassion instinct grows; our perception of others become more clear becasue we are working to balance and integrate our psyche—psychological wholeness arises. With psychological wholeness we will see a human being in front of us more of the time, rather than an ojectified other. Seeing the human being before us, gives us an oppertunity to choose compassionate responses becuase we know their pain or struggle is not very far from our own.