8 consecutive weeks beginning Wednesday, January 8, 2020, through Monday, February 24, 2020, from 6:30-8:30 pm in the below location.
- Wednesday, January 8
- Monday, January 13
- Monday, January 20
- Monday, January 27
- Wednesday, February 5
- Monday, February 10
- Monday, February 17
- Monday, February 24
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(Sliding scale is available for need, please contact sflovedojo (at) icloud (dot) com)
Location: Union Bank Hospitality Room
Japantown East Mall (near Daiso)
San Francisco, California
Cost: $295 earlybird (by December 6), $395 regular price
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What is Compassion Cultivation Training?
Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) is an eight-week program designed to develop the qualities of compassion, empathy, and kindness for oneself and for others. CCT integrates traditional contemplative practices with contemporary psychology and scientific research on compassion. The CCT protocol was developed at Stanford University by a team of contemplative scholars, clinical psychologists, and researchers.
Compassion is the wish for the long-term wellbeing of self and others accompanied by the urge to help end suffering. Although compassion is a natural capacity within us, everyday stressors, social pressures and life experiences can make it difficult to respond with kindness. We can choose to cultivate our compassion instinct by training our hearts and minds to intentionally choose thoughts and actions that will bring us resilience and lasting joy.
Dr. Chandra had practiced mindfulness, compassion and lovingkindness meditation for 20 years, but found training in these tools with others to be profoundly meaningful and transformative, particularly in a toxic national climate where abusive power was elevated and cultural wounds were exposed. He believes we need to cultivate our caring capacity as individuals and as a community to better meet the challenges of the modern world.
The training is focused on developing self-awareness, kindness, empathy and courage to support the ability to respond mindfully to suffering and includes:
- Weekly 2-hour classes focused on skills acquisition
- Group discussion, informal lectures and in-class exercises
- Daily meditation practices
- Techniques to practice compassion in daily life
Benefits based on preliminary findings suggest that CCT and similar programs can increase self-compassion and self-care, and enhance meaningful connections with others. CCT is designed to support anyone who wants to cultivate compassion including caregivers, parents, healthcare professionals, therapists, executives, those in public service – people from a wide range of life contexts. No previous meditation experience is required.
Healthcare providers and caregivers: CCT improves caring behaviors towards oneself, and the capacity to tolerate a full range of emotions – qualities associated with resilient caregiving.
College students: CCT can help address anxiety and difficulty coping with stress by improving self-soothing techniques and targeting self-critical thought processes.
Workplace: CCT improves mindfulness – a component of social/emotional intelligence associated with decreased stress, enhanced productivity, and compassionate leadership.
Compassion
Compassion is a process that unfolds in response to suffering. It begins with the recognition of suffering, which gives rise to thoughts and feelings of empathy and concern. This, in turn, motivates action to relieve that suffering.
Cultivation
Humans have a natural capacity for compassion. However, everyday stress, social pressures and life experiences can make it difficult to fully express this capacity. Each of us can choose to nurture and grow the compassionate instinct, like a plant that is carefully cultivated from a seed. This process requires patience, steady care, proper tools, and a supportive environment.
Training
The process of cultivating compassion involves training our own minds, developing specific skills in how we relate to others, and ourselves and intentionally choosing compassionate thoughts and actions. In CCT, the training process includes:
– Daily meditation practices to develop loving kindness, empathy, and compassion.
– A two-hour weekly class that includes lecture, discussion, and in-class exercises.
– Real-world “homework” assignments to practice compassionate thoughts and actions.
Why Cultivate Compassion?
Cultivating compassion goes beyond feeling more empathy and concern for others. It develops the strength to be with suffering, the courage to take compassionate action, and the resilience to prevent compassion fatigue. These qualities support a wide range of goals, from improving personal relationships to making a positive difference in the world. Compassion cultivation can also support one’s own health, happiness, and well-being. Preliminary research suggests that CCT and similar programs can increase self-compassion and self-care, reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, and enhance connection with others.
Who Participates in Compassion Cultivation Training?
CCT is designed to support anyone who wants to cultivate compassion for themselves and for others. This includes parents, caregivers, educators, healthcare professionals, therapists, executives, public servants, and people in a wide range of professions and life contexts.