Research led by Dr. James Doty, a practicing neurosurgeon, and the founder and director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) continues to further prove that acts of compassion, in-and-of themselves, stimulate the neurotransmitters that result in a real, and lasting, sense of contentment, or happiness. In other words, science is now confirming what the sages have preached throughout the eons – “It’s better to give, than to receive.” Acts 20:35
For more on CCARE, visit their website at http://ccare.stanford.edu/
Dr. James Doty has lived a most remarkable life, from a dysfunctional family trapped in poverty, to fame and fortune, to financial ruin and back, having learned one of the greatest lessons of all – that money and prestige are not the source of happiness; real-happiness comes from living a compassionate life based on caring and connecting to others, on altruistic acts of kindness and love.
Dr. Doty outlines his 10-step ‘Alphabet of the Heart’ meditative exercise in his gripping book, Into the Magic Shop, which is a New York Times Bestseller. Published in April 2016, his book is described as – “Part memoir, part science, part inspiration, and part practical instruction, Into the Magic Shop shows us how we can fundamentally change our lives by first changing our brains and our hearts.”
( http://intothemagicshop.com )
CnA obtained permission from Dr. Doty to incorporate his empowering Alphabet of the Heart into our 12-Step Meditation Toward Living a Compassionate Life, using our custom 12-bead strand, while maintaining separate credit for Dr. Doty’s generous contribution, and for his support.
In a popular YouTube video interview, a very high-end interview by UCTV, with Dr. Robert Lustig of UCSF relating to his recent book – The Hacking of the American Mind - outlines the positive karmic loop created by in-person acts of empathy.
After outlining the seven differences between pleasure and happiness, and how our minds are being hacked by various propaganda machines, he proceeds to discuss four, no-cost, methods to counteract being 'hacked'. Dr. Lustig calls these the 4-Cs, the very first of which is Connection, face-to-face, interpersonal, connection, which he explains with concise, yet impacting, delivery.
Let's quote him directly - “Interpersonal connection turns out to be extraordinarily important for happiness, and the reason is because face-to-face, eye-to-eye connection generates something called empathy. Empathy activates a specific set of neurons in your brain which have been termed Mirror Neurons, so that the feelings of the person that you are talking to ultimately become adopted by you as well. In that process you generate contentment.”
To watch Dr. Lustig's highly informative 32+ minute interview on UCTV, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKkUtrL6B18
One of the very best definitions of empathy comes from a popular 3-minute animated video.
It’s titled, Brené Brown on Empathy.
Dr. Brown quotes research which defines empathy with these four common elements:
(1) Empathy is taking the other person's perspective,
(2) it's staying out of judgement,
(3) it's recognizing emotion in others, and
(4) it's communicating the recognized emotion back to that person.
“Tend-and-befriend is theorized as having evolved as the typical female response to stress, just as the primary male response was fight-or-flight. … The tend-and-befriend theoretical model was originally developed by Dr. Shelley E. Taylor and her research team at the University of California, Los Angeles and first described in a Psychological Review article published in the year 2000 … In contrast to males, females have lower levels of circulating androgens such as testosterone, which are associated with aggression. Following exposure to acute stress, men showed an increase in testosterone, and this increase was associated with hostility. This appears to be linked to hostility in men but not in women. Women create, maintain, and use social networks—especially friendships with other women—to manage stressful conditions. … During threatening situations, group members can be a source of support and protection for women and their children. Research shows that women are more likely to seek the company of others in times of stress, compared to men. … Furthermore, support from another female provides enhanced stress-reducing benefits to women.” ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tend_and_befriend )
Oxytocin - In a research report, titled Evolutionary and Biochemical Explanations for a Unique Female Stress Response: Tend-and-Befriend, by Lauren A. McCarthy, Rochester Institute of Technology, states: " The tend-and-befriend response is characterized as an oxytocin mediated release."
To conclude the special bonus just for women:
“Estrogen has been shown to stimulate the release of oxytocin … It has also been shown that testosterone directly suppresses oxytocin.”
Trendsetting news and research relating to the importance of compassion and empathy:
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