Thursday, October 15, 2009

compassion and boundaries

Here is your yogathought for the day from Judith Orloff's book Positive Energy:

"To be a soulful giver and attract the same, be canny about what compassion means...We're trained as loving people to equate compassion with giving to others, easing pain. But many of us, especially intuitive empaths who're energy sponges, don't stop there. Inadvertently we imbibe their angst. Suddenly we're the desolate ones. This severe loss of center doesn't serve us. Compassion demands we set boundaries about what energy we take in or tolerate. Buddhist nun Pema Chodron warns agains what she brilliantly calls 'idiot compassion,' using kindness to avoid conflict when a resounding 'no' is required. I agree wholeheartedly with her conviciton that to stop people from draining our energy, we must know where to draw a line."

Namaste'
Leslie

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