How can compassion, a trait hardwired into our nervous system and waiting to be awakened, transform our lives and the world at large? Marc Barasch provides up-to-the-minute research to timeless spiritual truths, and weaves a stirring, unforgettable story of the search for kindness in a world that clearly needs it. With unfailing curiosity, Barasch poses vital questions: What can we learn from exceptionally empathetic people? Can we increase our compassion quotient with practice? What if the great driving force of our evolution were actually "survival of the kindest?" He comes up with challenging, ultimately inspiring answers. With encounters as diverse as observations of compassion amongst bonobo chimpanzees, to the story of a man who forgives his daughters killer, to teenage Palestinian and Israeli girls trying to wage peace, Barasch blends hard science and popular culture with his own hip, engaging narrative style to create a smart, provocative argument that a simple shift in consciousness changes pretty much everything.
Author(s): Marc Ian Barasch
Edition: Second Edition
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 288
Contents......Page 10
Preface......Page 12
1. The Circle of Compassion......Page 16
2. Roots, Branches, and the Clear Blue Sky......Page 33
3. Empathy: You in Me, Me in You......Page 57
4. Street Retreat: The Debt of Love......Page 80
5. The Good Eye......Page 102
6. Heart Science, Heart’s Mystery......Page 122
7. The Giveaway......Page 143
8. The Altruist......Page 164
9. The Elixir of Forgiveness......Page 192
10. Loving the Monster......Page 208
11. A Little Peace of the Heart......Page 231
12. The Beloved Community......Page 261
13. All My Relations......Page 286
Conclusion......Page 308
Epilogue......Page 314
Acknowledgments......Page 318
Notes......Page 321
Select Bibliography......Page 346
A......Page 351
C......Page 352
E......Page 354
F......Page 355
H......Page 356
J......Page 357
L......Page 358
M......Page 359
P......Page 360
R......Page 361
S......Page 362
T......Page 363
W......Page 364
Z......Page 365
