The importance of practicing Mindfulness and compassion together.

Discovering the link between mindfulness and the ability to forgive oneself.

In the Buddhist tradition, Mindfulness and compassion are considered to be the two wings of the bird of wisdomIt is thought that both are essential for flight, so they are practiced together and are mutually reinforcing.

To practice compassion, mindfulness is necessary, because we need to be able to become aware of our own suffering and that of others, without judgment, attachment or rejection, in order to feel compassion towards the person who suffers.

But, above all, in order to perform compassionate practices, minimum levels of attention are needed, which are obtained with the practice of mindfulness (García Campayo and Demarzo, 2015). Some of the earliest compassion practices, such as mindfulness in compassionate breathing and compassionate body scanThe aim is to develop mindfulness and decrease the mind's wandering, while associating it with a compassionate basic attitude.

The link between mindfulness and compassion

It is known that the practice of mindfulness as represented by the two main intervention protocols developed, the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program (Birnie et al., 2010) and the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) program (Kuyken et al. 2010), increase compassion. In these programs compassion is not specifically taught, but implicit messages are sent about the importance of being compassionate and kind to oneself and one's mental processes when talking about compassionate attitude, an element that is nuclear in mindfulness practice.

However, when the two interventions are associated, compassion therapy brings to mindfulness the conjugation with the mental processes that are behind the social commitment to try to make the world a better place, and the individual commitment to establish bonds of attachment and affection when we are suffering. Compassion is a broader concept than mindfulness and, in fact, studies point to the possibility that it may be a more effective treatment than mindfulness in some specific pathologies, such as depression (and in disorders related to self-image, guilt and self-criticism), as well as in interventions focused on increasing psychological well-being in healthy subjects.

The differences between the two practices

Focusing on the psychobiology that gives rise to mindfulness and compassion, there are major differences between the two practices.

While the mental processes most closely linked to mindfulness generate a form of metacognition and attention regulation related to the activity of the prefrontal medial regions and is therefore a recent evolutionary achievement (Siegel 2007), compassion is much more ancestral, and is linked to the mammalian care system. It involves substances such as oxytocin and other hormones related to the feeling of secure attachment, and also neural systems and networks linked to love and affiliation (Klimecki et al 2013). The following table summarizes what each of the two therapies contributes.

Table: Specific contributions of mindfulness and compassion therapies.

MINDFULNESSCOMPASSIONWhat is the experience here and now? What do you need now to feel good and reduce suffering? ObjectiveTo become aware of the real experience and accept its natureTo comfort the subject in the face of suffering, understanding that primary Pain is consubstantial to the human beingRisk of each therapy if not balanced with the otherTo accept the subject's discomfort, forgetting his or her needs, focusing exclusively on the experience. Eventual absence of motivation and ethical and compassionate attitude towards oneself and the worldNot accepting the experience of primary suffering (which is inevitable and consubstantial to human nature). Not focusing on the here and now, on the real nature of things, and focusing exclusively on seeking to feel better in the future.

By way of conclusion

The experience of self-pity may seem paradoxical: on the one hand, present suffering is experienced with acceptance, but at the same time the aim is to diminish future suffering..

Both objectives are not incompatible, but complementary: the first (mindfulness acceptance of the experience of suffering) is the recognition of human nature, and the second is the path to follow (compassion) in the face of the reality of the first.

Bibliographical references:

• Birnie K, Speca M, Carlson LE. Exploring self-compassion and empathy in the context of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Stress and Health 2010; 26, 359-371.

• García Campayo J, Demarzo M. Mindfulness manual. Curiosity and acceptance. Barcelona: Siglantana, 2015.
• Klimecki OM, Leiberg S, Lamm C, Singer T. Functional neural plasticity and associated changes in positive affect after compassion training. Cereb Cortex 2013; 23:1552-61.

• Kuyken W, Watkins E, Holden E, White K, Taylor RS, Byford S, et al. How does mindfulness-based cognitive therapy work? Behavior Research and Therapy 2010; 48, 1105-1112.

• Siegel D. The mindful brain. New York: Norton, 2007.