Based on a Presentation Given at Mercy Medical
Center in Durango, Colorado on September 5,
2012
Pam Kircher, MD
The Science of Compassion Conference and NDEs
I participated in a conference on the Science
of Compassion in July, 2012 in Telluride, Colorado.
The conference was jointly sponsored by the
Telluride Institute and Stanford University’s
CCARE (Center for Compassion and Altruism Research
and Education.) CCARE was developed by Dr. Jim
Doty, a neurosurgeon at Stanford, and the Dalai
Lama and Dr. Thupten Jingpa, the Dalai Lama’s
chief translator. During the course of four
days, 40 international researchers presented
their findings to 400 participants in 15 minute
segments. It was quite a time of taking notes,
talking on breaks, and thinking!
One of my main take-home messages was that
much of their work centers on helping people
to develop the motivation for compassion. It
seems to me that the motivation for compassion
is an instant result of a NDE and I am fascinated
by how that might occur. In private conversations,
I discovered that most of them were not very
aware of the research on NDEs or on the after
effects of NDEs. They were focusing on other
areas of compassion while the NDE researchers
have been focusing on universal love and not
specifically calling it compassion. However,
the definition of compassion is having a positive
regard for the other person and seeing them
with the same interests and concerns as yourself
leading to wishing them well as much as you
wish yourself well. Sounds a lot like Oneness,
doesn’t it?
So, how does this happen so suddenly in a NDE?
It may well stem from a mystical recognition
of the Oneness. I have begun to wonder, however,
if there might also be an epigenetic effect.
What we are learning through the field of study
of Epigenetics is that aspects of the environment
may turn on or turn off certain genes and that
causes permanent profound changes in a person.
This is called an epigenetic effect and I’m
wondering if an NDE is one of those environmental
triggers that affect us at a genetic level.
What I know for sure, is that there is a permanent
change in values after a NDE. It remains to
be seen if my theory will be proven correct
in the future.
Mindfulness Training and compassion
Meanwhile, the researchers at the conference
have found that mindfulness training and meditation
lead to more motivation for compassion. As Thupten
Jingpa stated, the goal is to meditate to generate
the motivation and to make it such a habit that
compassion becomes a way of life. Certainly,
there are some wonderful results from that method
of generating compassion, or an awareness of
how we are literally, all part of the Oneness.
One study by Dr. Leah Weiss working with veterans
with PTSD at the Veterans Hospital in Palo Alto
showed that after six-weeks of mindfulness training,
the symptoms of PTSD were decreased, and they
felt much more hopeful about being able to return
to their families. In a study in Atlanta with
inner city youth living in environments of chronic
stress, Dr. Chuck Raison reported that C - reactive
protein (a measure of inflammation) was decreased
after six weeks of cognitive-based compassion
training. Since NDEs are such life-changing
events and by definition, life-changing events
(positive or negative) are stress producing,
perhaps mindfulness training short after a NDE
might not only help the person with a NDE adjust
more quickly, but it might help them heal more
quickly from the physical problem that brought
on the NDE.
The importance of self-compassion
Another area of study that I related to NDEs
was the study of self-compassion. Dr. Kristen
Neff from the University of Texas defines self-compassion
as recognizing that life is imperfect, noticing
your pain and being with it, without exaggerating
it. To me, that is one of the outcomes of the
life review of the NDE. Imperfections are examined
in the forgiving Light, pain is experienced,
and there is resolve to do things differently,
while recognizing that imperfection still exists.
NDErs typically have self-compassion toward
themselves when they make mistakes, but continually
strive to be more compassionate toward themselves
and others. It is not so much the “threat”
of an unpleasant life review as it is the deep
awareness that we are all interconnected and
that life is meant to be lived with love, and
that living life with love is actually self-compassion.
Dr. Neff found that it is difficult to have
sustained compassion for others if there isn’t
self-compassion. I believe that lack of self-compassion
is one of the key components of caregiver burn-out,
professional or otherwise. In a poster presentation,
self-ratings of compassion of medical students
decreased throughout the course of their studies
and took years to recover to their pre-training
level. I wonder how the profession would change
if self-compassion were encouraged in the training
programs.
Results of positivity and mentoring
Another line of research directly relates to
the after effects of NDEs and to healthcare
professionals as well. Dr. Barbara Frederickson
from the University of North Carolina showed
that a sense of safety and connection increased
vagal tone and allowed a person to be more open
to possibilities. Dr. Dan Martin from CA State
University of East Bay showed that mentoring
at work led to an increased sense of safety
and connection. Mentoring had long lasting results
on career, social and financial standing. That
is why support from other NDErs who have integrated
their NDEs is so helpful to the person who has
just had one. That is the basis of the NDE support
groups throughout the world. Local support groups
may be found through www.iands.org. It also
demonstrates why mentoring programs and support
groups might be helpful to all aspects of the
medical profession. It would not only decrease
stress, but allow individuals to be more open
to possibilities.
Integrative Care in the hospital setting
Bringing compassion close to home, there is
a beautiful example of Compassion in Action
at Mercy Medical Center in Durango, Colorado.
The basis of the “Steps to Surgical Success”
program and the “Touch, Love, and Compassion”
program is the recognition of the importance
of compassion in healing. Throughout the decade
that patients have participated in the program,
I have heard over and over again that those
sessions were the aspect of people’s hospitalizations
that empowered them to remember the deepest
part of themselves and to move into their own
self-healing after the expertise of the doctors
had set the stage for the healing process. Moving
from the deepest part of oneself and living
from compassion are the messages of the NDE.
Those programs created such a culture at Mercy
that the introduction of nonviolent communication
was a natural next step. Nonviolent communication
(NVC) is now the accepted culture at Mercy Medical
Center and is the language used not only in
general, but also in times of disagreement.
When it came time to build a new hospital, creating
a healing environment became the theme. That
healing environment included architecture that
felt like a home, not a hospital. It contained
original works of art, a lovely healing garden
with outdoor sculptures and a waterfall. An
outdoor wheel-chair accessible labyrinth was
built for the patients, their families, Mercy
staff and the community as a whole. Finally,
the xeriscape landscaping was completed around
the labyrinth creating a space of quiet peace
and contemplation.
Summary
From my knowledge of NDEs and what I learned
about the Science of Compassion at the Telluride
Conference, I feel certain that the two fields
of research have a lot to share with each other.
I also believe that the medical profession could
benefit greatly from having more awareness of
what has been learned in both fields.
back to list of articles
|
