The Compassionate Mind

In an age in increasingly characterised by competition and stress, this book comes as a welcome counterweight. The author is professor of clinical psychology at the University of Derby and a practising clinical psychologist in the NHS. As many readers will know, the NHS itself has been restructured and reorganised many times by successive governments and has developed more of a business culture involving efficiency and competitive tendering. However, as his article elsewhere in the Review demonstrates, our brains are wired for compassion and kindness. The problem is that we are also wired for competition and ruthless behaviour, with dangerous consequences when we 'put old brain/mind dispositions, emotions, wants and desires together with a new brain/mind talents.' This goes some way towards explaining why we spend more on developing weapons than on maintaining the life-support systems of the planet. We can also torture other people, as well as succumbing to anxiety, depression, paranoia and violence. Hence our minds can be used for both creative and destructive purposes if we do not train ourselves otherwise.

The book is divided into two main parts: the science behind compassion, and building the compassionate self through skills and exercises. Gilbert's starting point is that we find ourselves in the flow of life with an evolved brain containing contradictory impulses, as outlined above. In addition, we seek both to assert and develop our individuality and to connect with others to achieve a sense of belonging. The argument is developed through an analysis of three interacting affect regulation systems within the brain: the threat system designed self-protection and protection of those close to us, an incentive/resource focused system based on achievement and consumption, and a contentment/soothing system associated with peace, kindness and connectedness. Our own culture is more highly developed with respect to the first two systems, but badly needs to develop the third as a means of integration and balance. This diagnosis echoes Iain McGilchrist's argument that we are unhealthily dominated by left-hemisphere thinking. The last chapter in the first part explores our capacity for imagination, which can be used to stimulate different brain systems. More specifically, compassionate imagery and thinking are able to stimulate the contentment/soothing system, as demonstrated by Buddhist monks through the ages.

The second part explores how we can ourselves build a more compassionate self, beginning with mindfulness and becoming aware of the various ways in which our brains work, realising that we have the capacity to focus our awareness. The next chapter explains the use of imagery giving specific techniques for stimulating feelings of compassion. This is followed by compassionate thinking, and a very important chapter on how we can move ourselves from self-criticism to self-compassion, a theme that recurs throughout the book. If we are hard on ourselves, we are also inclined to be hard on others. Throughout this part, there is a distinction between skills and attributes, and we learn how the inner critic stimulates the threat/self protection system. The last two chapters discuss compassion and the emotions – working with anxiety, anger and forgiveness – and compassionate behaviour, requiring the development of courage and inner-directedness so that we can stand up for what we believe in and resist the temptation to easy conformity. This also involves confronting our shadow and facing up to our capacity for cruelty. On the basis that one becomes what one thinks about, a more compassionate society can only arise from more compassionate people who channel their thoughts and energies in this direction. Unfortunately, our media are dominated by the opposite impulses, encouraging consumption and manipulating our emotions through fear. Indeed, the current UK election is at one level a tussle between hope and fear.

Cultivating compassion involves work at many levels, both in terms of ourselves, our personal relationships, our social interactions and the policies we support. As Gilbert puts it, 'compassion and invites us to open our hearts to the nature, structure and values of society. It is also about recognising how we need to create a new social milieu that will affect our minds and pains is they are highly responsive to the social relationships in which we find ourselves embedded.' Both science and spirituality have a role to play, but there are very basic choices to be made about the kind of society we would like to live in. It is encouraging that well-being is increasingly coming onto the political and economic agenda as a means of developing a more compassion focused society in which the quality of our relationships is transformed. Educationally, this means recognising how the brains of deprived children are formed in the image of the abuse and violence to which they are subject, hence perpetuating a vicious circle as the threat/self-protection system dominates their motivation. And they have had little opportunity to develop empathy and their caring side, which might even be considered a form of weakness in such circumstances. Gilbert links this to a better understanding of the difference between restorative and retributive justice. The important point, however, is that advances in neuroscience can help us understand ourselves better and therefore make more informed policy decisions.

The review would be incomplete if I did not mention the engaging style of the book. The author's sense of humour is never far away, and he writes with great humanity and compassion himself, applying the principles of his own work. In addition, his frequent references to his taste for Merlot are both endearing and refreshing. The subject is a serious one, but we should not lose our sense of proportion by taking life or ourselves too seriously. This is a landmark book which should be widely read and discussed. See www.compassionatemind.co.uk