You don’t have to be religious to have a deep faith in the power of compassion. With it people who act and believe differently can not only work and live together in harmony they can enjoy a richer, more adventuresome life.
They can collaborate. They can accomplish greater things together than they could if they just share time with people like them. And they’d be much less likely to kill each other.
“It doesn’t really matter what you believe as long as it leads you to practical compassion.” ~ Karen Armstrong
In fact, the more diverse a community, group or team the greater the likelihood that misunderstanding and conflict will happen.
“We are living cheek by jowl with people of other faiths, our world has shrunk to a global village…for a long time and in a most unsung way people have been spontaneously reaching out to other faiths. More Christians read Martin Buber than Jews. Jews read Paul Tillich and Harvey Cox. And Jesuits have long been learning meditation from Buddhist monks.” ~ Karen Armstrong
Yet, when friction happens, if individuals look to each other’s positive intent, listen fully and speak candidly, they are most likely to experience breakthroughs – both personally and collectively. That shared experience enables everyone to feel safer in the group.
We spiral up to greater trust, bring out the best in each other, creating a mutually-reinforcing behavioral loop that enables us to become happier and higher-performing together. That’s when the Golden Rule happens naturally.
Yet that rarely happens. Even more difficult than defending oneself or attacking others, facing another with compassion takes “stepping into their shoes” practice.
“The act of compassion begins with full attention, just as rapport does. You have to really see the person. If you see the person, then naturally, empathy arises. If you tune into the other person, you feel with them. If empathy arises, and if that person is in dire need, then empathic concern can come. You want to help them, and then that begins a compassionate act. So I’d say that compassion begins with attention.” ~ Daniel Goleman
That’s why TED talk speaker, Karen Armstrong asked, as her wish, for support in spreading the idea of the Charter for Compassion, and the collective practice of its central tenet. That is “the core shared value of every world religion and moral code, the Golden Rule.”
After all, “TED is about ideas worth spreading — please help us spread compassion, ‘the best idea humanity has ever had.’”
My version of the Golden Rule is to do unto others as they would have done to them.
Would you join us in this global conversation and in sharing the charter with others? I’ve started by:
• Watching six people share their insights on compassion – an inman, a rabbi, a tenzin, a swami, a reverend and some with a secular voice of compassion.
• Learning about the activities funded by the Fetzer Institute, a partner in this campaign.
Imagine my delight in discovering that Fetzer is sponsoring a conference next spring at which Daniel Siegel will be speaking on From Me to We: A New Look at Resilience and Well-Being.
“The Golden Rule is of no use to you whatever unless you realize it is your move.” ~ Frank Crane
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Kare, – A fantastic post as always. It was extremely revealing to be able to listen to Karen Anderson,s reflections on such a hot issue as religion as a TED talk speaker.
Although strangely enough that took place in the U.S., a county that did its best to destroy Christianity and turn into Coca -Cola lessons on management taught to their priests.
I completely agree with the validity of the moral and value issues Armstrong managed to raise in a nutshell.. Your version of the Golden Rule – to undo others as they have done
to them, struck me as similar to introducing Machines Designed to Change Humans (According to The Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab,advances in technology can help
promote World Peace in 30,years).Anybody who is acquainted with Neuroscience research should be able to figure this out! Doesn’t this relate directly to The Golden Rule, when we come to realize it is “OUR” move after all?Or – Compassion is still “the best idea humanity has ever had?” It is interesting to study what in this context Politics thinks?:
Business, society, etc., it is something yet to be verified. The main contradiction of our time is as simple as that: Nobody that is empowered and
has the cash + bonuses will leave his piece of the cake,because of these non-stop innovations, new designs and allow radical change that will lead
to a change in his Status-Quot.It is a true Social pathology, since not all of these greedy people can become billionaires.The U.S. government lends
its banks the money to straighten things up and strangely enough the Establishment continues to spend them in the Old Conventional Way that led to
this Crises, So how do you expect these idiots and their banks to survive,when everybody else is doing just the same- Criminal Elites in Power softly
exchanging experience.How much can this madness go on???
“How do you know that I am Mad said Alice?(Alice in Wonderland); You Must be said the cat, Or you Would Not have come here.”
Kare, – A fantastic post as always. It was extremely revealing to be able to listen to Karen Anderson,s reflections on such a hot issue as religion as a TED talk speaker.
Although strangely enough that took place in the U.S., a county that did its best to destroy Christianity and turn into Coca -Cola lessons on management taught to their priests.
I completely agree with the validity of the moral and value issues Armstrong managed to raise in a nutshell.. Your version of the Golden Rule – to undo others as they have done
to them, struck me as similar to introducing Machines Designed to Change Humans (According to The Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab,advances in technology can help
promote World Peace in 30,years).Anybody who is acquainted with Neuroscience research should be able to figure this out! Doesn’t this relate directly to The Golden Rule, when we come to realize it is “OUR” move after all?Or – Compassion is still “the best idea humanity has ever had?” It is interesting to study what in this context Politics thinks?:
Business, society, etc., it is something yet to be verified. The main contradiction of our time is as simple as that: Nobody that is empowered and
has the cash + bonuses will leave his piece of the cake,because of these non-stop innovations, new designs and allow radical change that will lead
to a change in his Status-Quot.It is a true Social pathology, since not all of these greedy people can become billionaires.The U.S. government lends
its banks the money to straighten things up and strangely enough the Establishment continues to spend them in the Old Conventional Way that led to
this Crises, So how do you expect these idiots and their banks to survive,when everybody else is doing just the same- Criminal Elites in Power softly
exchanging experience.How much can this madness go on???
“How do you know that I am Mad said Alice?(Alice in Wonderland); You Must be said the cat, Or you Would Not have come here.”
Kare, – A fantastic post as always. It was extremely revealing to be able to listen to Karen Anderson,s reflections on such a hot issue as religion as a TED talk speaker.
Although strangely enough that took place in the U.S., a county that did its best to destroy Christianity and turn into Coca -Cola lessons on management taught to their priests.
I completely agree with the validity of the moral and value issues Armstrong managed to raise in a nutshell.. Your version of the Golden Rule – to undo others as they have done
to them, struck me as similar to introducing Machines Designed to Change Humans (According to The Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab,advances in technology can help
promote World Peace in 30,years).Anybody who is acquainted with Neuroscience research should be able to figure this out! Doesn’t this relate directly to The Golden Rule, when we come to realize it is “OUR” move after all?Or – Compassion is still “the best idea humanity has ever had?” It is interesting to study what in this context Politics thinks?:
Business, society, etc., it is something yet to be verified. The main contradiction of our time is as simple as that: Nobody that is empowered and
has the cash + bonuses will leave his piece of the cake,because of these non-stop innovations, new designs and allow radical change that will lead
to a change in his Status-Quot.It is a true Social pathology, since not all of these greedy people can become billionaires.The U.S. government lends
its banks the money to straighten things up and strangely enough the Establishment continues to spend them in the Old Conventional Way that led to
this Crises, So how do you expect these idiots and their banks to survive,when everybody else is doing just the same- Criminal Elites in Power softly
exchanging experience.How much can this madness go on???
“How do you know that I am Mad said Alice?(Alice in Wonderland); You Must be said the cat, Or you Would Not have come here.”