Warm welcome. Friendly, soothing, settling presence. Consistently went to group for their input when introducing new slides/images/concepts. Affirming of their input when receiving it and when reflecting it back. Cannot say enough about the quietness of the strength you bring to a circle...or the strength of the quiet...not sure which captures it best and neither captures it well. Everything about your affect and the way you hold space to receive participant input communicates safety and acceptance.

Overall, made great use of the slides (and presence) to let the material unfold and allow participants the space and grace to interact with and process it.

Good review of the sequencing and connectedness when presenting the initial Skills/Series slide.

Excellent timing and set up when going to the group with questions, "How can we develop extended compassion?" and "What would the world look like with more compassion?" and then creating the space for a rich discussion to ensue (that's more evidence of your settling, trust-inspiring presence).

NA

NA

Wonderful statement of the goal being to grow in compassion. I wish I had been recording. It was off-hand and so well done in its warmth and sincerity - so I hope you made a note of what you were going to say ;0).

Excellent observation that compassion is both biologically based and other-oriented, and excellent (often much-needed) emphasis on compassion as a motivation. Also, excellent reference to empathic distress when referring to the stress caused by seeing others in pain.

Good telegraphing and set-up for discernment in actions.

Relevant reference to current issues with regard to protests (BLM) in response to news reports of unfair/inequitable treatment created by in-group bias in policing.

Very good feedback to participant in response to their input about out-group bias, referencing the subtlety of suffering from Skill 4, Self-Compassion.

Excellent job of reiterating compassion's position in the Series II theme (relating to others) throughout your facilitation.

Difficult but beautifully done illustration of the strength it takes to be compassionate enough to employ tough love, by relating a personal story about a friend's struggle with a child addicted to drugs.

NA

This is not a suggested improvement as much as it is a comment on a missed opportunity. Earlier in the day, we'd had a discussion about how difficult it can be for men (in paternalistic or patriarchal cultures) to be compassionate (it's not "macho"). So, when you presented the Tiananmen Square slide later in the day, it would have been a wonderful opportunity to pull that conversation forward to illustrate the tendency in those societies to view compassion as a weakness (the misperception we call a "thinking trap").

Slide 9, the first Venn diagram-looking, three components of compassion slide is meant to be more about one of the component of compassion, Noticing Suffering, and how without that component in place, we do not notice the suffering of others...and, when that happens, we are more prone to falling into the thinking trap of not seeing common humanity (which is the slide immediately following). It's kind of the segue into that next slide. We then see it two or three more times...so it's important to keep the discussion focused on each component as it comes up (the red circle encompasses the one being featured) and present them in sequence. I will add that having three or more slide that are essentially just alike can be a tad confusing/unclear when nerves set in - so it's understandable and not uncommon to get a bit off track in that section).