THE DEPTHS OF COMPASSION

Some notion of compassion must play a central role in conceiving of a true process psychology. In Whitehead’s metaphysics, "feeling the feelings of others" is how reality itself is constructed. By placing primitive feeling at the heart of perception, experience, and the nature of reality, process philosophy helps psychology envision compassion as a way of connecting directly to the depths of others, of nature, and of ourselves. This paper focuses on some deeper experiences of compassion, as elucidated by transpersonal psychology, and how these spiritual experiences might be accessed and utilized in these challenging times.