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by Amy Leigh Mercree

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Imagine this scenario: You're walking down a street and you pass a person sitting on a park bench. You can see, even from the distance, in this person's posture that says something is a little off. As you get closer, you see the person is slouching over and sobbing.

What do you feel? Perhaps you feel the tug on your heartstrings, and the empathy towards this person immediately enters your emotional being. But what do you do? What you do next is the difference between feeling empathy and sharing a moment of compassion.

So many of us feel all the feels, but rarely do we act upon it. When you see that person on that park bench, do you pause and then keep walking? Or do you pause, take a seat next to the person, and wish them a good day? Or perhaps offer a listening ear to a stranger? To what extent would you offer yourself as a beacon of support to another being?

Acts of compassion are rooted in a more sensitive state of mind and act as an extension of empathy. Compassion in action is the impetus to go beyond the initial emotional experience, and act toward positive change in a situation in which you feel so moved. Whether it's something small like holding the door for an elderly person, or something large like starting a non-profit organization in the name of something you care about, compassion can come in many different shapes and forms.

The seeds of compassion extend through all life forms; from the tiniest insect to the largest animal, compassion is widespread throughout the entire animal kingdom. There are may stories of animals helping one another from dolphins, to alligators, to elephants. The possibility of compassion extends beyond humans into all sentient beings.

Let's take a look at the role of compassion, the energy behind it, and how to develop a daily practice towards being a compassionate being.

The Origins of Bodhisattva
Bodhisattva is the Sanskrit term for a person motivated by great compassion. Oftentimes, this person is on a pathway towards enlightenment and is actively finding deeper, stronger, and more frequent acts of compassion.

Buddha is thought of as the original Bodhisattva, as he was the epitome of kindness and selflessness. Those who follow in Buddha's steps and path are known as Bodhisattvas.

Maybe we aren't exactly all the next Buddha or Bodhisattvas. However, there has been a huge rise in the practice of yoga in the Western world, bringing with it a heightened awareness around the absolute necessity of compassion.

In any given yoga or meditation class, you might hear a very popular chant that encompasses the prayer and dedication of compassion:

"Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bavantu: May all beings everywhere live happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all."

Feminine Energy and the Goddess Tara
Our subtle and emotional bodies, which are located in our physical structures, are made up of different types of energies. The two biggest energy forces are the yin and yang of it all—the masculine and the feminine.

Masculine energy rules processes like willfulness, work ethic, and structure. Feminine energy, however, is the driving force behind empathy (as stated earlier, the fuel for compassion).

So when the two come together, an interesting and unique force develops into a virtuous liberation. Typically, a Bodhisattva is a male, following in Buddha's footsteps. Yet the Goddess Tara, the most notable female Bodhisattva, is the representative of the embodiment of compassion. Known as "The Mother of Liberation," she represents the willful drive of empathy into action, creating compassion through work and achievement. Whether "Tara" is an actual female person or just a representative conjured up in the ideas mixed together in Hinduism and Buddhism to create a feminine representation of this energy force, it is believed that she hears the cries of pain and suffering and offers mercy, warmth, strength, and a lifeline away from enduring pain.

Daily Practices of Compassion
We can look at Goddess Tara as a representative of the mother that plants the seeds of development toward compassion. And just like Tara, our own Earth provides a feminine energy and transformative platform for that compassion to bud and grow.

You don't have to run out and save the world to be considered compassionate. Small steps in your everyday life can develop compassion, which will bud and grow along the way.

• Stop and Smell the Flowers
  It's an age-old saying to encourage people to slow down and take in life in the moment. Being present creates the space to accept and receive each other and what's around all of us all the time. But when you literally stop to smell the flowers, you are providing life force for yourself as well as another living being. Flowers give off oxygen, and we give off carbon dioxide. While it's not necessarily a one-to-one ratio in the oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange, giving a little extra breath to a flower gives it more life and sustainability. And you get to take a moment to embrace its beauty. This moment of pause and exchange builds towards compassion through elements of connection and appreciation for other beings.
• Hold the Door
  The next time you're out, try holding the door for someone else. That person might receive that and immediately send it off to someone else, as you may have heightened their attitude. You never know what someone's going through….something so small such as opening a door for him or her may just be that extra little piece to make sun shine bright in their life.
• Send a Smile
  Perhaps the easiest and fastest way to share compassion is to just simply smile at someone. Humans have a natural tendency to smile back when smiled at—help someone turn that frown upside down. It's the easiest form of compassion there is.
• Give a Compliment
  Telling someone that they look nice may not seem compassionate, but by paying a compliment, you are lightening a person's heart, even if he or she may not realize it. So many of us carry so much on our hearts and shoulders, that we often take it out on ourselves. Give a person a little space to breathe by saying something that will make them feel appreciated.
• Breathe In, Breathe Out: A Daily Mantra
  Even if you've never even stepped foot in a yoga class, the mantra mentioned earlier is a wonderful way to start your day, and sends out the energy to the world and space around you that you truly and selflessly wish for everyone to have peace, joy, and freedom.
  As you start your day, take a moment to repeat the words:

  "Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bavantu: May all beings everywhere live happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all."

And to you, an arbiter of empathy and strength, may you continue to find daily moments along the way, recognize them, integrate them, and give devotion to the selfless compassion in your heart and being.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2017. All rights reserved.

I've been dreaming of a boyfriend from 25 years ago. The relationship was intense over a five-year period. It feels like he keeps coming to me in dreams even though I try to put it out there that I don't want to see him in my dreams. I try to get him to tell me what he wants in the dreams as well. The dreams are vivid and I often wake up with a start; as soon as I fall back asleep, the dream continues. I have a strong feeling that there is something going on, for these are unlike most of my dreams. Is this sort of thing possible? Could he be trying to communicate through the dream? Are our subconsious minds trying to communicate? I just don't think I would have any huge unresolved feelings after 25 years, for it wasn't a bad break-up and was a good time while it lasted. Thank you for any light you can shed on this.

LeeAnn

Susyn:

It would be nice if we had more control over our dreams and could choose who and what we will dream about. Unfortunately, in the dream state, our subconscious minds determine the images and messages we receive. The dreams you describe appear to be very vivid and profound, which suggests that they are trying to tell you something.

When we experience recurring dreams, our subconscious is trying to send us an important message. At times it might feel like perhaps your ex-boyfriend is trying to communicate with you spiritually, but until he actually reaches out and contacts you, it is best to treat these dreams as symbolic of unfinished business.

These dreams are taking you back to the past, when you were a different person. Perhaps you were more light-hearted, spontaneous and trusting then. It may be that your subconscious is asking you to reconnect with the young girl you once were, to embrace aspects of yourself that have been lost over the last 25 years. Spend some time meditating on who you were during that time period, and then consider integrating some of those aspects of yourself into your current life.

It is also possible that you continue to carry feelings about this man and the relationship you once had. Because it was so full of promise, there might be a part of you that continues to hold on and wonder if things might have somehow worked out. What if things had turned out differently? Sometimes such questions can be triggered by general unhappiness.

If your current relationship is unsatisfying, you may tend to hold it up and compare it to the one in your dreams. It is time to look a bit closer at this, for when we are not happy in our current circumstances, we often try to escape via our dreams. Ask yourself how you feel about this idea and if there are any problems you are experiencing with your current partner that need to be addressed.

If in fact you are without a partner at this time, it's natural for your mind and heart to return to the most powerful relationship in your past as you long to experience that connection again. We all do this; when we find ourselves in a holding pattern or lacking in companionship, our thoughts fill with wistful longings for the past.

I don't feel that you need to reach out to your boyfriend from the past unless you have maintained a friendship over the years. These dreams are asking you to look at yourself, at your current situation and what changes you can make to restore your sense of fulfillment. Once you address these matters, the dreams should subside or disappear altogether.

*****

Oceania:

What stands out for me is where you describe this relationship as intense over a five-year period. When it comes to relationships, intense usually means sexually charged with ups and downs, breakups and makeups. Sometimes intense involves an element of secrecy.

Intense relationships are transitory because they're rarely about the two people involved, and are instead a mutual reenactment of childhood wounding. Each party almost always represents for the other a parental figure who did not meet their emotional needs. Therefore, the participants find themselves in a love/hate dynamic, alternating between feelings of desperate and needy desire and rejecting rage. Such relationships often include deprivation, abuse and suffering.

When you say it was good while it lasted and that it wasn't a bad breakup, I think there may be some denial or whitewashing going on. When we sum up a relationship in a tidy, casual way, it often means we don't want to closely examine or revisit the emotional pain involved.

Intense relationships usually do NOT end well and are usually NOT a good time while they last, except for some memorable highlights. We enter such relationships when we're trying to avoid something challenging in our life because these trauma-drama relationships can be very distracting and time-consuming! We endlessly discuss, analyze and try to understand the other person, just as you're doing now with your dreams about this man.

Twenty-five years ago suggests young adulthood, which is often a rocky transition period when we leave our families of origin and forge our own identities, values and goals. I believe you have resurrected this old relationship because it served you so well as a diversion in the past, and that once again, there is something significant going on in your life that requires your attention.

Are you in a situation today that no longer serves you, like a job, marriage or routine? Mid-life is a wake-up call that brings keener awareness of mortality as we watch parents age and decline. Mid-life is a natural time to assess the current state of our lives and let go of what no longer fits. It is often a time of grieving as we realize that goals we set for ourselves long ago may not have come to fruition.

In your dreams, you try to coax your ex into telling you what he wants. Try redirecting the question: What do YOU want? As you discover what ails you in your waking life and tackle it head-on, these intense dreams will fade away.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.