Have People Lost Their Compassion?

Let Kindness Be Your Default Position & Guiding Light

 

Our lives are made up of millions of choices. Moment to moment, we are always choosing. What we are consists of the sum of our choices: what we think, what we imagine, how we react, what we eat, what we say, what we feel and what we expect. It’s time to take back the responsibility for our own lives and create what we want—a healthy, fit body and a fulfilling, successful, joyful and peaceful life.

In the pages of my book, UPLIFTED: 12 Minutes to More Joy, Faith, Peace, Kindness & Vitality, I take you back to the basics and show you how to live a more harmonious, balanced and soul-satisfying life in simple, practical ways.  

To learn more about or to order one of my other holistic health and lifestyle books, Wired for High-Level Wellness, please click HERE. To read the entire Foreword for this book, click HERE.

On the popular, international radio show, COAST-TO-COAST AM with host George Noory, we talk about USING GRATITUDE, KINDNESS & POSITIVITY TO HEAL YOUR BODY & ENRICH YOUR LIFE. We cover many topics, including how to increase longevity, put wings under your confidence, assuage fatigue and depression, reduce inflammation, bolster immunity and energy,  strengthen your brain power, feel and look 10 years younger in 30 days and much more. To listen now, please click HERE.

Gandhi said... the pure loving kindness of one gentle soul could nullify the hatred of millions. It's time for all of us to be more tenderhearted and to show kindness to everyone.

---

Are people really getting meaner or is it just your imagination? From the halls of Congress to the main streets of small-town America and big cities everywhere, it seems like no one is capable of civilly listening to others whose viewpoints are different.

As I write about in my book UPLIFTED: 12 Minutes to More Joy, Faith, Peace, Kindness & Vitality, I believe that we are in the midst of an epidemic in which few people have the time to be kind. This rampant form of business is nothing short of a sickness—a form of self-centeredness brought about by people rushing around trying to make ends meet and cope with mounting stress and numerous health issues.

Do you feel overwhelmed in your life and less compassionate than you did years ago? As I counsel people around the country, and even worldwide, it's been my experience that most people are burning the candle at both ends — daily; most people are experiencing severe sleep debt; most people have no time to call their own; and most folks are living in what I refer to as a spin-cycle lifestyle. Can you relate to any of this?

The more you rush around without keeping your life in perspective and in balance, the more you lose compassion for others and yourself, too. People are in such a rush these days, living on the fast track — talking fast, eating fast, and moving fast. What a difference from 50 years ago. Did you know that you'll probably do more in this year — with appointments, people to meet, and places to go — than your grandparents did their entire lives? Given our current pace, we barely have time to relax and cultivate relationships with our spouses and children, friends and nature, much less with God. Is it any wonder that stress-related diseases are on the rise? We are under pressure to keep busy even in our leisure hours.

Computers have sped up our lives. We want to do everything, and we want to do it all at once. We talk on the telephone and text while we drive (even though there are now laws against this), watch television while we read, and conduct business while we listen to the radio. I see this as a sickness of epidemic proportions — a "busyness" or "hurry" sickness. This type of lifestyle also drains our hearts of compassion, according to many studies of late. If you understand the speed of life, you can slow it down by enjoying it more and by making a conscious choice of being more compassionate. Start with yourself. You'll find countless tips in my book UPLIFTED.

William Penn described well the importance of not putting off acts of kindness when he wrote, If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not deter or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.

Do you feel your compassionate nature slipping away? Want to be a more compassionate person in your daily life? While you will find more details and the concomitant studies in my two books mentioned above, here are some highlights to help make compassion more a default position in your daily life.

Sleep — Getting only six hours of sleep nightly or less makes you feel more stressed, depressed and impatient, increases blood pressure, and makes you more irritable. It's hard to feel compassionate when you are just trying to get through the day with a short fuse and not enough time to accomplish all you need to do. Studies reveal that when you get more sleep on a regular basis, your stress level abates and you become a more compassionate person. In my book UPLIFTED: 12 Minutes to More Joy, Faith, Peace, Kindness & Vitality, you will learn about the one thing you should never do before bedtime if you want a good night's sleep (and more information on the role sleep plays in our mood).

Meditation — As I write about in my book Wired for High-Level Wellness: Simple Ways to Rejuvenate, Meditate & Prosper, you don't have to be a Buddhist monk to know how to meditate. As a disciplined meditator for over 35 years, I know of its benefits personally. Here's one way to meditate: find a special, quiet space in your home. Spend at least 15 minutes there first thing in the morning and, if you can fit in a second session, also before going to bed. Sit and close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Inhale and exhale slowly and deeply, focusing on the sound and rhythm of your breathing. Mentally visualize peace and calmness. Your day will start and end on a stress-free note. According to recent studies, practicing meditation daily will change your brainwaves in a positive way, and make you feel calmer, less anxious, and more compassionate. Additionally, other studies show that compassionate people are healthier, happier, and more successful at work — and earn more money! When I meditate regularly, I am constantly reminded that the world is on my side, even if appearances may show something different. Affirm this daily: The world is on my side.

 

Diet — What you eat affects your mood. That's right. If you want to be more compassionate and kind, you must eschew foods made with white sugar and white flour, and also avoid foods made with artificial flavorings, colorings, and preservatives. Choose to eat foods as close to the way nature made them as possible — food with natural colors and with an emphasis of plant-based foods, which are teeming with antioxidants, nutrients, and fiber. Make at least 50% of your diet from living (uncooked foods) because these are calming foods. You will find many correlating studies (in both books above) that support how the foods (and which foods, herbs, and spices) you eat can make you a kinder and more compassionate person. Also, keep your body hydrated with purified water, too. I use the IONIZER PLUS water filtration system.
 

Exercise —  Mens sana in corpore sano is a Latin aphorism, usually translated as "A sound mind in a sound body." Researchers are finding that there's even more to the adage than might first appear. In a four-year study on 200 people, Dr. Malcolm Carruthers found that most people could ban the blues with a simple, vigorous 10-minute exercise session — three times a week. He found that just 10 minutes of exercise doubles the level of norepinephrine in the body, a chemical key to happiness. It was also discovered in another study that people became more compassionate after exercising outdoors as opposed to indoors. Being in nature calms us down and reduces anxiety. I prefer to hike in the mountains or jog on the beach to working out indoors. For loads of information on how to get the most from your exercise program, or how to start one and stay motivated to continue, please check out my book INVEST IN YOURSELF WITH EXERCISE.

Nature — Here's a simple and inexpensive way to become more compassionate. View a photo or image, such as a poster, of a nature scene. You can put it in your home or office and look at it a few times a day. In one study, it was revealed that those people who spent a few minutes a day viewing images of nature, especially expansive views of nature such as an ocean scene or the mountains, became more compassionate. There are many nature photos on my website for you to view and help you become more relaxed, calm, and compassionate.

Even better than viewing images of nature is being outdoors in nature and experiencing it firsthand. In my workshops and private practice, I talk about a disease I call NDD — or Nature Deficit Disorder. When you have the choice, exercise outdoors — take a hike in the mountains, walk in your local park, enjoy a brisk walk on the beach, or ride your bike. Not only does too much time away from nature drain our body's energy and throw off our "physical-mental-emotional balance," it also wrinkles our soul and deprives us of a cost-free "visual valium" experience. The more time we spend outdoors in nature on a regular basis, the healthier and more balanced we become. Our moms were right when they said "Go outside and play." To this, I will add... Go outside to play and pray!

Check out this ecstatic response to a double rainbow in Yosemite that will probably make you smile and feel joyful, too. It has about 50,000,000 views on YouTube. Click HERE to view now.

When you invite kindness to be your default position each day, and compassion to be your constant companion, your daily path in life will be brimming over with more light and joy. As my mom and grandmother always used to say to me: "Susan, always remember above all else to live by the Golden Rule," which basically means to treat others the way you wish to be treated.