Reclaim Compassion

There are numerous forces that influence and/or impact churches. The various effects of culture have become one of the greatest forces that churches and pastors are facing. Dealing with various cultures have always been a challenge for society and the church. Now, more than ever, the church needs to take a close look at the effects of cultural influence. Unfortunately, many churches are embracing cultures that are not consistent with the teachings of the Scripture. This project will address one such issue: The Demise of Compassion.

Compassion plays a central role in the teachings of all world religions. Christianity in particular demonstrates its vitality through compassionate engagement with those suffering with Christ serving as a paradigm and source of motive power. These concrete acts of mercy and solidarity disclose God's intimate regard for the welfare of humanity. The purpose of this book is to affirm compassion as the pulsating heartbeat of Christian theology and praxis through the hermeneutical perspectives of brain science, psychology, and practical theology. More importantly, it offers readers specific compassion cultivation practices that will nurture the trait of compassion as a way of incarnating God's compassionate presence and response to a world marked with suffering of all kinds.

“A wonderful book for thinking about how to release ourselves from crippling processes. It's time for men—and for all of us—to stand up and say, ‘Give us back our full humanity, give us back our dignity.'” —Paul Gilbert, PhD, author of The Compassionate Mind In a recent FiveThirtyEight poll, 60 percent of men surveyed said society puts pressure on men to behave in a way that is unhealthy or bad. Men account for 80 percent of suicides in the United States, and three in ten American men have suffered from depression. Ed Adams and Ed Frauenheim say a big part of the problem is a model of masculinity that's become outmoded and even dangerous, to both men and women. The conventional notion of what it means to be a man—what Adams and Frauenheim call “Confined Masculinity”—traps men in an emotional straitjacket; steers them toward selfishness, misogyny, and violence; and severely limits their possibilities. As an antidote, they propose a new paradigm: Liberating Masculinity. It builds on traditional masculine roles like the protector and provider, expanding men's options to include caring, collaboration, emotional expressivity, an inclusive spirit, and environmental stewardship. Through hopeful stories of men who have freed themselves from the strictures of Confined Masculinity, interviews with both leaders and everyday men, and practical exercises, this book shows the power of a masculinity defined by what the authors call the five Cs: curiosity, courage, compassion, connection, and commitment. Men will discover a way of being that fosters healthy, harmonious relationships at home, at work, and in the world.

Shed your shame. Renew your hope. Rediscover the parent you know you can be. Is your adoption journey turning out differently than you imagined? You had so much love to give, but now you feel ashamed and bewildered by your lack of compassion. You may be experiencing blocked care-a self-protective mechanism in your nervous system that makes it difficult to connect with your child and maintain compassion. When it happens, it's like your heart seems to have left the relationship. But the good news is you are not a bad parent. You can heal from blocked care, and compassion can be rekindled in your heart. Written by two adoptive parents who have overcome blocked care, Reclaim Compassion answers the questions, "How did this happen?" and "Will it ever get better?" You'll recognize yourself in the honest stories from the authors and other parents and come to realize that you are not alone. Rooted in faith and backed by neuroscience, this practical and powerful guide offers a simple step-by-step process for reclaiming compassion for your child and yourself. "Lisa and Melissa's holistic-brain, body, and spirit-approach to understanding and overcoming blocked care will lead you to personal healing and meaningful connection with your children. Every foster and adoptive parent should read this book!" Jamie Finn, author of Foster the Family, Director, Foster the Family "Reclaim Compassion practically and compassionately addresses part of parenting that no one wants to talk about. Lisa C. Qualls and Melissa Corkum are the go-to experts on blocked care, and this book is proof. No one understands it better than they do. We can't recommend this book enough!" Mike and Kristin Berry, hosts of The Honestly Adoption Podcast, coauthors of Securely Attached Lisa C. Qualls and Melissa Corkum serve thousands of adoptive parents by providing post-adoption support through their podcast, books, speaking, and coaching. To learn more, find Lisa and Melissa at www.reclaimcompassion.com

Has the nation's infatuation with the free market warped the true meaning of American freedom by its emphasis on the self-serving individual in a "looking out for Number One" world? Freedom is America's most treasured value. In Freedom Reclaimed, John E. Schwarz examines the profound implications of the difference between the vision of American freedom that the Founders enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the free-market idea of freedom that is ascendant today. Schwarz shows how the three-decade shift toward free-market freedom has brought economic hardship to the majority of Americans and suffering to the political life of the nation. As the nation moves further away from its impelling original commitment, most Americans now have only limited access to the freedom the Founders envisioned. Schwarz sets forth a program that can help America return to its ennobling vision and resume its historic journey. In policy discussions on employment, education, social issues, and health care, Schwarz recasts our understanding of what freedom means and involves. In so doing, he transforms the way we see our world and revitalizes our ability to change it for the better.

This study “brings to life a circle of writers and composers, with analyses of their major, minor . . . and forgotten works of Jewish music theater” (Abigail Gillman, author of Viennese Jewish Modernism). During the mid-19th century, the works of Arthur Schopenhauer and Richard Wagner sparked an impulse toward German cultural renewal and social change that drew on religious myth, metaphysics, and spiritualism. The only problem was that their works were deeply antisemitic and entangled with claims that Jews were incapable of creating compassionate art. By looking at the works of Jewish composers and writers who contributed to a lively and robust biblical theatre in fin de siècle Vienna, Caroline A. Kita shows how they reimagined myths of the Old Testament to offer new aesthetic and ethical views of compassion. These Jewish artists, including Gustav Mahler, Siegfried Lipiner, Richard Beer-Hofmann, Stefan Zweig, and Arnold Schoenberg, reimagined biblical stories through the lens of the modern Jewish subject to plead for justice and compassion toward the Jewish community. By tracing responses to antisemitic discourses of compassion, Kita reflects on the explicitly and increasingly troubled political and social dynamics at the end of the Habsburg Empire.

In the face of a breakup or loss, the idea of finding meaning and moving on seems impossible. While we cannot stop the loss from occurring, we can change our thoughts around it. These difficult events can remind us that relationships are lessons and true gifts. A broken heart is an open heart, and endings are also beginnings. Reclaim Love aims to empower an extraordinary new way of thinking about broken hearts and inspire you to seek out another chance at love. Author Giordana Silverberg writes from her own experiences of losing her partner to cancer and later finding new love. She presents tools that can help transform your grief to love by uncovering and releasing any fears, limiting beliefs, and unhealthy patterns that block you from finding and having the love you truly desire. The guidance offered here can comfort you on your journey to healing, acceptance, and closure from the past, allowing to manifest the future and love you deserve. This self-help guide explores the emotions that result from the loss of a loved one or relationship and helps those suffering to move from grief to love.

Although not always unswervingly, from antiquity until today, Christians have engaged in charity. As settings changed, compassion evolved, laying in place an ongoing mosaic of Christian ideas and institutions surrounding care. From the antique and medieval to the modern and contemporary, each age offers unique actors and insights into how compassion is viewed and achieved. We consider repeating motifs and novel appearances in the arc of Christian compassion which enlighten and inspire. Encountered on the journey are the formation and sacrifice of ancient Christians; an emphasis on virtues taught through sparing and sharing; the nascent social welfare of the Byzantine church; the sacralization and mobilization of a medieval church; innovative ideas from reformers who advance the role of the state; and modern movements in justice, peace, humanitarianism, mutual aid, and community development.

This new anniversary edition is a companion to the Spiritual Exercises that does justice to women’s experience across contexts and social locations. While acknowledging obstacles that the Exercises hold for women in various contexts, the authors provide fresh interpretations of every aspect of this spiritual classic. They bring together feminist consciousness, a broad knowledge of psychology and theology, and the compassionate insight of experienced spiritual guides.

Since the efforts of Dame Cicely Saunders and the founders of the modern hospice movement, compassion has become a fundamental part of palliative care. In this ground-breaking book, international experts give their critical thoughts on the essence and role of compassion, in both palliative and hospice care over the past half-century. Compassion: The essence of palliative and end-of-life care provides insight into the motivations for, and practice of, compassionate palliative and hospice care, featuring the reflections of leading healthcare professionals, social workers, chaplains and educators. Chapters utilise case examples and first-hand experiences to explore the historical and contemporary discourse surrounding the concept of compassion in palliative medicine. This book is relevant to a multidisciplinary audience of palliative care practitioners, including undergraduate and graduate students in sociology, psychology and theology, and healthcare professionals in oncology and gerontology.

"An exquisite exploration…" Dr. Shawne Duperon, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee “A life-changing journey…" Crystal Andrus Morissette, S.W.A.T. Institute "A must-read…" Angela Polidoro, former Editor for Random House’s Ballantine Bantam Dell International Bestselling Author Ava Miles shows readers how to overhaul the false power ruining their lives and reclaim their true power—their superpower—to live their best life, perfect for fans of Brene Brown. "Here are all the tools you need to save your own world—cape, supersuit, and a new bad-ass attitude implied." –Kathia Zolfaghari, International Bestseller and Kung Fu Master Do you remember the last time you believed you could do anything? When you were your own superhero—strong and capable and in charge of your life? Many of us were plugged into our true power in childhood, but it was disconnected as we grew up and graduated as adults in our communities, the work force, and our relationships. Now current events have kicked us in the gut and plunged us into new depths of powerlessness. Never before have we needed to relearn and reclaim our true power. Ava worked with top leaders in the world’s greatest power centers, formulating plans to rebuild war zones and implementing them on the ground. Through her work, she learned true power creates a better life; false power destroys it. Her ring-side seat to zero-sum power led her to search for a new kind: true, instinctive personal power. In Reclaim Your Superpowers, Ava guides us through the steps she took to reclaim her own life, going from a rat-race professional to an international bestselling author living her dream life from zero-to-sixty. This cutting-edge guide gives you a practical blueprint on: · The ins and outs of real personal power · Diving into your fears and misuses around power · How to assess where you’re using false power and getting nowhere · Spotlight Tools to identify the origin stories holding you back · Take Back Tools to reconnect you to your true power · Super Tools to tease out your winning traits to plan and manifest what you really want It's time to take back your power—your superpowers. It's time to start living your best life. Reclaim Your Superpowers is part of The Lost Guides to Living Your Best Life series, a complete system to help us reclaim the nine superpowers essential to rocking life. * * * Ava Miles is the international bestselling author of powerful books about love, happiness, and transformation. As a former conflict expert, Ava rebuilt warzones in places like Lebanon, Colombia, and the Congo to foster peaceful and prosperous communities. While rewarding, Ava recognized she could affect more positive change in the world by addressing the real roots of conflict and unhappiness. In becoming an author, she realized her best life: healing the world through books. Her novels have received praise and accolades from USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, and Women’s World Magazine in addition to being chosen as Best Books of the Year and Top Editor’s picks. However, Ava’s strongest praise comes directly from her readers, who call her books life changing. The Lost Guides to Living Your Best Life represent the culmination of her work as a conflict expert, life coach, and wellness expert. *** Reviews “Ava gives us the tools we need to reclaim our everyday joy and honest expression. Rediscover my inner superpowers? Yes, please! The Lost Guides are a world changer. Well done, Ava.” ~ International Bestseller and Kung Fu Master Kathia Zolfaghari “A life-changing journey every woman will want to take.” ~ Crystal Andrus Morissette, Founder of the S.W.A.T. Institute (Simply Woman Accredited Trainer) “Miles’ series is an exquisite exploration of internal discomfort and courage, allowing you to reclaim your divine soul and fully express your womanhood. I highly recommend.” ~ Dr. Shawne Duperon, Project Forgive Founder, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, on The Lost Guides “Miles provides us with essential advice on how we can shed the beliefs that are making us miserable and find our way back to our inner goddesses… She guides us through the sometimes turbulent waters of the issues that matter most to us (relationships, sex, finances, self-expression, self-image, etc.). This is must read…” ~ Angela Polidoro, former Editor for Random House’s Ballantine Bantam Dell “Pushing the envelope is edgy. Change is never comfortable. Ava Miles takes us out of our comfortable chitchat cocoon and shows us how to become those butterflies all women are destined to become no matter what they face in life. The series is a must-read.” ~ Risa Shimoda, Outdoor Leadership Consultant and President of The Shimoda Group, on The Lost Guides “Let your adventure begin and unleash by reading this series.” ~ Anna Levesque, author of Yoga for Paddling, on The Lost Guides “This series delivers empowering advice without pulling any punches.” ~ Liza M. Shaw, MA, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist of PowerToThrive.com, on The Lost Guides “Ava Miles is a courageous fellow writer whose mission is to empower all women.” ~ Aspen Matis, author of the internationally bestselling memoir Girl in the Woods “Ava gets to the heart of why some of us do toxic or hang around drama while helping us all realize we can have happy and loving relationships that don’t clutter up our space or make us sick.” ~ Courtney Cachet, Celebrity Designer & TV Personality

In The Best Australian Political Writing 2009, Crikey publisher Eric Beecher selects the most incisive and entertaining writing about the notable events and names of the past year. From the Prime Minister's historic apology speech and the global financial crisis to the election of the first black American President, it has been an era-defining twelve months. Leading political commentators chart these momentous times and look at the issues that have divided the country - climate change, leadership contests, the Bill Henson controversy and more.

Partner With the Holy Spirit for Your Health and Healing We are in a health crisis. Breakthroughs are needed if we are to experience the divine health and healing that God wants for us, breakthroughs that can only come when we partner with the Holy Spirit. In Receive Your Healing and Reclaim Your Health, Cal Pierce gives you the keys to experiencing the divine health you were designed for. God has the power to eradicate sickness through prayer. And when you give the Holy Spirit control of your health, He becomes a partner, guiding you in truth regarding nutrition, exercise, and every aspect of a healthy life.

Missionary work, arising from a sense of pity, helped convince the British that they were a benevolent people. Stevens relates this to the rise of the cult of sensibility, when philosophers argued that humans were inherently good because they felt sorrow at the sign of suffering.

Compassion Focused Therapy Participant Workbook is a companion book to Compassion Focused Group Therapy for University Counseling Centers, a one-of-a-kind 12-session manual for conducting compassion focused group therapy on college campuses. Compassion-based interventions have been shown to decrease symptoms of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress in students. This book’s 12 sessions incorporate several aspects of compassionate living including defining and understanding compassion, mindfulness, shame, assertiveness, and forgiveness to help participants act in more compassionate ways with themselves and others, lower feelings of shame and self-criticism, and engage in self-reassuring behaviors. The workbook provides clients with summaries of each session, handouts, and key exercises and, along with the manual, can be followed session-by-session or adapted according to the needs of the group. This workbook is designed to be used by clinicians and participants in a clinician-led group utilizing Compassion Focused Group Therapy for University Counseling Centers.

Lawrence J. Lincoln had no idea how a near-forgotten childhood event had impacted his adult relationships and busy medical career. His life changed dramatically as he gradually discovered that injured or neglected children often take revenge on the least dangerous person in their universe: themselves. As a result, we banish the most vulnerable, frightened, and tender parts of ourselves so that we are not hurt again. In Reclaiming Banished Voices, Larry fills the pages with stories and teachings that illustrate the consequences of this sabotage to our personal lives, our relationships, and society. With intellectual clarity and emotional poignancy, he also offers a technique to reclaim our full selves and live a connected and fulfilling life. Drawing on his years of leading workshops with Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, as well as his vast experience as an infectious disease and hospice clinician, Lincoln provides multiple examples of the transformative power of compassion and love. Part memoir, part treatise on the value of the externalization of emotions, and part roadmap for those searching for elusive contentment, this book will help you reclaim voices from the past, become a better parent, partner or friend, and live a fully engaged life.

Empathy has never been more important, yet we're living in an era of a massive empathy deficit. At the same time, workplace culture has changed dramatically. Leaders, who have already been stretched to the limit, are now being called on to create and nurture genuine connection, psychological safety, and well-being across their organizations--all while adapting to the values of a new generation that won't compromise on diversity, equity, and inclusion. As this book shows, human beings are wired to care, and we can become more empathic with practice. Empathy increases dopamine, reduces stress, boosts self-esteem, heightens the immune system, and enriches our relationships. Empathy also improves business key performance indicators. This means that leveraging empathy on purpose can lead to better health, happier and more productive workplaces, and a more meaningful life. That's why empathy is our superpower. Through inspiring stories; interviews with experts, including business leaders, neuroscientists, activists, social entrepreneurs, and spiritual leaders; a new model rooted in positive psychology and coaching; and self-development exercises at the end of each chapter, Purposeful Empathy offers wisdom and practical advice to foster personal, organizational, and social transformation.

We are passionately interested in the importance of nursing values and believe that excellence in compassionate nursing care lies at the heart of nursing practice and that leadership is key to making this happen. Every nurse, whatever their position and role, has a vital leadership role to play in ensuring excellent care remains at the heart of nursing practice. From the preface Highly committed nurses often feel disillusioned, disempowered and angry when they are faced with negative media reports about poor standards of care. They are genuinely concerned, and want to address issues, when patients and clients feel they are not being cared for with compassion. However, complex and under-resourced healthcare environments pose many challenges. Developing ideas and initiatives from the highly successful Compassion and Caring in Nursing, in this new book Claire Chambers and Elaine Ryder focus on these potential difficulties and offers practitioners a chance to build on their current knowledge and experience, and consider ways to take the lead and act as catalysts for change. Each chapter focuses on a particular issue and case scenarios are used and revisited in each chapter, so that theory and practice are integrated throughout. Specific prompts encourage readers to bring about vital change in practice. All nurses, health visitors and health and social care practitioners should find this book motivating and realistic. It also offers thought-provoking inspiration for undergraduate and postgraduate healthcare students.

“In a time in which the ways we communicate and connect are constantly changing, and not always for the better, Sherry Turkle provides a much needed voice of caution and reason to help explain what the f*** is going on.” —Aziz Ansari, author of Modern Romance Renowned media scholar Sherry Turkle investigates how a flight from conversation undermines our relationships, creativity, and productivity—and why reclaiming face-to-face conversation can help us regain lost ground. We live in a technological universe in which we are always communicating. And yet we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection. Preeminent author and researcher Sherry Turkle has been studying digital culture for over thirty years. Long an enthusiast for its possibilities, here she investigates a troubling consequence: at work, at home, in politics, and in love, we find ways around conversation, tempted by the possibilities of a text or an email in which we don’t have to look, listen, or reveal ourselves. We develop a taste for what mere connection offers. The dinner table falls silent as children compete with phones for their parents’ attention. Friends learn strategies to keep conversations going when only a few people are looking up from their phones. At work, we retreat to our screens although it is conversation at the water cooler that increases not only productivity but commitment to work. Online, we only want to share opinions that our followers will agree with – a politics that shies away from the real conflicts and solutions of the public square. The case for conversation begins with the necessary conversations of solitude and self-reflection. They are endangered: these days, always connected, we see loneliness as a problem that technology should solve. Afraid of being alone, we rely on other people to give us a sense of ourselves, and our capacity for empathy and relationship suffers. We see the costs of the flight from conversation everywhere: conversation is the cornerstone for democracy and in business it is good for the bottom line. In the private sphere, it builds empathy, friendship, love, learning, and productivity. But there is good news: we are resilient. Conversation cures. Based on five years of research and interviews in homes, schools, and the workplace, Turkle argues that we have come to a better understanding of where our technology can and cannot take us and that the time is right to reclaim conversation. The most human—and humanizing—thing that we do. The virtues of person-to-person conversation are timeless, and our most basic technology, talk, responds to our modern challenges. We have everything we need to start, we have each other. Turkle's latest book, The Empathy Diaries (3/2/21) is available now.