Although I have been out of the swing of writing in general as well as for the blog, I have found my space and time to write again and will begin a series on the most common human emotions: Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Surprise, Disgust, Love, Jealousy, Anxiety, Excitement. This post is about Mindfulness and Empathy, and what it does to us when practiced.
All the meditation in the world is pointless without acceptance and empathy.
Empathy is a way to connect to the emotion another person is experiencing. It doesn’t require that we have experienced the same situation they are going through; however, it does require that we acknowledge the other person’s perspective.
It doesn’t matter what that person’s perspective may be, whether we agree with it or not, or it follows our values; just that we acknowledge a different perspective is there, that it exists.
Sometimes, it can be hard to react compassionately when faced with a challenging situation. As with any new skill, retraining your brain to respond with empathy takes practice.
Intentionally responding with empathy means recognizing and validating the other person’s perspective while actively working to interrupt bias and avoid judgment.
This requires us to pause and connect with our own emotions as a way to relate to the other person because the reality is that we have all felt the way someone else has at one point in our lives.
Showing empathy can feel uncomfortable, and takes time and effort to get right; it includes making mistakes along the way, but that’s why it’s so important.
We also do not need to agree with another person’s perspective or adopt it, to empathize with them. Empathizing is all about acknowledging the other person’s perspective, and recognizing that their feelings are valid, even if you don’t necessarily feel the same way.
Before sharing your disagreement though, take time to listen and reflect on what the other person is saying. Be sure you aren’t jumping to conclusions or interrupting to disagree before considering the other person’s whole message.
This in itself is another practice. Try it yourself when faced with a conversation that you disagree with, listen as if you just might agree with them, this keeps your judgment at bay until it’s appropriate to express it.
It’s fascinating, what empathy does to the mind.
“When we witness what happens to others, we don’t just activate the visual cortex as we thought some decades ago, we also activate our own actions as if we’d be acting in similar ways. We activate our own emotions and sensations as if we felt the same.” Says Christian Keysers of the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam.
Our ability to empathize with the suffering of others enables us to share and comprehend their pain. Witnessing the distress of others frequently inspires us to react with empathy.
The continuation of our species hinges on reciprocal assistance, and offering it alleviates our own anguish.
In conclusion, what empathy is doing in our minds transforms our ability to respond in any given situation, empathy provides the relationship to another person’s suffering.
Thanks
Thank you for returning to these rambling posts, it means the world to me knowing people gain some insight from them. I get feedback from time to time about how a post has inspired them, and it encourages me to keep at it!
Links
- ‘I Feel Your Pain’: The Neuroscience of Empathy – Association for Psychological Science (11min Read)
- How we empathize with others: A neurobiological perspective – PMC (32min read)
- Brené Brown on Empathy (3min watch)
- The surprising dark side of empathy – BBC REEL (7min watch)