A Kaleidoscope definition of Compassion (World Religions)

Below is a continuation of defining compassion with world religions in my compassion service learning course. We have discussed our definition previously through the mainstream American (secular) belief and the Christian viewpoint.

All the religions mentioned has touched on what I understand what compassion is. Though, I feel more a connection to what Susan Skog said, what the Dalai Lama said and the Judaism says on compassion.

First, Susan Skog states, "Compassion...is about letting others so affect us that they crack open our vulnerable places. They touch our pockets of pain, and in that solidarity we can say, 'I feel your pain because I have been there before' ' (Skog, 2001). When Ms. Skog used this phrase "letting others so affect us that they crack open our vulnerable places' I felt a connection to how to explain what I see myself doing. Actually I am using the word "compassion" as my guiding question as part of my M.Ed portfolio. I feel that over the years, I have nurtured this compassionate side with the help of others. God has given me a great heart for people especially the ones in need. I feel I fuel my compassion gets bigger when I do many compassionate acts as well as continuing my relationship with my God.

Second, Dalai Lama thoughts on compassionate acts explain on how I see myself interacting with others. He said, “When we act out of concern for others, our behaviors towards them is automatically positive. This is because we have no room for suspicion when our hearts are filled with love. It is as if an inner door is opened, allowing us to reach out. Having concern for others breaks down the impediment which inhibits healthy interaction with others” (Dalai Lama, 1999). Though, he does make it sound easy that others would accept this genuine gesture. However, I have learned that I have been rejected sometimes. At times, the other person won’t be able to accept any compassionate acts when s/he has their own issues interfering with being open with you. Sometimes, some people may misinterpret your kind actions. I am learning to let that go and still remain kind toward that person. I may not fully understand what hurt in that person’s life but I can empathize with it. It helps that I have God to pray to so he can watch and care for that person better than I can.

Furthermore, the Jewish term “mitzvot’ as in loving one’s neighbors as myself as well as being kind to strangers really resounded in me. This really connected to my Christian faith. When we are able to actually love our neighbors and be kind to strangers as we wanted in ourselves, we bring in compassion into our communities. Truly I believe that compassion is needed to have healthy communities. Life is hard but when we are all compassionate, we can assist in each other burdens. With love and care, living isn’t so bad.

In conclusion, compassion requires you to lift off your eyes and see with the other people’s eyes. We would have to feel empathy toward the other person’s needs and issues. Compassion also requires us to act kindly to benefit someone’s needs. In doing so, we want to help someone in need and not do these acts as a selfish reason in expecting something good comes our way. ***************************************************

Resources: Ancient Wisdom, Modern World by Dalai Lama
Radical Acts of Love:How Compassion is Transforming our World by Susan Skog.

Learning from the Native American culture

Note: In the blog, I can only report what I'm learning. I won't be able to share anything of what my classmates are learning and saying since we have a confidential clause as part of our community norms. By the way, I'm no expert on any Native American cultures and tribes. I can only share what I am learning or have known from books and from Native people.

In my service learning online class, we are learning about compassion in what we do in our work, our service learning projects (volunteering) and our lives. Since we are living here in America, we can learn a lot about compassion and forgiveness from Indigenous North American Spiritual Traditions. My instructor Susan Carter said, "Since we are looking at compassion from various world religions, I thought it was also appropriate to honor the people on whose land we stand--the Native American peoples.In the Lakota worldview there is a phrase (which is also a prayer) with which you may be familiar--"Mitakuye Oyasin," which has been translated into English as "All My Relations." This prayer of oneness demonstrates a worldview which holds that all creatures, such as people, animals, and birds, as well as such "things" as water, grasses, and rocks are all considered "relations." If we apply this to our discussion of compassion, this extends compassion from the inner world of each individual outward to the outer world--to all others, the Earth, and the cosmos. If we are related (as in "relations" or "related to") then we are also not separate; we are all interconnected. Most (if not all) indigenous peoples hold such a worldview."

By the way, each native would want to call themselves differently as a whole group (outside of their tribe names); they are Native Americans, American Indians, and for the ones in Canada, they called themselves First Nations peoples. Before you identify someone, let them self-identified what they want to be called based on their individual preferences.

Here are two youtube clips named "All My Relations":

My instructor Susan Carter said about these videos, "you will be able to view two YouTube videos (which are short, a bit over 3 minutes each) that beautifully express compassion and forgiveness from a Native American/American Indian standpoint. You will note that they move from Native American/American Indian ancestors (past) to the present, and gradually include the larger world community (even the exterminators and oppressors)." How do I respond to these videos? What did I learn about compassion and forgiveness from this tribe?

From what I learned, the community is a huge part of a Native American cultural lifestyle. Many uses drumming, singing/chanting, and dancing to bring everyone together to celebrate or honor someone or something. From the title "All my Relations" and from the speaker addressing his/her audience, it's important to remember one's ancestors and love ones who has past away. These people has played a part to shaped an individual's and the community's identity. The people in your life currently play a big part in supporting and encouraging you in this life's journey. When we are connected with each other, we can relate with each other and in turn, we want to be there for each other which is where compassion comes in. It's hard to be compassionate with another human being if you can't relate to the other and have no connection. I believe a celebration or a community activity can help bridge people to connect with each other so when someone is in need or celebration support, you can be there for that someone. Basically a healthy community would need celebration and bonding time.

Learning about myself /Crazy first week of Spring Term

I had my up and down moments throughout this week. I didn't get much rest over Spring break. I only had the Easter weekend. One of my instructors emailed us an syllabus. I read it over the weekend and started to panic. I wasn't able to go onto my Moodle account since the IT team was upgrading. When I finally access it, I read the syllabus/plan for my Compassion in Action:Service Learning Seminar and I panicked. Both courses I will do a lot of work. I reminded myself to take a step at a time.

On Monday at 1:15 pm, I felt this calmness coming outside and inside myself. I knew it was the Holy Spirit who heard my cries and came to give me the calmness. He assisted me by focusing my attention to where I needed to be and what to do. He gave me words when I couldn't think of any on my own. When I arrived to work, I was calm and happy. I enjoyed a fun afternoon with my kids; amazingly they are pretty good even after being gone from school for Spring Break. God is good; he placed me where I needed to be to flourish in my professional life (and maybe a tad bit with my personal life). I have co-workers I trust and we work together well. We support each other emotionally and mentally. If one of us can't communicate with one of our charges, one of us would go over and assist with that child. I have an amazing boss who cares and I feel heard.

With this new found calmness, I was able to focus on my school work. With the Spirit's help, I was able to prioritize what to do each day without overwhelming myself. In grad school, I'm learning to respect my own process; sometimes I'm am impatient on how slow I process things when I feel a pressure to hurry up. It's okay to remind others that I need a little extra time to think and do.

Something happened Wednesday night when I received a feedback from someone. I thought we were kind of close friends. She sees us more like acquaintances. The problem maybe that when I see or hear someone feeling stressed, hurt, sad or whatever, I act like their best friends to comfort or encourage or support. I realized not everyone is comfortable with that. Normally I do better with face to face relationships. But since I think I forced some friendships over Facebook, hmm, it means I need to stop. It's not healthy. I knew better. I am realizing how lonely I am. For the last ten years I have been praying to find best Christian friends who are similar spiritual faith level as me and I do need human support to maintain my faith.

I do have one best friend but she doesn't share my faith. It's okay. I love her a lot; I won't trade her for the world. I think God has placed her in my life as I am in hers; I think this was my prayer request I had since I was 12. It took me thirteen long lonely years to find a good friend like her. She's wonderful since she understand I do need other close friends who share my faith. Not many people can really accept me with my oddities. She said that I kind of remind her of Sheldon, the odd-ball character (creator interview mentioned Sheldon has Asperger's Syndrome) from the Big Bang Theory show. I can be funny without realizing it. The difference from Sheldon is that I have feelings and I'm in touch with them. I do put my heart on my sleeve. I do care if I affect people the wrong way. God has given me a compassionate heart; I am learning to use it purposefully with his direction. Sometimes I do get emotional. What I need from people is to continue to be patient and kind; sometimes gently point me to the right direction or give me reassurance when I need it.

Wow, this blog entry is a bit more personal than I originally attended. I usually try to focus on what I'm learning and thinking, how I feel about certain concepts and other school-related topics on here. However I will leave what I am thinking about in my personal life. It's funny how a small part of my life can affect me in how I process information and feelings. I will get past this but it would take time. It's important to create a balance in one life to stay content. On the good points, I am solid with my relationship with God, good with school and professional life and pretty good with my other relationships. It's just a small part is finding best Christian friends to fill up my life.

I'm glad that last night I had a chance to see my best friend. Her advice to me is that,"Just let go. Surround yourself with people who care about you and truly accept you. You don't need negative people or people who don't truly understand you in your life. You are a good person with a kind heart. I'm your good friend." We ended up making each other laugh and I even brightened her day.

What I hope to accomplish with my personal story is the ability to assist others who are alone out there. My messages are: You aren't alone. You will find like-minded friends who care about you even with your quirks. Even with one best friend in your life, it does help make life tolerable and even enjoyable. No wonder I feel a deep connection with children who struggle with friendships; I ended up coaching and guiding them to make friends. These kids will come to me and open their heart out when they want to be heard. Not just them but also other young students may need to be heard; they also come to me. This is why my compassionate side is really awesome and we do need more compassion in this world.

End of Winter Term 2013 and Course Evaluations

Today I finally finished my winter term. I just turned in my final project for my descriptive linguistics class. It was tough. I am glad it's over. Now I can go and enjoy my Easter weekend and the rest of my Spring Break.

I just also completed my course evaluations. At Marylhurst, they really want to improve their courses so at the end of every term, they email you the link to complete the survey on one's courses. Here is why course evaluations are important:


Anyways, I decided to on my grades and I received an A- in adolescent development. As for my final grade in my linguistics class, I won't find out until later. Spring term starts for me next Tuesday, April 2nd. On Tuesday nights I will be taking a course called Teacher as an Action Researcher. I will also be taking a Compassion in Action:Service Learning Seminar course online. I will meet like-minded people who are going to spend at least 30 hours serving the local communities around here online. Stay tune about Spring Term plans.

Four Stages of Faith Identity (Marcia's)

Right now I am finishing up my revised term paper for my adolescent development class. In one aspect of my paper, I talked about my spiritual faith and where I was at as an adolescent. James Fowler has his stages of Faith development from young children to adults. Now I am reading another article that talks about Marcia's Identity stages while other researchers uses her model in faith development during adolescence. I am using this to teach others. Here is a summary:

In general, our findings seem to confirm the commitment and exploration conceptual underpinnings of Marcia’s (1966) adolescent identity-status categories in the religious domain. Our analyses of religious commitment and crisis (doubting), and especially our analysis of belief-confirming versus belief-threatening exploration, lend support to the validity of Marcia’s conceptualization. However, we would agree that religious doubt, itself, is only a part of religious exploration and possibly a better indication of crisis rather than active exploration. Our assessment of the consultation process for religious questions and doubts is probably a better measure of actual exploration, related to potential commitment or avoidance of commitment. Overall, then, what do our findings suggest regarding links between religion and each of the four identity statuses?

1. Achievement: In general, there was little association between identity achievement and religion in our studies. There was a weak tendency for achievement to be related to religious commitment in Study 2 only, but there was no link between achievement and the extent of self-reported religious doubting in eitherstudy. Notably, however, when more achieved individuals did have questions and doubts, they tended to consult both belief-confirming and belief-threatening sources for assistance. They were, thus, apparently open to hearing “both sides of the issues,” consistent with Berzonsky and Kuk’s (2000) and Berzonsky and Sullivan’s (1992) informational style proposals.

2. Moratorium: These scores were modestly related to evidence of more religious doubting, lack of religious commitment, and lower religious fundamentalism. Higher Moratorium scores were related to a tendency to avoid BCC both concurrently and 2 years in the future. Indeed, consistent with this, Moratorium scores were also linked with self-perceptions of becoming less religious over time.

3. Foreclosure:Our findings suggested that foreclosed individuals have indeed made religious commitments, generally accepting the religious teachings they grew up with. They also tended to believe that they belong to the one, true religion (as measured by the RF scale), and they were inclined not to doubt religious teachings. When doubts did arise in their lives, they preferred to resolve them by consulting sources that would confirm traditional religious teachings, and they tended to avoid sources that might threaten their religious beliefs, both concurrently and in the future. In light of this, it is not surprising that Foreclosure scores were predictive of decreased religious doubting 2 years later.

4. Diffusion: Finally, diffused individuals tended to be experiencing moredoubts about religion and were generally religiously uncommitted. They tended to be nonfundamentalist in their approach to religion, were inclined to avoid going to church, and also tended to disagree with parental religious teachings. They also did not seem particularly interested in seeking out information to help them resolve religious issues, tending to avoid both belief-confirming and belief-threatening sources of information. Consistent with the conceptualization of diffused identity, these people seemed to be avoiding both association with religion and seeking out information that might help them to resolve religious questions and doubts. Diffusion scores were predictive of decreased consultation (both pro- and anti-religious) in the future. There was also evidence that people with higher Diffusion scores were able to recognize that they were drifting further away from religion over time. These patterns generally parallel the diffuse–avoidant style of information processing described by Berzonsky and Kuk (2000).

These patterns of associations between identity status and religion are generally quite consistent with the conceptualization of the identity construct, and they add color and texture to basic identity-religion associations. More important, our findings regarding consultation for religious doubts are, with the exception of moratorium status, consistent with Berzonsky and Kuk’s (2000) suggestion that different identity statuses may have unique information-seeking and processing styles. Furthermore, these styles may have important implications for the eventual religious commitments (or lack thereof) among our participants.

Hunsberger, B., Pratt, M. & Pancer, S.M. (2001). Adolescent identity formation: Religious exploration and commitment. An International Journal of Theory and Research, 1:4, 365-386. Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S1532706XID0104_04.

Last Adolescent Class: Alternative Teen Lit Guide

Last night I had my last adolescent class. We didn't finish until 9:30 pm (15 mins extra since class officially ended at 9:15 pm). Each of us presented our alternative teen lit guide. What are alternative literacies? It's defined as learning, processing and sharing information in non-traditional ways such as blogging, music sharing, movie making, digital storytelling, video/online gaming, art making, etc. Everyone did such a good job presenting their guides either with brochures, power point or webpages.

I was losing my voice so I had to present my guide in a softer voice than normal. It's this awful cold. I chose video and online games as my alternative lit. Please check it out here. You can print out the brochure that covers why video and online gaming does support literacy in adolescents here. (You have to hit the hyperlink 'here' of Learn about video and online games as alternative teen lit here for you to be able to download and print it out.) I received several comments and a few add-on comments. Abi shared with us about two video game related books called Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and Level Up by Gene Lwen Yan (latter is a graphic novel). I feel I did well. A couple of classmates positively praised my presentation.

I can't believe this class is over already. I have learned so much. I still have to work on my paper for revision to get a better grade (not happy with my score) and the matrix which is a guide on how I deal with adolescents in their crises. I will share more on that in another blog entry. My term doesn't end until I turn in my final three assignments to my instructors.

With my voice being weak, the plus side is that my kids from work is more patient with me as well as being helpful. They were on the best behavior. I only had a couple minor issues with a few kindergartners. Though, my first graders were just excellent. I had three first grade helpers who assisted in gathering the whole group to transition to the next activity and make announcements for me. I wonder if I can milk this laryngitis longer. My voice is still semi-out. If I do recover in a few days, I may want to pretend that I still have lost my voice until Spring break. Generally little kids are so helpful when they realized that you are in a need for help.

Ethnic Identity

Wow, it has been awhile. I've been so busy with my classes and life this winter. Time to update what's going on. I have one more week of classes left. I have three major assignments due soon. More on that later. This term in adolescent development, I learned a lot about the different crisis and identity seeking issues that young people have.

Just a few weeks ago, we chatted about two different topics on Moodle. We had some in-depth conversation on ethnic identity. Here is what I posted on February 25th:

When I headed off to kindergarten, I had to face my ethnic identity early in life. I noticed many of my classmates have different skin tones, language and culture than mine. Since I was young enough, we all just played together. In elementary school, I blended in as best as I could. Majority of my schoolmates came from White American culture from working class to middle class backgrounds. I mentioned in one of earlier posts that I became color-blind and try to believe whatever my white peers and teachers believed. I read books with white characters and wrote stories using white characters. At school, I think I pretended to be white and at home I was Chinese.

I never really thought about my differences until middle school. I met more students with diverse backgrounds even some like me who was born here with immigrant parents. In seventh grade, a white kid mistaken me to be Japanese. I was like, yes, Japanese culture is so neat but my family is Chinese. In seventh grade, I actually made a first friend from a Chinese heritage who actually immigrated to America a couple years before I met her. We would hang out during recesses. It was fun to just chat both in Cantonese and English and just relate with a common ethnic culture. By high school, I wanted to examine my ethnic background. I started to read more books about China and Chinese culture especially written by another Chinese-American like me. I started to enjoy watching Chinese movies and read fictional books by Chinese Americans. By the time I started college, I could say I am a second-generation Chinese-American who's parents are Chinese immigrants. I didn't need to say I'm American while keeping my Chinese heritage at a low level. I think I found balance between my Chinese background and my American cultural side from being born and raised here.

With working with youth, one must really listen and let them identify what racial or ethnic identity they want. If I sense there is a crisis or uncertainty, I would offer my assistance. I would ask questions for them to explore. I need to give these young people time and space to voice where they are at with their ethnic identity. If they need assistance and need an ethnic model, I will help them find an adult who has experienced similarly to what they are going through and this adult's ethnic and racial background is like theirs. If I can't find another adult to assist, I would provide books and other resources for the adolescent to explore. I will constantly be willing to explore this process with them too. I would be open with my own process if need be. Each student's need for ethnic identity is different. I will have to know this student better before I could really help.

Two classmates (of European ancestry) responded with how they appreciate my story and my advice in letting young students decide how they define their racial and/or ethnic identities. Robyn responded to my post beautifully:

Clearly from your story, one's ethnic identity can be seen as evolving over time for some adolescents where others may have foreclosed or achieved identities much sooner than we think. As you and Abi stated, it's important that we let them identify and tell us what they think of themselves rather than us or other students choosing for them or labeling them. These labels can be discriminatory and limiting and we should not allow them to be used in our classes.

What is interesting to me too is how we as educators are having our own ethnic identities constructed at the same time as our students sometimes. I know that learning about ethnic identity really helped me explore my own more thoroughly, and I think this will continue as I work with adolescents with a deeper awareness of what is going on for them and myself.

Yes, we also delve into racial identity on the third week of February. If you want to learn more about adolescent development, please read Understanding Youth: Adolescent Development for Educators by Michael Nakkula and Eric Toshalis. This book need to be read by everyone to fully understand what adolescent children goes through.