Thought provoking and insightful articles from other websites
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Links to Insightful Articles on Self-Compassion
There are hundreds of pages published on the web every day under the theme of self-help. With all that activity, it’s easy to miss articles that touch on Self-Compassion or are truly helpful. For that reason, here is a list of articles that I found insightful, original, compelling, or entertaining, and they all relate in some way to Self-Compassionate Living, Self-Compassionate Leadership, and Self-Compassionate Communication. Please enjoy or, at least, find some insight in these writings.
Additionally, if you’d like to submit an article that you feel contributes to the field of Self-Compassionate Living or Self-Compassionate Communication, please send me a link to the article using the form at the bottom of this page. I will consider adding it to this list. Please note, this invitation is no guarantee that I will set up a link to the article.
I do not receive any benefit or money from recommending these articles.
May you grow learning from these pages.
If you have been following my list of articles, I recommend another article from Lion's Roar. I constantly feel amazed at how much insight Buddhism has into the workings of the human mind. I found this article extraordinary because it has continued the depth of thought I so admire. I also didn't understand parts of it. I will study it some more, read the book it's from, and expand my ability to live in reality with the least amount of suffering. And that is my goal for the gift I've been given, life.
The Negativity Bias: Mindfully Reprogramming our Mental Obscurations
This article does an excellent job describing the brain's default working mode and how we can cause ourselves suffering very quickly.
If you have been following my list of articles, I recommend another article from Lion's Roar. I constantly feel amazed at how much insight Buddhism has into the workings of the human mind. I found this article extraordinary because it has continued the depth of thought I so admire. I also didn't understand parts of it. I will study it some more, read the book it's from, and expand my ability to live in reality with the least amount of suffering. And that is my goal for the gift I've been given, life.
The Negativity Bias: Mindfully Reprogramming our Mental Obscurations
Happiness is a state of mind that we can practice and strengthen. I often find it difficult to accept that there is suffering in everything I do. There is necessary suffering, and there is unnecessary suffering. Unnecessary suffering is the majority of suffering I do because I generate it with my thoughts and actions. Consequently, my Joy, Peace, and Contentment (my happiness) is enhanced if I choose to navigate each situation with the least amount of unnecessary suffering. To accomplish this, I have to practice self-compassion. I have to see my thoughts, and then I can transform them.
Thich Nhat Hanh is one of my favorite authors because he writes about this journey so well. This article is a fantastic summary of some simple (yet frequently challenging) practices that increase our happiness. May you learn from it as I have.
What Erwin Schrödinger Said About the Upanishads
I believe that the world's religions discovered much about the nature of reality and our perception of it long before science. However, all this knowledge became distorted because they didn't have a lexicon to describe nature and our place in it. They resorted to their belief systems' language and attributed to the supernatural what they didn't understand. Thus, when we read our ancient holy texts, if we can see beyond the dogma and theology, we can gain some insight into ways of looking at the universe and expand our understanding of it. This article is about that premise. May you enjoy it.
Meditation Is Easier Than You Think by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
This video does a short and fun job of describing meditation for everyone.
Although I don't practice Buddhism, I read a lot of books and material by Buddhist writers. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is one of my favorite authors. I find he is excellent at describing the way our minds work as we experience life. I am a major proponent of meditation. I have meditated for eleven years now, and I use the skills meditation has taught me every day of my life. (Here is a video I did to share some of the gifts meditation has given me.)
YouTube Video Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche: Meditation is Easier Than You Think
Don't Get Caught Up in God's Dream
I have found that spiritual teachers know reality much better than most people. Although I don't follow a spiritual dogma, I see a tremendous amount of wisdom in the spiritual faiths, and I try to learn from it. This video shows some of the knowledge from which I can grow. This story is a good metaphor for how we tend to get caught up in our mental illusions about reality. We frequently also tend to react to that illusion rather than the reality of the situation.
Yogananda: Don't Get Caught Up in God's Dream
This article talks about the truth of transforming our lives, habits, and autopilot. It comes down to practice. Practice comes down to self-discipline. And, in my opinion, Self-Compassion is generally best expressed through self-discipline. However, I believe the best way to start is small and grow from there. This article calls it chunking, and I have used that word with my coaching clients. I'm not a big fan of the word "Hacking" as it sounds like a quick fix. Self-discipline generally requires time, and I am a big fan of facing and dealing with reality. Outside of the title, this article does a good job of talking about the work and discipline it takes to transform our lives.
What is going on right now?
Can I welcome this as my path?
What is my most believed thought?
What is this?
Can I let this experience be as it is?
Life can be challengings. And with those challenges, we experience many negative feelings, which frequently then increase our suffering. There are several ways we can lessen our discomfort and navigate the unpleasant situation compassionately. These five questions aid us in diminishing our suffering, so our life is more pleasant. This article from Lion's Roar does an excellent job of expanding our understanding of how these five questions help us.
I am a big fan of Richard Rohr and the Center for Action and Contemplation. Paula D’Arcy teaches there and wrote this article. It is powerful in its imagery and its message.
I highly recommend meditation, although I don't believe meditation is the solution to all of our problems. Instead, it is a tool that gives us the fortitude to navigate our difficulties with wisdom and compassion. Although I am not a Buddhist practitioner, I read a lot of Buddhism because they have studied the mind longer and more in-depth than any of the other disciplines. Thus, whether one practices or not, one can learn from their experience. I think this article does an excellent job of explaining the essence of meditation.
This article looks at potential new ways to grow empathy and compassion.
My wife is a highschool science teacher who loves the mechanics of the brain. She found this article and shared it with me. I liked it so much I'm sharing it with you.
Emotional & Physical Pain Are Almost The Same - To Your Brain
A frequent question that people ask me has to do with how our brains generate emotions just from thoughts, think of the last nightmare you had or the most recent amazing dinner that you had. Did you experience the same feelings, ever so subtlely? This article unwinds this interesting facet of how our brains work.
How We Pay Attention Changes the Very Shape of Our Brains
This article explains in a more scientific way how our brains manage paying attention. Paying attention is such a foundational part of Self-Compassion, Awareness, and Communication. I felt this was an excellent article to reference.
My corporate and personal clients frequently ask me this question. This article does the best job I've seen of explaining it the way with which I agree.
Emotions will distort our perception of ay situation we are experiencing. If we can see the feelings, we can, with effort, look beyond the distortion and respond in a way that will hopefully benefit all involved. Here are five questions from a Buddhist teacher that help cut through the mental noise.
Here is another article talking about the problems with willpower and offering strategies to accomplish your goals. (Please forgive my bragging. The strategies offered here are very similar to what I encourage my clients to so as I mention in the write-up directly below).
Why will power is overrated
Frequently, willpower is used as a weapon by our minds. If we have it, we tell ourselves how great we are... until we give in one day. If we don't have it, we punish ourselves with shame and berating. This article does a fair job of describing that there are other ways. With my clients, I recommend small gradual steps (that don't seem too threatening). It is generally easier to enact significant changes over time by reframing a task to be rewarding in some way, setting up situations so that failure or temptation isn't an option, and gradually building habits that create the outcomes you desire.
I ask my clients to look for patterns or trends in their lives because the patterns tend to show aspects of ourselves which are automatic.
I genuinely believe in meditation. The gifts meditation brings to our lives are invaluable, and this article does an excellent job of explaining these gifts in tangible detail.
Although coaching and physicology are two different fields, I have a deep interest in psychology, especially when it relates to self-compassion.
As many of my clients frequently make choices that sabotage their goal, this article gave some new perspectives on that action be people.
What Mindfulness Is (Not)
I found this article very explanatory and ...real. I'm not a Buddhist. They have studied the brain longer than most philosophies, and for that reason, I find their understanding very insightful.
The 3rd section is about the question "why?". As this article explains, asking why can be a distraction from our deeper insights and goals.
Empathy
A Harvard psychiatrist has identified seven skills to help you get along with anybody
You Become Real
This article is by Terry Hershey, a mentor to me. Terry writes a weekly blog he calls Sabbath Moment, and I highly recommend signing up to receive it. (I do not receive compensation for this recommendation)
Lauren Daigle - Rescue (Official Music Video)
I have Three Spiritual Guidelines that I have found permeates everything. This song does a good job of reflecting these guidelines.
Lauren Daigle - Rescue (Official Music Video)<br />
I found this article insightful. It's written from a soldier's point of view. It gives some insights into the suffering that war brings to the warriors after a battle.
Dear Friend,
Self-Compassion is a skill we tend to learn faster when we learn together. Please sign up for my newsletter, and together, let's create better lives for ourselves. I will only send out a few emails a year.
Thank you.
