The Practice of Compassion

 "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.

If you want to be happy, practice compassion."

~Dalai Lama

The Budda is quoted as saying, "It is possible to travel the whole world in search of one who is more worthy of compassion than oneself. No such person can be found." It is through developing compassion that we are able to rise above personal feelings and open our hearts to others.

Compassion-from Latin: "co-suffering"-is a virtue, in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy for the suffering of others are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnectedness and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.

The practice of Jin Shin Jyutsu is all about compassion. It is through compassion for ourselves and others, that we can walk the path of our true spirit.
In Japanese, Jin means “knowing, compassionate human being.”  Compassion is viewed as "the magic key that unlocks the true power of our inner spirit." This principle is a feeling of whole hearted acceptance of the weakness and strengths of the human race without judgment.
Shin means spirit, “divine nature” or “creation.” It is through this spirit that energy flows from us to another. This spirit breathes in and through each of us. It encompasses the whole of the universe and sets us on the path of self awareness, in tune with nature and the oneness of all things.
And Jyutsu simply means “the art of.” Thus, Jin Shin Jyutsu can mean “the Art of Divine Creation through Compassionate Human Intent” or "the Art of the Creator through Man of Knowing and Compassion."Jin Shin Jyutsu is the art of releasing tensions and attitudes, which are the causes for various symptoms in the body. As we come into balance, we increase our capacity for compassion and reinstate harmony.

"Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect." ~from Charter for Compassion

This virtue is SO what we are missing in our world and our lives. Our capacity to become better human beings is dependent on compassion, that ability to feel what others are feeling and experiencing, to understand the pain and sorrow that another is suffering, and to accept each other with tolerance and non-judgment. By developing patience and understanding, we find the clarity to know all sides of a story. When we overcome our ego, we clearly see that we are all interconnected and dependent on each other for our well-being.

"Compassion is that which makes 

the heart of the good move at the pain of others.

It crushes and destroys the pain of others; 

thus, it is called compassion.

It is called compassion 

because it shelters and embraces the distressed."

~Buddha

Nurture

"The best way to nurture children's inner lives is by taking care of our own inner selves  for their sake." ~Sylvia Boorstein Nurturing ourselves may well be one of our greatest challenges in life. As women, we tend to put everyone else first, thinking that our role is to please and accommodate our loved ones and our jobs before tending to our own emotional, physical, or spiritual needs. For many, it takes a "special" day like Mother's Day or our birthday to allow others to DO for us! But when our habit is to put others first, the result is that we are stressed out and depleted and have little left to give. However, when we make the time to take care of our own needs, we have so much more to share with our families and our jobs!  Eda LeShan says, “When we truly care for ourselves, it becomes possible to care far more profoundly about other people. The more alert and sensitive we are to our own needs, the more loving and generous we can be toward others."  It is important that we find ways to nourish ourselves, to listen to our bodies and to tap into healthy resources like Jin Shin Jyutsu to maintain a sense of balance and to nurture our spirit and well-being. It might be helpful to think of caring for yourself as if you were your own child.  According to Lauren Mackler, author of 7 Steps to Nurturing Your Inner Self, "A great technique for treating yourself better is by developing your Inner Nurturing Parent. Imagine you had a little child in your care. You'd make every effort to keep her healthy and safe; to love and support her; to be forgiving of her mistakes, her inevitable slips; and to let her know how precious and important she is. That's what a loving parent does. Only, in this case, you're the parent and the child." Mary Burmeister, the mother of Jin Shin Jyutsu encouraged her students to, "BE your own testimony." Think of nurturing yourself as setting the example for your children and those you care about by giving to yourself at least as much as you give to others. Love is the great healer. The capacity for self-love and the ability to self nurture is bigger than you and me, it will bring balance and peace to the world.  "We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it." ~John Lennon

Jin Shin Jyutsu In the News

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." 

~Helen Keller 

      The Markey Cancer Center at the University of Kentucky offers Jin Shin Jyutsu (JSJ) free to its patients. JSJ practitioner Jennifer Bradley treats patients in a special therapy room or in their chair in the chemotherapy clinic. Research data from more than 450 sessions with 159 cancer patients revealed that all of these patients reported a decrease in stress, pain and nausea levels after JSJ. Based on this pilot data, Bradley's next study will examine if belief in JSJ, or spiritual beliefs in general, play a role in patient outcomes, as well as the therapy's impact on specific radiation side effects.
     "It was interesting to note that regardless of age, sex or diagnosis, cancer patients received a statistically significant improvement in the side effects from treatment," study researcher Jennifer Bradley, said in a statement. "It is encouraging to note that Jin Shin Jyutsu made improvements in these areas without adding additional unwanted effects that so often occur with medication interventions."

"One of the most sublime experiences we can ever have
is to wake up feeling healthy after we have been sick."
~Rabbi Harold Kushner
 

Write Yourself a Letter

       This afternoon my eleven year old daughter got to work on her own newsletter. I was so impressed with her article that I asked if she would be my guest writer this week. She agreed, so I have included her article here. I love her ritual of writing herself a letter and leaving it in her seasonal clothing box when it goes out to storage. Last year when David brought in her clothes he found a note she had written to herself - an note from the "past Rebecca" to the "future Rebecca". We didn't know that she had had this ritual for a while. We were so amazed by her letter and her ability to be tender with herself. I have included that letter at the end of her article. I hope that you will write your future self a letter. Seems like a great Thanksgiving Ritual! ~Beth 

Self Help Tip: 

Write Yourself a Letter
by Rebecca G.  Molaro

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” ~Aristotle

I was thinking about the things I should do this weekend and I saw a big box full of my summer clothes in the middle of my room. I had been putting off sending my clothing out to the storage shed because of a personal ritual have. I always write a little personal letter to myself and put it in the box for me to find the following season. I decided that I was done having this big box in the middle of my room and so I decided I should write the letter today. Then I got to thinking that it would be helpful to everyone if they wrote a letter to themselves each year or every season or so.

Writing letters to yourself is a great way to get in tune with your feelings and emotions. It helps you to understand yourself and what you were thinking about when you wrote the letter. You can also set goals for yourself and then see when you open the letter if you completed your goals. You can talk about your dreams and plans for life and how you want to go about things.

I encourage YOU to write a letter to yourself. If you have certain seasonal decorations that you get out each year, at the end of the season you can put your letter in with those things or you can put it in a box that you will find one day. It is so special when you forget about writing the letter and then find it. I hope you enjoy this ritual as much as I do! 

All the wonders you seek are within yourself. ~Sir Thomas Browne

Compassion

"A human being is a part of the whole called by us UNIVERSE, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." ~Albert Einstein

Practice Compassion

 "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
~Dalai Lama

As I write today, my daughter is busily making Valentines for her teachers and classmates for tomorrow's big Valentine Day Celebration at school. To keep it personal and real, she always likes to make her own cards, one by one, each special and unique like the person they are meant for. I love seeing her work so hard on this project as Valentines Day has become such a retail driven holiday that the honoring of our friendships, love and romance is often overshadowed by its commercial nature.

In honor of Valentines Day, I want to focus on compassion.  It is through developing compassion that we are able to rise above personal feelings and open our hearts to other people and what better thing is there to focus on for Valentines?!

Compassion-from Latin: "co-suffering"-is a virtue, in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy for the suffering of others are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnectedness and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.

The Budda is quoted as saying, "It is possible to travel the whole world in search of one who is more worthy of compassion than oneself. No such person can be found."

The practice of Jin Shin Jyutsu is all about compassion. It is through compassion for ourselves and others, that we can walk the path of our true spirit. In Japanese, Jin means “knowing, compassionate human being.”  Compassion is viewed as "the magic key that unlocks the true power of our inner spirit." This principle is a feeling of whole hearted acceptance of the weakness and strengths of the human race without judgment. Shin means spirit, “divine nature” or “creation.” It is through this spirit that energy flows from us to another. This spirit breathes in and through each of us. It encompasses the whole of the universe and sets us on the path of self awareness, in tune with nature and the oneness of all things.  And Jyutsu simply means “the art of.” Thus, Jin Shin Jyutsu can mean “the Art of Divine Creation through Compassionate Human Intent” or "the Art of the Creator through Man of Knowing and Compassion." Jin Shin Jyutsu is the art of releasing tensions and attitudes, which are the causes for various symptoms in the body. As we come into balance, we increase our capacity for compassion and reinstate harmony.

"Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect." ~from Charter for Compassion

This virtue is SO what we are missing in our world and our lives. Our capacity to become better human beings is dependent on compassion, that ability to feel what others are feeling and experiencing, to understand the pain and sorrow that another is suffering, and to accept each other with tolerance and non-judgment. By developing patience and understanding, we find the clarity to know all sides of a story. When we overcome our ego, we clearly see that we are all interconnected and dependent on each other for our well-being.

"Compassion is that which makes the heart of the good move at the pain of others. It crushes and destroys the pain of others; thus, it is called compassion.
It is called compassion because it shelters and embraces the distressed."
~Buddha