interesting to notice if something does happen. Recognize these memories and what it feels like when you focus on warmth and kindness for others. Again, jot down your reflections in your journal. Which exercise did you find easier ~ compassion flowing in or compassion flowing out? Exercises: The desire for others to be happy So far we have reflected on our feelings when we recalled being kind to another adult, child or animal in the past, but you can extend this in an imagery exercise to the here and now. Imagine directing kindness towards people you care about. Bring them to mind, see their faces and how they move, what it is you love about them, remembering that in mental imagery you usually only get fleeting impressions, not clear pictures. Now explore the feelings emerging from this desire for them to be happy, peaceful and content. You might repeat in your mind the Buddhist statements: ‘May you be well. May you be happy. May you be free from suffering.’ They, like you, have simply found themselves here in this world and are doing the best they can. Sometimes this realization might make you sad because you're actually rather worried about them. Or it might make you tearful as your emotions overflow with the desire for good things to happen to them. Or perhaps you just experience a gentle sense of warmth for them. Note these experiences; you can later reflect on them as stimulating specific brain patterns within you. Keep in mind that thinking of them as brain patterns is not in any way to reduce these feelings or explain them away. They are important, meaningful experiences in the flow of life. Now our feelings are likely to be strongest towards those we are attached to, have shared our lives with and are genetically related to. None the less, it’s useful to begin to widen the circle of people to whom you direct compassionate feelings. First, imagine directing towards your friends your desire for them to be happy, content, peaceful and free from suffering. See them in your mind’s eye as best you can. Imagine that you truly wish for their contentedness and happiness. Don’t rush through this — allow time for things to emerge in your mind. See your friends actually smiling and becoming happy and free from suffering. When you’re ready to move on, focus on people you don’t know very well and, as before, think about your desire for them to be peaceful, content and happy. They, too, have just found themselves here and want to be happy and free from suffering. Then you can imagine directing kindness towards all your neighbours and those in your local area (okay, yes, and to your local football team, who you hope will do well today). Keep extending this desire for others to be content, peaceful and happy to your city, to your country and to the world. You'll end up wishing for all living things in the flow of life to flourish and be free from suffering. You can extend this through time so that your desire for warmth, contentment and peacefulness is not just for people and things living now but for all living things to come in the future. In studies of the effects on brain physiology of having compassion for others, this was the exercise used where an ‘unconditional feeling of loving-kindness and compassion pervades the whole mind as a way of being with no other consideration or discursive thoughts’.” At some point, you may realize that, by extending your desire for others to be 185