Compassion - Bridging Practice and Science - page 316

disease [11], high blood pressure[12],fatigue and inefficient sleep[13],[14], decreased physical
activity over time [15]and decreased cognitive function over time[16]. Compassion may be
beneficial in part because it causes people to feel less lonely and to perceive themselves as more
connected to others and the world, leading to more efficient and healthy physiological functioning.
A sense of closeness to others is inherent to the experience of compassion. The research
described above suggests that the closeness element of compassion may be a driving force in the
wider physiological consequences of compassionate practice.
The Subjective Experience of Positive Emotions
Compassion is characterized by feelings of love and joy, as well as other positive emotions (see
alsochapter 15andchapter 18). Positive emotions are consequential for physical and neurological
functioning. In one striking study, the number of different positive emotions referenced within
handwritten autobiographies predicted mortality six decades later, with those in the highest quartile
living 10 years longer than those in the lowest quartile[17].Within healthy samples, frequent
positive emotions are linked to reduced susceptibility to cardiovascular disease[18]and the
common cold[19], and within patient samples to reduced mortality[20].A meta-analysis of nearly
300 studies concluded that positive emotions carry benefits, including improvements in problem-
solving skills, self-esteem, sociability and relationship satisfaction and altruistic behavior, as well as
in immune system function and physical health[21].
While there are studies that focus on the benefits of individual positive emotions, such as love,
gratitude, contentment or joy, the research described above suggests that it is the frequency of
positive emotional experiences that leads to consequential health effects, rather than the specific
positive emotion. This counter-intuitive conclusion may be explained by Fredrickson’s broaden-
and-build theory[22],[23], which holds that in contrast to negative emotions (e.g., anger, fear,
disgust), which narrow people’s awareness towards survival-promoting maneuvers (e.g., fight,
flight, spit), positive emotions (e.g., joy, interest, serenity, love) broaden awareness in ways that,
over time, build people’s survival-promoting personal resources (e.g., way-finding skills, resilience,
social bonds, physical fitness). Laboratory experiments that have assessed behavior[24],eye
movements[25]and brain activity[26]confirm that positive emotions broaden awareness. This
research implies that compassion may “open the eyes” just as it “opens the heart”, resulting in a
more creative, flexible and receptive approach to life that promotes growth and health.
Loving-Kindness Meditation, Subjective Experiences and Changes in Health
see Loving-Kindness (Metta) Meditation
The literature on social closeness and positive emotions suggests that when people experience
“warm and loving” feelings as part of compassion, their feelings should go on to act upon their
bodies and minds in consequential ways[6],[19],[27].The best test of whether these subjective
experiences are a potential mechanism of action for compassion, however, would be to
experimentally induce compassion while tracking changes in subjective experience and physical
functioning over time, in order to test whether a) compassion meditation induces social closeness
and positive emotions and b) whether social closeness and positive emotions mediate the
relationship between compassion training and changes in health.
In two studies of loving-kindness meditation, the researchers addressed both of these questions.
Loving-kindness meditation, or metta , is an emotion-training practice drawn from the Buddhist
tradition. In metta , meditators focus on phrases such as “May all beings be happy. May all beings
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