Hi, welcome to Module eight, mindfulness, empathy and compassion, I decided to show up live this time. So you know that there is a real teacher behind teaching this class. So we'll come from the point of view of Zen, Zen Buddhism, the notion of suffering that leads to empathy and compassion. And to think about this sentence throughout this module, because I have suffered, I learned that. So again, I practice Zen Buddhism. And mindfulness is very much a part of Zen Buddhism.

And from their point of view, once you figured out your suffering, you're able to be empathetic and compassionate. And you can relate to others from their point of view, because you have experienced similar situations, it can be a variety of things. It could be that you're a pilot, and you can discuss, you know, everything to do with aviation, from a pilot's point of view, or maybe you have suffered cancer. And you can relate to another person who has suffered a similar type of cancer than you and you become cancer survivors. In my case, it's a very personal story. And I was abandoned and left by my significant other and it was heart breaking.

And I you know, became very sad and withdrawn. Because I was really hurting, and then, you know, I started thinking about things and then I started becoming angry. So we always have these shifts in energy levels. And the first one usually is we fall into the sadness, the victim mode, and then we rise into anger, which is actually healthy. And then we get to the second or third level of rationalization. And then we become more empathetic start thinking about their point of view.

It takes two to tango. I'm responsible for my part in the relationship. And once I understood his point of view and understood my point of view, I was ready to let it go. And that's when the healing occurs. I released the answer And then I could see both points of view. And then, you know, we each both have our own lives and we continue on and we have new chapters in our lives.

So it's very positive when you think of it from that point of view. So my mind, my mindset shifted to this higher, energetic level. And going back to the sentence, because I have suffered, I learned that love is boundless. So I would say connecting to my heart's wisdom, intuition, or the gut feeling, as some people like to call it was very, very powerful for me. And you're going to have powerful learning experiences, and they're going to be different from mine, and your friends and your colleagues and your loved ones. But it's good to explore this type of mindfulness Understanding your suffering, how it can help you to understand others suffering and sometimes opening up can bring you closer together.

So I asked you to reflect on this sentence Now, think about it. Because I have suffered, I learned that and you fill in the blanks. And I can share it with others because it'll just deepen your relationships with others. And it's going to create more meaningful connections and build better relationships as a result. So now that we've touched upon mindfulness through empathy and compassion, I look forward to Module nine with you. That is going to focus on mindfulness through self compassion.