In the 13-week course, participants refine their abilities of observing thoughts. They start off
labeling their thoughts, thereby cultivating an observational, non-identified perspective on them.
Later, they observe their coming and going (change or impermanence). Participants also work with
their inner beliefs with the aim of understanding how these change over both historical and
ontogenetic time. Over the course of the 13 weeks, participants thus deepen their insight into the
workings of the mind and investigate the role that thinking plays in their lives.
In discussions, supported by motivation talks and the presentation of scientific positions and data,
participants elaborate their understanding of what could be meant by “self”, while continuously
approaching this question experientially in the dyadic exercise. A specific type of custom-designed
partner exercise is used in various sessions to support participants in their abilities to take the
perspective of other people (Theory of Mind), particularly strengthening this skill with regard to
people for whom it is difficult, because they are very different from the participant in their
backgrounds, values or beliefs.
Summary
In this chapter, we have presented the outline of a training program for the cultivation of
compassion as a broader attitude to life. Cultivating such a compassionate way of being in the
world requires the coming together of a number of skills, which can broadly be divided into three
domains: Presence, Affect and Perspective. In the ReSource Training Program, different skills and
capacities from these domains are cultivated in separate training modules, each of which stretches
over 13 weeks, beginning with a three-day retreat.
More specifically, the presence module focuses on cultivating interoceptive awareness and
attentional skills. The affect module focuses on opening the heart (increasing attitudes and feelings
of loving-kindness, care and benevolence), acceptance of difficult emotions such as anger, fear or
sadness, as well as increasing prosocial motivation and action. Finally, the perspective module
focuses on the training of cognitive capacities such as metacognitive skills (observing the mind)
and perspective taking on self and others. Each module makes use of two core exercises derived
from traditional contemplative practice as well as Western psychology and psychotherapy,
supported by additional practices in the weekly sessions, homework and suggestions for informal
practice. Practice consists of both single practices (e.g., meditations) and interpersonal exercises.
The entire training is secular in nature and due to its modularity lends itself well to research into the
changes associated with the cultivation of specific aspects of compassion (e.g., cognitive vs.
affective components). We are confident that the program will make compassion-related practices
accessible to a wide audience and through its integration with research will offer insights into the
ways that these practices can most beneficially be used to cultivate compassion.
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