The Charter For Compassion

Today -1 May 2010 I learned that this Lens was reviewed on the Blog "Squidoo Lens Reviews" . I was very thrilled by this not just for myself but because it means the word about Karen Armstrong and her Charter For Compassion will be read by more people. That is what I aimed for when I wrote this Lens about the Charter.
If you click the badge it will open a new window and take you to the review.

I have just finished reading this book which tells the story of Karen Armstrong's Journey from novice to agnostic and then her return to the light which shines in a different way and does not include a personal god.

"This book is easily the most important religious autobiography I know of since Thomas Merton's "Seven Storey Mountain," and I suspect that the analogy between the titles is deliberate. I think Armstrong knows now that her life story and work are taking on some just-dawning importance in the story of the "modern" world, East and West. It would not surprise me if this book ultimately takes a place alongside Augustine's "Confessions." (Amazon.co, review. See link below.)

I was very moved by this story, particularly so in that her Catholic upbringing with its particular perspective on God, is the same as mine. And I too found that I could no longer believe in the articles of faith nor the literal truth of the bible. I too have had what she calls "a God shaped hole" in my life which I have continually sought to fill.

Karen Armstrong does find the truth and she shares her insights with us in a most compassionate way. This book can set you free and I feel that it has done so for me. I found myself shedding tears of relief as I realised that the truth she has discovered and shared is the truth I have sought for so long.

This truth as she tells it is not one that I can describe in this short review but let me just say that it does not involve a creed, nor belief in any dogma, nor in the literal truth of the bible, nor in 'faith'. Yet It is deeply moving and spiritual.

Behind all the creeds and religions is one compelling message and it is held by every major religion. The one rule is:

"Do not do anything to anyone else that you would not like to have done to you". It is the Golden Rule and that is what The Charter for Compassion is about.

Read the book if you are in the least bit interested in truth,spirituality or how to be happy. I mistakenly bought it twice but I am so glad I did because now I can lend it to people without parting with it.
Learn more about this wonderful book:The Spiral Staircase

Karen Armstrong has written many other books but I do recommend that you start with this one. You can find her other books by following the link.

"How often have you discovered a moment of true happiness in a brief encounter with a taxi driver, a grocery clerk, a person waiting in a doctor's office, or some other seemingly insignificant encounter in life?

Remember these and begin to notice that the elaborate net of life has a single underlying thread, our shared humanity and the potential for kindness in every encounter."
Sarah Smalley Ph.D

"Altruistic behavior is good for a giver's mind and soul as it shifts attention away from the self and its inevitable problems in life" says Steven Post Professor of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University, New York.

By reaching out to help people Post says that we undergo a "shift effect" whereby our emotions move in positive directions. "Joy, gratitude and optimism are all associated with small acts of kindness," he says.

It seems that hose who start being altruistic young may live longer and happier lives, although it is never too late to reap the benefits of altruism.

Giving money does make you happier but the real benefits arise from face to face encounters. "the real physical expression of compassion' and it takes only a few hours a week to receive the benefits".

Read Steven Post's Book written with Jill Neimark
Why Good Things Happen To Good People by Steven Post