Thought for Today
Your world today is so filled with people who hate one another,
who blame one another,
who are filled with fear.
You cannot just decide to be compassionate, and say,
‘From now on I’m going to be compassionate.’
Compassion is a result.
For compassion to arise, the conditions for compassion must be present.
The primary condition for compassion is presence or mindfulness, because when you are present, you are able to see deeply. When you see deeply into how things are, the deep seeing no longer allows judgment and blame to be sustained. It no longer allows hatred to be sustained. It no longer allows fear to be sustained.
This is the power of wisdom and compassion.
~Aaron
Jessica Ortner was speaking on the 2020 Tapping Summit: “I can’t stress myself to a solution.” Wow. This statement fits truly with the understanding we have shared through Subtle Communication Systems, or SCS/NLP.
An easy way to imagine all of this is to think about the way old-fashioned phone directories listed individuals, businesses, and governmental agencies. There were white, yellow, and blue pages. You could not find “John Doe” in the blue county listing, nor could you find the office of the county commissioner in the white pages. “Walmart” was found in the Yellow Pages listing.
Emotions work that same way. You cannot stress yourself to a solution.
I appreciate tapping because neurolinguistic programming (NLP) processes such as “sleight-of-mouth patterns” and “reframing by degrees” are apparent. Reframing is a commonly used psychological technique that allows a person to see things differently.
If you look at a map, you must begin at the place marked YOU ARE HERE.
Loss of a job, for example, can be viewed as failure or opportunity. COVID-19 can be seen as a catastrophe, or a challenging time with myriad gifts scattered along the way.
Louise Hay’s key message in her second book, You Can Heal Your Life, is, “If we are willing to do the mental work, almost anything can be healed.”
One of my favorite tools for doing the mental work, in addition to tapping, includes: Freeze Frame Technique
Freeze-Frame – is the simplest of the HeartMath tools. It is a one-minute technique that allows a major shift in perception. More than positive thinking, it creates a definitive, heartfelt shift in how we view a situation, an individual or ourselves. When under stress:
Shift out of the head, and focus on the area around your heart. Keep your attention there for at least ten seconds. Continue to breathe normally.
Recall a positive time or feeling you had in your life, and attempt to re-experience it. Remember, try not simply to visualize it, but rather to feel it fully.Ask a question from the heart: “What can I do in this situation to make it different?” or “What can I do to minimize stress?”
Listen to the response of your heart.
You may hear nothing, but perhaps feel calmer. You may receive verification of something you already know, or you may experience a complete perspective shift, seeing the crisis in a more balanced way.
Although we may not have control over the event, we do have control over our perception of it.
For years I have referred clients to The Work of Byron Katie. Being honest with the four questions produces surprising benefits. “Is it true?” “Can you absolutely know it is true?” “How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?” “Who would you be without that thought?”
Who would humans be without hate, blame, and fear? What is possible for humanity with more compassion and wisdom?
As Aaron said in the thought for the day above, you cannot just decide to be compassionate, and say, ‘From now on I’m going to be compassionate.’
Compassion is a result.
Author of Seat of the Soul, Gary Zukav, The Compassion Virus is concurrently infecting the human species along with the Coronavirus. The more you know about it, the better. At this stage the Compassion Virus is highly contagious. He says:
RECOVERY PERIOD
There is no recovery from the Compassion Virus.
SUGGESTIONS
Examine yourself carefully for signs of the Compassion Virus. If you find any, take the following actions immediately:
Look at it with your eyes wide open. This is a potentially life-changing condition.
Cultivate it.
Treasure it.
Even though doing the mental work around the current conditions will mean different things to different people, stressing ourselves out by our attitudes, memories, behaviors, and beliefs generates additional unwelcome stress responses in the body for everyone.
For many of us compassion is a result of doing the mental work through the body.
We must nurture better feelings to access wiser thoughts. Check out my Wellness Tip “Vagus Nerve Stimulation” .
Write in a journal, play a musical instrument, ride a bicycle, go for a walk in nature, take a soaking bath…. Even while maintaining a safe distance, you can cultivate your favorite fields of opportunity.