A Prayer for Compassion

About the Film

The Compassionate Living Challenge

At the end of the documentary, A Prayer of Compassion, I challenge each of us to bring more compassion into our lives and into the world around us. Part of that challenge is to have compassion and love for ourselves, and to take exquisite care of our body temples. My experience is that the better I take care of myself through nonviolent and nutritious food, exercise, meditation, and rest, the more I can feel the sacred light inside me. I experience more love and compassion, as well as greater physical and creative energy. This is why I've come to believe that self-compassion and self-care are spiritual practices that not only bring us more peace and well-being, but also increase our effectiveness  at living our passion and fulfilling our purpose. They can even contribute to physical healing.

At the midpoint of filming A Prayer For Compassion -- an adventure composing some three-and-a-half years -- I realized that if I was going to challenge people to have more self-compassion and take better care of themselves, I would need to start doing that myself. After some time trying to practice what I intended to preach, I discovered what I call my “Four Pillars of Well-Being.” I found that each day I practiced these, to the best of my ability, I felt great. My overall sense of ease seemed to grow. I was finding it hard to get anxious about things that used to worry me. Instead, I had the energy and clarity to discover solutions to the challenges that mattered, and let go of those that didn't.

The Four Pillars of Well-Being 

• Eating clean, healthful, vegan (nonviolent) food. I start my day by making a fruit-and-greens smoothie with ground flax and chia seeds to jumpstart my intake of micronutrients and ALA (an Omega-3 fatty acid). I sip on this smoothie throughout the day. This is just one example of caring for the body temple with food. A quick internet search can provide you with information on making the most health-promoting food choices. Here are a few websites (and an online course) to get you started:

• NutritionFacts.org

• The Plantrician Project

• Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

• Compassionate Eating (course taught by our film’s producer, Victoria Moran)
  
  
  

• Exercise and stretching. Movement is another way I increase my energy flow and perform much needed maintenance on the sacred temple that houses my spirit. My favorite kinds of year-round exercise are hiking in nature, riding my bike, working out at the gym, and yoga; I add on swimming and canoeing in the summer. There are so many ways to move our bodies. Here are some resources to start with: 

• No Meat Athlete

• Vegan Fitness Guide

• Vegan Health and Fitness (online magazine)
  
  
  

• Meditation and prayer. In these inner pursuits I find my deepest connection to love and peace. In fact, prayer and meditation are directly responsible for the making of A Prayer For Compassion. They sparked the idea and guided me on every aspect of the journey. Meditation has become a wonderful tool that I use throughout the day. I've learned not to put rules on meditation, nor judge the way it's manifesting for me in the moment. Sometimes meditation is just going within for a few minutes  to shift gears and refocus between disparate tasks, or to quietly prepare for a meeting or conversation. Sometimes innovative thoughts come up, so I jot them down and go back within to find another thought waiting. I continue to write them until I either find the silence again or I run out of time. Sometimes I chant “Om,” the primordial sound in the Indian traditions, or hold a thought such as, “I am an instrument of peace.” And sometimes I just listen deeply within and feel my interconnectedness to all things. Meditation and prayer are personal, but there are techniques, resources and even apps to help you discover what works for you. Here are a few suggestions:

• Insight Timer (app, guided meditations, self-guided classes, and more)

• Transcendental Meditation (technique with the most research studies behind it)

• Insight Meditation (simple, uplifting techniques from the Buddhist tradition)

• The World Community for Christian Meditation (online instruction and community)
  
  
  

• Sleep. This was the last pillar I added -- probably because I truly love life and didn’t want to miss anything. I combined this discipline with the other three and found that together they create an overall feeling of well-being that continues to grow. There is a wealth of recent research around sleep which demonstrates the amazing benefits from getting the proper amount of it (seven to 8.5 hours is the range the researchers recommend). The right amount of quality sleep enhances mental clarity and sharpness, decreases inflammation in the body, offsets depression, and may even lead to a longer lifespan. Even so, many of us take sleep for granted and push ourselves to survive on the bare minimum. You deserve better. Check out the following resources:

• Sleep Resources from Arianna Huffington

• National Sleep Foundation

• KaiserPermanente Health Engagement and Wellness Services
  
  

I have to be honest that as a single dad and self-employed person, there are days where I leave out one or more of these pillars. Whether a rapidly approaching deadline or a dizzying travel schedule is to blame, I simply do the best I can in the moment, ever remembering to treat myself the way I would treat a dear friend, with kindness and compassion. I remind myself that it's about progress, not perfection, and strive to trust the divine flow of things.

The Four Pillars are foundational in creating well-being, but they're just the beginning. There are many other attitudes and practices that can add to our sense of peace, purpose, and connection. Loving relationships with those in our lives, giving back to the world around us, and indulging in activities that feed our soul are all on the list. For me, spending time in nature, having play dates with my daughter, and making music are favorites. For someone else it might be preparing and sharing healthy vegan food, reading a good book, or becoming engrossed in a play or a lecture. It’s simply a matter of making sure we give ample priority to what makes our heart sing. Whether it's a once-a-month jam session with friends or making jam with a child, parent, or partner, I challenge you to take more time to nurture your soul.

Okay, you’ve got the basics. If you want to add even more compassion to your life and the world around you, look over the additional suggestions below and implement the ones that speak to you. And make sure to join our Compassionate Living Challenge Facebook group and share the ideas and insights that you discover while taking the challenge. https://www.facebook.com/groups/CompassionateLivingChallenge

Challenge Suggestions

• Take a mental fast from violent media (TV, movies, music etc)

• Watch informative documentaries such as Cowspiracy, Running for Good, and Vegucated

• Read and contemplate the teaching of compassion in your religious or spiritual tradition.

• Commit random acts of kindness and compassion every chance you get

• Listen to and encourage someone else

• Visit and/or volunteer at a farm animal sanctuary and get to know “who” you used to eat

• Take healthy vegan food to someone you know could use it

• Call someone and tell them how much they mean to you 

• Speak to yourself gently and with love

• Take time alone in nature

• Have play dates with friends and family

• Have play dates with your inner child and do something he or she would enjoy.
  
  

To go along with the Challenge, the Interfaith Vegan Coalition (a group sponsored by In Defense of Animals) has created Compassionate Living Circles that anyone can host in their community, church, synagogue, or elsewhere. These are support groups for those new to veganism, as well as a way for seasoned vegans to get a conversation started in their local religious and spiritual communities. Circle facilitators are trained and certified, and they have access to resources which help engage individuals and faith communities. Click HERE if you’re interested in starting a Compassionate Living Circle in your area.

The majority of people, including loved ones in my own circle, don’t have access to this information, or they hear it and the conflicting voices of tradition, advertising, and media keep them from following through. It is the burning compassion I have for them and others who are suffering needlessly that has motivated me to create this challenge. And yet, the challenge is for all of us -- longtime vegans included. I believe we can all benefit from being more aligned with our true compassionate nature, and that our collective compassion has the potential to change the world.

Consider yourself challenged. Go forth and let compassion do its perfect work.

Love and Light,
Thomas Wade Jackson
Filmmaker/Vegangelist

Click here for some Links to help with the Challenge