The Compassionate Mind [Paperback]

I came to this book soon after reading Karen Armstrong's Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life and the common purpose was striking; to help us all become more compassionate, to ourselves and others, so that we may then build a better more compassionate world and become happier, kinder and healthier individuals in the process.

The book is built around "compassionate mind training" and the idea, now with some scientific evidence, is that we have the wiring in our brain for compassion, and that we have evolved to thrive on caring behaviour, on kindness and compassion. The problem is that too often our "old brain" reptilian instincts of the four F's (feeding, fighting, fleeing and ...reproduction) take control of our lives. The very good news for humanity is that our propensity for compassion not only reflects the genes we are born with, but also to some extent is a result of the effect of early upbringing, and very significantly can be developed with the right exercises and practices - "physiotherapy for the brain."

Part One, in 6 chapters over c. 250 pages shares the science - how our minds and brains work and why compassion is a powerful healing process. This understanding, he stresses, is important for us in being able to most effectively develop that compassionate mind. He explains ten life challenges that we will meet along the way, such as competitive business efficiency that threatens our need for interconnectedness, (business efficiency he says is "crippling our hearts"), and the tragedies of life that can send us to despair and depression rather than compassion. He also writes of the three basic emotion regulation systems that evolution has given us: threat and self- protection, incentive and resource seeking, and our soothing and contentment system. The balance between these systems plays an essential role in our day -to- day feelings and our mental health. Compassion is our potential antidote for these getting out of balance. And he reminds us of the responsibility we can take on board to train our minds in this way for a better world for us all. Compassion is a "multivitamin for the mind," he writes.

Part Two - over 7 chapters and another c. 250 pages brings us the skills and exercises, for building the compassionate self, based on mindfulness, meditation, breathing, imagery, directed thoughts, self compassion, coping with anxiety and anger, addressing our own tendency towards tribalism and cruelty, our imagination and fantasies, our curiosity, moving from self criticism to self shame, compassionate writing and much more besides. Some exercises are physical, some written, with or without set worksheets, and he invites the reader to open a journal for recording feelings, progress, set backs, poems, whatever becomes relevant through the training process. Bringing the compassion we learn into our own lives and into society will create a more fun world, with better lifestyles. "Our competitive edge economics is driving us all slightly crazy!" he writes.

The final chapter reflects on the social significance of compassionate mind training and is an essential message of the book. There are final worksheets to support and guide us as we continue our compassion training. It is a life long process. But training compassionate minds to build compassionate societies is vital and responsible work. He calls for a review of child education, and the need to introduce compassion, empathy and conflict resolution training for example into the classroom. There is the need for better more compassionate support for our children "in care." We need a more focused mature and compassionate politics, a return to compassionate care in the National Health Service, a change of business style from aggressive competition to compassionate cooperation. And he calls for us to support causes that promote a more compassionate world, locally and globally, including ethical investment, compassionate education, support and care for marginalised youth, Compassion in World Farming. These are just a few of his ideas and they follow such closely similar lines of thought to those in my own recent book, Healing this Wounded Earth: with Compassion, Spirit and the Power of Hope, that I find myself in total agreement with most if not all of what he says in this regard.

In the sheer depth and breadth of material covered, in its logical sequencing and detail of compassion training provided, this is a very good book. It is also well referenced and indexed and I liked the "Find Out More" list at the end of the book with useful books, websites, DVDs and CDs. But the book is too long. It was to say the least an arduous read, in spite of the easy engaging style employed. This style I think has sacrificed brevity.

I appreciate that Part One provides the understanding to support the training in Part Two, and that this training is a life long practice, to be taken step by step as gently and compassionately as necessary. But the sheer volume of material confronting the reader will very likely daunt those who are coming to this book from a position of depression or anxiety or self- criticism, hoping for healing. Gilbert does point out, well into the book at p. 347, that some will need to obtain further professional help and support. For those already in therapy, and for their therapists, it will doubtless be a very valuable tool.

Whereas Armstrong calls for bringing compassion back into the heart of moral and religious life, as set out in her Charter for Compassion, Gilbert does not believe in God as creator and clearly thinks that religions are at least potentially a part of our problem in the twenty first century world. Spiritual traditions over the centuries have tended to emphasise life as suffering from which we are trying to escape. But he demolishes ideas of religion and spirituality with, perhaps not surprisingly, a charm offensive, a gently persuasive logic that is a welcome departure from the strident, disdainful, even aggressive tones we hear from some militant atheist best sellers. Spirituality needs to be scientific and compassionate, he concludes.

Gilbert ends with a reminder that many millions of people across the world are working to make it a better place. He also refers to Barack Obama's inaugural speech that includes evidence of a "deep sense of compassion." These items together he believes can give us hope for a better more compassionate era, "maybe, just maybe."

I'm a psychotherapist (UKCP registered) and CBT practitioner myself and I've been fortunate enough to hear Prof. Gilbert speak about his approach. (I remember my ears pricked up at his references to Pink Floyd, not referenced in this book, but we learn he's also a Star Trek fan, adding flashes of personality to a potentially quite academic subject.) His emphasis on compassion does seem to address a weakness in "traditional" CBT, especially for certain traumatised or depressed clients. It's also closely linked to the whole mindfulness-based orientation. My special interst is in Stoic philosophy which I was pleased to see Prof. Gilbert discusses briefly, but favourably, throughout chapter 9, recognising the similarities with Oriental Buddhist practices. I see this as a form of CBT that will appeal more to humanistic therapists and also, with its references to Jungian archetypes and Bowlby's attachment theory, to psychodynamic therapists who find themselves becoming involved with the cognitive-behavioural field. There's also a notable emphasis on what evolutionary psychology tells us about our brain and emotions. However, although it's quite thick (nearly 600 pages!) this is an engaging book, easy to read, and bound to be immensely helpful both to therapists and clients, as it's written in what I would call a popular science or self-help style and intended to be used as a practical guide to cultivating therapeutic compassion and self-acceptance for one's own wellbeing.

Donald Robertson, author of,
The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Stoic Philosophy as Rational and Cognitive Psychotherapy
The Discovery of Hypnosis: The Complete Writings of James Braid the Father of Hypnotherapy
The Practice of Cognitive-Behavioural Hypnotherapy

I highly recommend this book. Written in a very accessible manner, the approach to psychotherapy, mental desease, such as anxiety, depression is indeed well explained. The author engages the reader on many levels such as how the mind patterns particular reactions and why some people are more prone than others to be stressed or depressive. Gives you a lots of food for thought - very informative - and undeniably helpful when it comes to getting people out of the vicious circles they get themselves into. Happiness is a state of mind and a philosophy that Buddhism relates well to. Paul Gilbert's book is well worth the read.