From crisis to compassion

Our world is increasing in crises by the day. Some countries are at war, others are in significant debt, stock markets are crashing, and riots are breaking out in unlikely cities. Famine, fires, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis are only adding to the insecurities of modern life. Have we reached the crisis point necessary for global social change? If so, what do we need to do to bring about this much needed change?

The answer is simple. It lies within us and we have research to prove it. Forget competition. Let us embrace the new wave – compassion.

More than ever we need to move beyond competitive values to compassionate values to find our way out of crises.

Competition is important to human existence. There is no denying this, just ask Darwin, Marx or Freud. Nor is there any doubt that competitive values have got us to where we are now. Technology is moving at an unprecedented rapid rate due to the race between Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Nokia and the like. Bio-medically we now have nanotechnology that can perform operations we never thought possible. And despite all the benefits of competition, the world over, we find ourselves in extreme crises. Today we suffer the consequences of out-of-control competition, and greed, and of societies based on these types of competitive values.

What is clear is that competitive values have got us here, but they cannot get us out of here. Only with increased dialogue, understanding, responsibility, sharing, and kindness, will our world recover from where we are now. It is too late, and too futile, to point fingers and lay blame. We must work together to find solutions, and place all human beings' welfare above all. This is not negotiable. For too long we have gotten away with depleting the earth of its beauty and resources, and treating other people in ways we would not treat our loved ones. We need to change our focus now.

Is there a compassionate neuron?

Throughout time there have been many theories and assertions that brand us as innately selfish and competitive beings. Aptly summed up by Latin playwright, Plautus in his comic play, Asinaria: "Lupus est homo homini, non homo, quom qualis sit non novit", translated "One man to another is a wolf, not a man, when he doesn't know what sort he is".

If our nature is innately selfish and uncaring, how can we explain unsolicited and voluntary acts of helping strangers? Stories that have unfolded following world crises, such as 911, the Boxing Day tsunami, Japan's earthquake, and so on, provide more than enough evidence of how innately compassionate human beings are, even in competitive societies.

These stories add weight to the opinions of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and neuroscientist, Marco Iacoboni, MD PhD, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, who together, argue that human beings are innately compassionate. It is a significant point in human history when a leading spiritual leader holds the hand of a leading neuroscientist in agreement that we are innately compassionate beings. The Happiness and Its Causes Conference audience in Brisbane this year were privileged to witness this event.

The Dalai Lama defines compassion as "a mental attitude based on the wish for others to be free of their suffering." His Holiness says, "It is associated with a sense of commitment, responsibility, and respect towards the other."

There are four levels of compassion. The first level is the love and compassion we feel towards loved ones, such as a mother feels for her child. The second is the kind of compassion we feel towards people we know, workmates or people at the local shop. The third is the kind we feel for strangers. The fourth is the kind we feel for difficult people, those who have harmed or wronged us.

The first level of compassion, at least, is innate or biological. We do not need to force it. It occurs naturally. The fourth is learned. We need to train ourselves to feel compassion for those who have harmed or wronged us. The two in between probably depend on the individual – as to where biology ends and learning begins.

What is exciting is that scientists can now demonstrate what the Dalai Lama says about the essential nature of human beings. Iacoboni's research on mirror neurons, indicates that monkey's brains fire the same way – whether they are drinking a glass of water, or watching a fellow monkey drinking a glass of water. Iacoboni and other scientists have concluded that mirror neurons explain our human ability to empathise with others. Like all scientific research, this discovery is under scrutiny, however, whether or not these are our "empathy" neurons or not, the fact remains we know we are able to feel what others are feeling and there must be a neurobiological component.

Of course we can all think of examples where humans have outwardly failed to demonstrate compassion and instead have raped and killed others in the name of genocide and other harmful acts. The world over we can, however, see that for every act of war there is at least an equal and opposite act of peace and love. It really depends on what the individual and the society they live in, value, promote and accept.

Learning compassion

So what does all this mean? We are innately compassionate beings. We have the biological capacity to feel what others are feeling. How do we then bridge the gap between the compassion we feel for those we love and the compassion we often do not feel for those that harm or wrong us?

The Dalai Lama says mental training. Helen Weng, under the guidance of Richard Davidson at Harvard Medical School, has evidence to supports His Holiness' assertion. Their team found that: ½ hour / day of compassionate meditation training for 2 weeks increased feelings of compassion, which led to changes in brain activity, and increases in helping behaviour.

Exciting research, although what does it mean for you, and me? Even with the best of intentions, how many of us are going to try compassionate meditation training for two weeks?

The good news is that increases in compassion are also witnessed with much shorter interventions. A variety of studies indicate that, in as little as 40 seconds to 5 minutes, a compassion induction can increase levels of an antibody, reduce anxiety, increase positive perceptions, and increase perceived self-other similarity (related to the provision of care, increased empathetic responding, and acts of trust and cooperation). Even in conflict situations, people can be influenced to be more compassionate in just over a minute.

It does not take much to breed compassion, even in times of crisis, and its influence has profound effects. Isn't it time we all purposefully learn to be more compassionate and spread compassion around? It doesn't take much.

We only need one mantra – Compassion!

Try it next time your partner is late, when someone at work makes a mistake, the driver in front of you cuts you off, you ring your mobile phone provider and it takes 30 minutes to resolve a simple problem or your child is crying when you have a headache.

Even better still give up a seat on the bus for a stranger, pay for someone's coffee and walk away, forgive someone who has harmed you as soon as you can, teach your children to be compassionate or join community groups that promote such values.

Small acts with minimal effort can dramatically improve your own and others' quality of life. Spread compassion today!