Dr. Paul Gilbert is the head of the Mental Health Research Unit as well as Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Derby.
Dr. Gilbert was another speaker at the conference for Empathy and Compassion in Society in London in the fall of 2012. His subject was what blocks compassion.
He talked about suffering and how we all suffer and this is a primary reason why it is so important to work together.
All of us are socially constructed. We are created by our cultures.
We create loops in our mind that keep activating emotions. The only thing you want to do is act on our emotions.
We come with biases that keep these loops going. We can use mindfulness to stop the loops.
Humans function best when they loving and caring and when they feel loved and valued.
He defines compassion as a sensitivity to the suffering of self and others with a deep commitment to try to relive and prevent it.
So what blocks compassion? Watch and learn.
By the way, Dr. Gilbert will be at The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University on February 28 at 6:00 PM. He will be speaking on “An Introduction to Compassion Focused Therapy and the Fear of Compassion.”
What blocks your compassion? Is it competitiveness? Is it threatening? Please share.
