Many people describe themselves as sensitive or ‘empaths’.
Empathy and compassion are often misunderstood emotions. Some people view these emotions as negative and a drain on their energy, while others view empathy and compassion as a gift. In this topic, we look at empathy and compassion and the impact these have on ourselves, others, and the collective.
Dictionary.com defines empathy as: “the psychological identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another” and compassion as “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering”.
Empathy can be thought of as feeling or taking on the pain of another, while compassion is the intellectual understanding of how another is feeling, which enables one to take appropriate action to assist.
Social and developmental psychology research conducted in 2014 by Daniel Batson and Nancy Eisenberg found that people displaying empathy can become personally distraught and can move into empathetic distress. Their studies revealed that people who feel compassion in a given situation are better able to help than people who suffer from empathic distress. In contrast, compassion isn’t about sharing the suffering of others. Instead, it’s characterized by warmth, care, and concern for the other person, along with a motivation to improve the other person’s well-being. Compassion is feeling for but not feeling with the other.
Compassion is a key concept in many spiritual paths, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. In these traditions, the spiritual concept of compassion is called ‘karuna.’ According to Yogapedia, ‘karuna’ comes from the Sanskrit word ‘kara,’ meaning to do or to make, indicating an action-based form of compassion rather than the pity or sadness associated with the English word. ‘Karuna’ is the doing of something to alleviate suffering.
In The Essence of the Heart Sutra, His Holiness, the Dalai Lama wrote, “...compassion is an aspiration, a state of mind, wanting others to be free from suffering. It’s not passive — it’s not empathy alone — but rather an empathetic altruism that actively strives to free others from suffering. Genuine compassion must have both wisdom and loving kindness. That is to say, one must understand the nature of the suffering from which we wish to free others (this is wisdom), and one must experience deep intimacy and empathy with other sentient beings (this is loving kindness)”.
Often people who are feeling empathic or compassionate toward another wish to help others. If we get stuck in empathy, it can hold us back because the pain can feel debilitating. If we can harness empathy to become compassionate, we can help others and ourselves because we are motivated to be of service.
How can you offer compassion while also maintaining personal boundaries to avoid being sapped by another person’s energy or the difficulty of the situation? We can create the intention of getting in tune with another person without losing oneself in the process.
Cultivating an awareness that the feeling you empathise with is not your own allows you to be compassionate without taking on someone’s lower frequency.
You can offer compassionate action—deliver food; offer a kind word, smile, or prayer; or direct light and healing energy to someone in pain—while remaining in a heart-centred space. Aligning with your heart allows you to relate to what another is going through and to offer help without taking it on as your own.
To give compassion to others, we need to show compassion to ourselves as well. Buddha said, “If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete”. Self-compassion means accepting, forgiving, and loving oneself even in less-than-optimal situations.
Because we are all connected, expressing empathy and compassion helps raise the vibration of ourselves, others, and the collective.
Discussion and Self-Reflection Questions
If you are naturally empathic, how can you change your empathy to compassion?
Can we create the intention of getting in tune with another person without losing oneself in the process?
How do you think judgment—or non-judgment—relates to feelings of empathy and compassion?
What are the barriers to expressing empathy and compassion, and how can you overcome these?
Empathy & Compassion Worksheet
Tips for Practicing Empathy:
Listen to people without interrupting.
Be aware of others’ body language and nonverbal communication cues.
Be open to others’ points of view.
Create a safe space when conversing with others—be caring, curious, and non-judgmental.
Visualize yourself in another person’s shoes.
Tips for Cultivating Compassion:
Start with yourself—fully accept, embrace, forgive, value, and love yourself!
Practice kindness in every moment.
Give up judgments and remember that everyone is doing their best.
Be fully present with others and move beyond the ego.
Tune into the interconnectedness of all forms of life.
Empathy & Compassion Notes:
Below is space for you to capture empathy and compassion ideas that resonate most with you.
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My Empathy & Compassion Strategies:
Below is space for you to write down strategies you would like to use to further cultivate your own empathy and compassion.
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