“ Watchful like a man crossing a winter stream, yielding like ice about to melt, simple like an uncarved block of wood, hollow like a cave. ” - Lao Tzu

This chapter will aim to look at the work of a variety of researchers including Dunbar, Gilbert, Neff, Crocker & Fredrickson ... and developing compassion. 

Note there are already a number of resources available on this website that are relevant for "Cooperation & Compassion".  These include the cluster of downloadable questionnaires & handouts available in the "Good Knowledge" section's "Compassion & criticism".  There are also a series of blog posts I have written over the years that still contain interesting information about sleep and light.  These include material from the "Compassion, wisdom & wellbeing: an 8 week training" that I'm involved in, the "Compassion lecture: what? why? how? so ... ?",  "Self-compassion: soothing touch helps us settle and relax", a series of four posts starting with "Upgrading the 'breathing space' meditation, some research-based suggestions (1st post): mindfulness & naming", "Mindful self-compassion residential: first morning, doubts & overview", "Kidney donation: preoperative preparation & facing challenges generally - aspects of self-compassion", "Barbara Fredrickson and Love 2.0: some appreciations", "New research describes effective ways of changing long-term personality traits & other persistent behaviour patterns", "Birmingham BABCP conference: first day - decentering, compassion, insomnia, social anxiety, sp/sr & barbecue", "Attachment style in health professionals & their clients, therapeutic alliance & mindfulness", a series of three posts starting with "Do psychotherapists, doctors and leaders develop 'emotional chainmail'?  Description of a possible problem", "Could increasing our compassion for others be even more 'therapeutic' than increasing our self-compassion?", a series of three posts starting with "To reach the other shore with each step of the crossing: zazen, associative thinking & value-driven behaviour (1st post)", another series of three posts starting with "Arntz & Jacob's new book 'Schema therapy in practice': links with attachment theory and with therapies for self-compassion", "Mindfulness and the therapeutic relationship: does it make any difference?", the personal "Going back for a university reunion: emotional archaeology unearths a treasure trove of insights & new directions", "Leeds BABCP conference: compassion focused therapy & CBT, John Vlaeyen & treating chronic pain problems", the two posts starting with "Power objects, power postures, power clothes, power prayers: all ways to facilitate change", 

If you visit any of these links, it's worth noting the date when the post was first published.  It's still likely the information in the post is of interest, but ... especially with those published a few years ago ... there will probably have been subsequent research studies throwing further light on the areas being discussed.

 

More to follow ...