The Compassion Exercise©

  By Harry Palmer

Objective: To increase compassion in the world

Expected results: A personal sense of peace.

Instructions: This exercise can be done anywhere that people congregate (airports, malls, parks, beaches etc.) It should be done on strangers, unobtrusively, from some distance. Try to do all five steps on the same person.

Step one:   With attention on the person, repeat to yourself “Just like me,   this person is seeking some happiness for his/her life.”

Step two:   With attention on the person, repeat to yourself: “Just like me,   this person is trying to avoid suffering in his/her life.”

Step three:   With attention on the person, repeat to yourself: “Just like me   this person has known sadness, loneliness', and despair.”

Step four:   With attention on the person, repeat to yourself: “Just like me   this person is seeking to fulfil his/her needs.”

Step five:   With attention on the person, repeat to yourself: “Just like me,   this person is learning about life.”

How I use this exercise

I recently used this exercise whilst traveling on the London Underground (The Tube) it was a wonderful experience to feel connected to people who were maybe tired or worried or just reading quietly. To surrender all the judgment and just feel connected at a deeper level was very special. It felt as if the energy in the carriage changed in the time I traveled home.

Julie Armitage