Compassionate Conflict Resolution - Wk 1 Love Fuels Compassion
Review notes from Ch 1 Crisis to Calm
Meditation - visualize a beautiful handmade bowl full of this delicious warm liquid. It is full of the “essence of love”. It smells of roses, or a pine forest or fresh cookies or whatever smells make you the most happy. You taste it and it tastes so satisfying it defies description. The liquid warms your mouth, your throat, moving into your heart and your body, out through your arms and legs. You pour it over your head and just feel warmth and healing spreading over your body. As you look at the bowl, it is still full. No matter how much you use, it is still full. No matter how much you share, it is still full. Breath it in. Release any tension or anything you need to release. Heal your body and fill yourself with so much love you won’t be able to help it pouring onto everyone around you. Keep this bowl with you at all times. Remember to take it out and use it often, on yourself and others.
Topics for Discussion
Compassion - the desire to alleviate suffering.
Malice- the desire to cause suffering.
Love fuels compassion. Compassion heals our hearts.
Anger fuels malice. Malice destroy our hearts.
We can choose to fill our hearts with compassion or with malice. Give examples of both. Why would we ever do anything that fills our hearts with malice (vent our anger on others, judge others, think ourselves better than others?) How can we more consistently fill our hearts with love? Meditation (as above); spiritual readings; walk in the woods. Play with animals or children. Others?
A man with a healthy healed heart will never desire to hurt someone with their words. He will see any verbal attack as a reflection of the other persons pain and unhealed wounds and will want to approach that person with sympathy and compassion and love. (think Gomer Pyle and Sgt Carter)
When someone shuts down, they are not feeling safe or heard. How can you love them and help them to feel safe and heard. Maybe a hug. Maybe a kind word or compassionate question. It depends on the situation but kindness and curiosity will always help bring healing.
The key to resolving a difficult discussion is to fill ourselves with so much love and compassion that we can’t help but react with compassion and curiosity on how to bring healing to the situation and to the person we are talking with. If we react with anger and judgment we will just be adding negative energy to an already difficult situation. Love you. Love others. LOVE LOVE LOVE :)