Compassion

It’s time to break the silence about suffering at work. Suffering happens everywhere. From page 11 in this book, “Without compassion, workplaces can become powerful amplifiers of human suffering.” Read on to explore the alternative, where organizations and the people in them awaken compassion at work.

In an earlier article, I wrote about 7 positive psychology behaviors that helped me survive some very traumatic experiences. As I approach the end of another pregnancy, I find myself feeling anxious and over-protective. Looking for ways to stay calm, I’ve found an 8th important behavior: experiencing and acting on compassion for the sufferings of others.

Of the 470 presenters at ISCS, none had a message more compelling than that of Tania Singer, a social neuroscientist from The Max Planck Institute. Singer seems vitally alive as she presents her work, a scientist who has clearly found her calling and is excited to share her findings. She is also studying a neglected type of motivation, Affiliation Motivation. Like many others there, she is embarked on the quest described by the Dalai Lama in the closing speech, “How can we take knowledge from science and apply it in the service of humanity?”

As the very last event of the IPPA Conference, Dr. Richard Davidson and Dr. Barbara Fredrickson invited a panel of five scientists to give very brief reports on their own work related to meditation and decision-making. Bethany Kok, Helen Weng, Clifford Saron, Erika Rosenberg, and J. David Creswell each gave 10 minute excerpts.

The last day of the IPPA Conference opened with a keynote address by Dr. Richard Davidson about changing the brain by transforming the mind, finding pathways to sustainable well-being. A…