The Science of Compassion – James R. Doty

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-r-doty-md/science-of-compassion_b_1578284.html

Follow the link to Huff Post Science, for this worthwhile article by James Doty, who is a Professor of Neurosurgery at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and also the Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE). His piece concerns the immense psychological, health and social benefits arising in the practice of compassion – for giver and receiver, and indeed all of us:-

‘What exactly is compassion? Compassion is the recognition of another’s suffering and a desire to alleviate that suffering. Often brushed off as a hippy dippy religious term irrelevant in modern society, rigorous empirical data supports the view of all major world religions: compassion is good.’

Thanks to Monica Cassani at http://www.beyondmeds.com for the link, and here is her original post. It includes other relevant resources/links around the practices of empathy and compassion at the foot of the post – and is a wonderful site offering a wealth of resources on all kinds of themes:-

http://beyondmeds.com/2012/06/18/the-science-of-compassion/

Palace Gate Counselling Service, Exeter

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