The Compassion Initiative: Just Two Guys in Brisbane talking Compassion. www.thecompassioninitiative.com.au

The words compassion and kindness are sometimes used interchangeably. But are they really the same thing? In this video, Dr Stan Steindl will reflect on compassion versus kindness, the definitions of each, as well as a recent study that has explored the differences in semantics of the words "compassion" and "kindness". It seems that not only are the definitions different, but that people can gener...

This video follows on from the previous two videos about The Compassionate Friend. However, here, Dr Stan Steindl discusses creating the "ideal compassionate other." This involves imagining an ideal being, without human weaknesses or flaws, who is exactly the kind of compassionate other that we want and would feel most helpful. If you would like to write your thoughts and ideas down on the "Creati...

The Compassionate Friend - Part 2 offers a guided practice of the Compassionate Friend Exercise, an exercise commonly used in compassion focused therapy and other compassion-based interventions. It incorporates earlier exercises offered in previous videos, not least Soothing Rhythm Breathing and the Safe Place Exercise. Give it a try! And write your thoughts, comments and questions below. The orig...

The Compassionate Friend Exercise is a powerful practice during times of discomfort, distress or suffering, and involves bringing to mind the image of a compassionate person or other living being, and finding solace and support from them. In this video, Dr Stan Steindl briefly describes creating a compassionate friend as well as his own experience with this exercise, using music to further illustr...

Shame is often place side-by-side with guilt, as if the two are the same or come as a pair: “shame and guilt.” However they are very different emotions, arising from very different emotion systems, with very different motivations. In this video, Dr Stan Steindl explores the differences, shame having a threat protection motivation arising from the threat system, and guilt having a caring motivation...

In this video, Dr Stan Steindl presents a brief "explainer" of Professor Paul Gilbert's evolutionary and biopsychosocial model of shame, as well as recent elaborations of the model incorporating the role of shame memories, to be described in a forthcoming chapter titled Shame Memories that Shape Who We Are by Matos, Steindl, Gilbert and Pinto-Gouveia (In Press). The original video on YouTube can b...

Shame experiences can often be firmly embedded as shame memories, with traumatic qualities and centrality to self-identity. These shame memories can then have negative effects on our psychological well-being, and also our openness to receiving compassion from others or from ourselves. But, as Dr Stan Steindl describes in this video, cultivating self-compassion can be very helpful in alleviating th...

The greatest threat to prehistoric humans was to be cast out of the group. Social threat is still painfully felt by humans today, especially in the form of socially self-conscious emotions, most notably shame. In this video, Dr Stan Steindl discusses shame, the different types of shame, its origins, and its physical and psychological effects. Importantly, cultivating the compassionate mind seems t...

In this video, Dr Stan Steindl exposes himself to possible ignominy by playing his guitar and singing 80s hits to exemplify each of the three emotion regulation systems in the three circles model: threat, drive and soothing/affiliation. It is rather embarrassing, and quite ridiculous in a way, but here it is. Please feel free to leave your comments below! They are always welcome...the original vid...

Harry Potter and the Place of Safeness: Part 2 is a follow-up to the previous Part 1 episode, which used stories from the world of Harry Potter to discuss the compassionate mind perspective on safety versus safeness. Part 1 can be found here: https://youtu.be/qW690ageYkY . In Part 2, Dr Stan Steindl provides a guided safe place imagery exercise. Safe place imagery is a powerful way to move from th...

From the compassionate mind perspective, safety and safeness are considered to be quite different. Safety is threat-based, while safeness arises from the soothing-affiliative system. In this video, Dr Stan Steindl explores safety and safeness, using scenes from the Harry Potter series to illustrate the substantive difference between the two. This video will be followed by Harry Potter and the Plac...

Anger can feel powerful, energising and strong. And yet it can also be destructive. Of course, none of this is our fault, and is just part of our tricky brains. But we do try to take responsibility for our anger, understand it, and understand what lies behind it. After a recent incident with his coffee machine, Dr Stan Steindl explores anger as well as how to approach our Angry Self with our Compa...

Shakespeare was a perspicacious observer of what it is to be human, and what it is to experience human emotions. Here, Dr Stan Steindl explores a passage from Shakespeare's play Cymbeline. It is spoken by the character of Imogen, dressed as the pageboy Fidele, when, after being drugged by a sleep potion, she wakes in a cave to find the beheaded body of her murderous pursuer but mistakes him for he...

After last week's discussion about the Big Three Emotions (anger, anxiety and sadness), Dr Stan Steindl reflected on his own experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting sadness. In this video, he explores sadness, including the feelings and thoughts associated with sadness, the way our attention can shift, the behaviours, and urges to behave, we have when feeling sad, and the possible m...

Staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic is a great act of compassion because it helps reduce transmission of the virus and "flatten the curve". However, for many of us this comes at an equally great cost, such that we suffer more, or in other ways. In this video, Dr Stan Steindl explores our multiple selves, different emotional aspect to ourselves, each with its own perspective, and the way that...

In this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people who are able are staying home. In this video, Dr Stan Steindl discusses this move to stay home as an act of great compassion, especially when we remember that compassion is a sensitivity to suffering in self and others, with a commitment to try to alleviate and PREVENT it. Staying home is designed to prevent suffering, through minimising transmiss...

Hey Fletchy by The Compassion Initiative: Dr Stan Steindl and Dr James Kirby

In this video, Dr Stan Steindl discusses the sixth competency of the compassionate mind: non-judgement. After a quick look at how to spell the word, we ask "does this mean we never judge?" We look at the role of judgement in compassion, both in terms of sensitivity and helpful action, as well as the importance of discernment and boundary setting. We then clarify non-judgement from the perspective...

People often ask, "What's the difference between compassion and empathy?" While there are many perspectives on this question, in this video Dr Stan Steindl discusses compassion and empathy from the perspective of the compassionate mind, including the differences between them, but also the important ways that they relate to one another. Compassion is a motivation and empathy is competency...watch t...

In this video, Dr Stan Steindl discusses compassion fatigue from the theoretical perspective of the compassionate mind. In particular, this video explores the roles of the attributes of compassion, especially empathy, sympathy and distress tolerance, as well as the three flows of compassion, offering some thoughts to ponder as you bring all three flows into balance. This video also poses a controv...

In this episode of the Compassion Initiative Podcast, Stan talks to Patrick Berthiaume, a motivational interviewing practitioner, trainer and supervisor based in Montreal, Canada. They discuss the powerful role vulnerability can play in motivation for change in the context of motivational interviewing, and also in the context of compassion focused therapy and the three flows of compassion: for sel...

Dr Stan Steindl reviews the wonderful speech given by Joaquin Phoenix when he was recently awarded the Best Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of Joker. See the video of this podcast here: https://youtu.be/IgrZqQIBNMo . In his speech, Joaquin speaks about love and compassion, gratitude, humility, commonality, forgiveness and much more. You can see Joaquin's speech here: https://oscar.go.com...

Episode 2 2020 "Insights from Straddie Retreat" by The Compassion Initiative: Dr Stan Steindl and Dr James Kirby

After a quick dash to Palo Alto University in Northern California last week, Dr Stan Steindl explores the notion of compassion conversations: a listener and speaker, where the listener is interested and engaged and helps the speaker explore their perspective on compassion, both sides of the argument, and ultimately eliciting a commitment for next steps. Through the magic of movie making, this vide...

Having recently had the chance to discuss the role of the Vagus Nerve in compassionate mind training with Dr Jamin Day and Dr James Kirby, here's my latest video called "Let's Go To Vagus: Vagus Nerve and Compassionate Mind" a brief and concise explainer of the brain, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, the Vagus Nerve and the notion of Vagal Tone, and how to cultivate the compass...