The True Nature of Compassion
by Sylvie Olivier
To get the most out of reading this article, I invite you to read the first in this series of three articles entitled: “The Impact of Judgment in Your Life” first.
When we begin to become aware of the impact of judgment in our daily lives, we open ourselves up to experiencing a different way of living. The question I am regularly asked is “how do I do that?” It is a legitimate question because we have been programmed to judge from a very young age, so it is often the only way we know how to communicate and interact with society and the people around us.
I would now like to invite you to explore Compassion. We hear all kinds of definitions of compassion, including those provided in various dictionaries. In short, there are many meanings and perceptions that are conveyed.
Let me offer you a proposal of compassion experienced in the neutrality of the heart, so that we are on the same wavelength for this article.
Here is the proposed definition:
Compassion is Love in Action!
This is what I mean when I talk about Compassion. And to offer you even more clarity, here are the three steps that comprise it. 1) Recognize the situation, pain, or suffering (ours or that of others) as it is; 2) Without judging it as negative or positive AND without attachment to a specific outcome; 3) While welcoming a concrete manifestation even greater than we can imagine.
The Neutrality of Compassion
Compassion is neutral and does not pity anyone. Because if I feel pity for someone, I automatically place myself above them, whereas if I experience Compassion as Love in Action, I am aware that this person is going through a difficult situation where they feel stuck and limited, but I still see their Essence that lives beyond all difficulties. I also have a deep certainty that all resources are available to them. So I stand by their side, without carrying them on my shoulders or on my back! I offer them my assistance, while leaving them completely free to choose their experience. And more importantly… I don’t judge them! Whatever they choose is the current opportunity for their greatest expansion… Simply!
Compassion felt from the heart guides us and helps us to offer complete freedom to live the experience with the highest potential for everyone’s expansion. So if we pity someone and do everything we can to prevent them from suffering, it would be like tying our children’s shoes for them, without ever giving them the opportunity to do it themselves.
Let’s be clear here, though… I’m not talking about insensitivity. Of course, we feel Love through this Compassion, and we can guide and assist people going through difficult situations, but without feeling their suffering. By being neutral and compassionate, our vibrational frequency remains high and we are able to accompany people through our Quality of Presence or through a smile, a word, or a simple gesture.
Compassion in neutrality combined with a smile, a word, or a gesture in the Quality of Presence will lift the veil on the resources that are already available to that person… and suddenly, they will have the eyes to see them and the ears to hear them and, above all, enough Love within them to welcome them!
Self-Compassion
I would now like to address a subject very dear to my heart: Compassion for oneself, or what I kindly refer to as… self-compassion! But first, let’s take a look at self-judgment.
As you are surely aware, self-judgment is deeply rooted in our society! In fact, I would say it’s almost fashionable… ☺ There is a widespread belief that the more we beat ourselves up, the better we will become, because we are working hard to improve ourselves! Let’s just say that this is one path that is available, but not necessarily the easiest or most fluid. Self-judgment significantly lowers our vibrational frequency and closes doors to opportunities because energetic encounters are distorted. They always offer a path of duality and polarity. Of course, we all want positivity in our lives, but we forget or ignore that negativity will always be there too, because they are two sides of the same coin!
Exercise - Awareness of Judgment
I invite you to highlight all areas of your life:
Health – Relationship or Single Life – Family – Finances – Work – Leisure
Once you have done this, I suggest you bring them to your awareness one by one and feel the vibration in your body, mainly in your solar plexus (located between your chest and navel) and your heart.
Do you feel any tension, judgment, or fears? If so, simply welcome them and take several deep breaths while feeling them.
I also suggest enriching this exercise by:
- Writing down how you feel about all these areas of your life: do you feel contraction or suffering?
- Writing down everything you are ready to let go of… to stop holding on to completely.
- Remembering to breathe during the writing exercise.
Fire Ceremony
- Once you have completed your list, I invite you to create a safe environment to perform a fire ceremony.
- If you have an indoor or outdoor fireplace, that’s ideal.
- If not, get a fireproof container so you can safely burn your paper, preferably outside.
- When you are ready, take a few deep breaths.
- Read the contents of your list aloud.
- When you feel ready, place your sheet of paper in the fire.
- Watch it burn until the contents are reduced to ashes.
- Give thanks for your experience and feel the lightness.
Connecting to the Heart
Next, it will be much easier to feel the connection to your heart, which will allow you to experience Compassion. You may feel tingling, warmth, or a sense of well-being in your heart, or greater depth in your breathing, allowing your body to open up more and more to fluidity and lightness.
After this exercise, you will begin to be more aware of the moments when you tend to judge and tense up. You will be able to catch yourself in the act and breathe while freeing yourself from that insidious judgment.
This is Compassion experienced in the Neutrality of the Heart!
And here is the definition I propose once again:
Compassion is Love in Action!
What do you think? Are you ready and open to saying YES to yourself?
To continue reading this trilogy of articles, I invite you to read the next in the series, entitled “Living in Duality vs. Living in Neutrality.”
Enjoy reading