Keeping with the theme of emotional mine fields.. Being a teen and parenting a teen create some of the most challenging and emotionally volatile times in one’s life. In a Psychology Today blog article by Carl Pickhardt, Ph.D., he provides some food for thought for parents and teens this holiday season.

In it, he states “that the final act of letting go of adolescence for both parents and teenagers needs to be forgiveness. Each party must be able to look back at the struggle between them and let go any resentment by saying to the other: ‘It is over now. And I want you to know that I believe you tried your best even when you were doing your worst. And that your worst was not all that you did. You also gave me much that was good, much that I value and for which I shall always be grateful.’”

“I would like to make a proposal for all of us for this holiday season,” writes Michelle Chadwick in a Dallasnews.com op ed piece. “Think of one person in your life whom you believe has wronged you. It can be a family member, a neighbor, a former friend, or a coworker. You know, the one whose very presence makes you want to dig up something from the past and rehash it again. And then make a conscious decision to forgive them and then, let it go (whatever “it” is).”

If the holidays are a mixed bag of emotions and interpersonal challenges for you, it’s worth reading this short article.

When I returned home from a trip on Monday, I was confronted by the front page headline in the Sunday Seattle Times “A path to murder,” about the life of Maurice Clemmons who murdered four police officers in Parkland, Washington. In the same issue was the Parade Magazine headline, “The Power of Forgiveness,” describing Nelson Mandela’s call for reconciliation as portrayed in the movie Invictus (opening December 11th) which chronicles his support of South Africa’s rugby team in an effort to bring South Africans together “through the universal language of sport.”

Offering forgiveness may seem outrageous to some when confronted with an overwhelming transgression like murder.  But reading the story about Invictus that held up the actions of Nelson Mandela in the face of tremendous, systemic injustice, was a reminder that it can and has been done. But how is forgiveness of such magnitude possible?

Everett Worthington, PhD, a leader in the field of forgiveness, experienced such a transgression in his own life which tested his resolve to practice what he preached. He used a process called “emotional replacement,” which he developed and studies, to forgive the man who murdered his mother.

In his book, Five Steps to Forgiveness, he explains that “trauma seems to cause the emotional centers of the brain to become extremely active, and it changes emotional experience strongly. Imagining a traumatic scene and pairing it with the emotion of compassion most likely reprogrammed my emotions of rage and fear.”

Worthington found humanity in the young man who murdered his mother. “People who hurt or offend us often do so because they’re conditioned by their past,” he writes. He was able to use that perspective to find compassion for and forgive his mother’s murderer without jettisoning a search for justice.

For most of us, forgiveness requires constant practice, building mental and emotional muscle that can hold the tension of the pain of transgressions alongside a broader understanding and compassion for the person or people who harm us or our loved ones. It’s not easy, but we can look to the example of Nelson Mandela, Everett Worthington, or others closer to us for inspiration.

For more on forgiveness from Everett Worthington and Fred Luskin, PhD, another leader in the field, listen to our podcasts.

In a recent Case Western Reserve release, the university announced that researchers from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and the College of Arts and Sciences at Case Western will begin groundbreaking studies to understand what drives the dying to live long enough to personal and interpersonal issues.

With the research data, they will design interventions to help patients in hospice care and families before and after the person passes.

Before now, end of life research primarily focused on making the patient comfortable by easing suffering or discomfort from the illness.

But, the approach of Barbara Daly and Mary Jo Prince-Paul from the School of Nursing and Julie Exline from Arts and Sciences is to relieve psychological distress by marshaling the patient’s inner strengths and social connections.

These qualities include the resilient feelings of hope, optimism and connectedness that they mustered to make it through difficult and even life-threatening situations before their terminal illnesses. Marshaling these inner resources has been shown to improve the psychological outlook of healthy people, and the researchers want to find out the benefits for those severely ill.

Forgiveness will also be a focus of the study, which is partially funded by the Fetzer Institute. Exline, who has studied forgiving oneself, others and God over the past decade, will survey family members before and after the death of the loved one to see how hospice workers can help them as they undergo the emotional stress of caring for this seriously ill family member and then the challenges of bereavement.

As part of a KEET-TV’s Campaign For Love and Forgiveness and a community outreach initiative to encourage participation in the arts, KEET-TV initiated the Compassion In Contemporary Art Contest with the Ink People Center for the Arts. Inspired by the PBS contemporary art television series ART:21 - Art In the 21st Century, KEET-TV invited North Coast residents to use their art to convey how we see ourselves and the world today and to try their hand at creating work that explores the theme of compassion.

The First Place Award went to Marceau Verdiere of McKinleyville for his acrylic painting titled “The Moment Before Forgiveness.” Verdiere stated, “I approached the theme of forgiveness by focusing on what leads to forgiveness, and wanted to show the difficulty in arriving to that moment. Forgiveness is a celebration of sorts, but it takes a lot of courage and will to get there, and there is a moment just before, a still fragile moment of reaching out, daring and risking. But as the piece shows, it is also a moment that leads to a more light-filled moment, a rise from the depth of shame, guilt and selfishness.”

The Second Prize was awarded to Lunel Haysmer of Eureka with the colored pencil triptych, “Bringing Compassion into the World.” “This piece was done when I was at an all-time bottom,” Haysmer said, “and came from a place of spirit that didn’t have anything to do with me. It was comforting to feel that at a time when I didn’t see the beauty in my life, that it came out anyway.”

The Third Place Prize went to Kati Texas of Eureka for her acrylic and collage on sign board piece, “The Weight of Pain.” Texas stated that “‘The Weight of Pain’ illustrates how it feels when one lets the pain of the past drag down the present, and the lengths to which someone might need to go so that they may breathe (easy) again.”

Campaign conversations are making a difference! In campaign conversations exploring what forgiveness is and ways to practice it, participants in six communities around the country reported key changes in both their understanding of forgiveness, perspectives on it, and their likelihood to grant it to themselves and others. Participants also reported positive changes in specific thoughts, behaviors, and relationships.

Research results indicate a greater understanding of the nature and process of forgiveness was gained through the conversations. “I have learned to be more open with myself, my heart, and to live each day with more compassion and understanding,” noted a campaign conversation participant. From the first conversation to the fourth, participants had a greater understanding that forgiveness is something you do for yourself and that forgiveness did not mean forgetting, both of which can be psychological roadblocks to forgiving.

More than half the respondents felt more forgiving towards themselves, their families and their communities after the conversations. Three out of four participants felt more likely to forgive someone close to them and nearly three quarters also were more likely to forgive themselves. “I am not so quick to get angry with my grandmother, and I realize that she really loves me and wants the best for me,” said another participant.

When asked whether they felt certain acts, such as physical abuse, violent or war crimes, extramarital affairs, verbal or emotional abuse and racist or sexist remarks were possible to forgive, participants who said “yes” increased by 14-17 percentage points from the first conversation to the last. In fact, participants felt all actions listed, including being fired, gossip, and being lied to forgive, were more possible to forgive after participating in the conversations.

Forgiveness also became a topic and practice participants wanted to share with others. After participating in the conversations, nearly 70% were more likely to talk with others about forgiveness, notice it in the news, or ask to be forgiven.

If you want to start a series of conversations in your community, business, or organization, download materials on our Web site.

Want to get comfy and watch a film that explores the theme of compassion this weekend? You’ll find 23 recommendations for films on the Spirituality & Practice Web site. Topping their list is “Central Station, an emotionally affecting Brazilian film about a selfish and cynical former schoolteacher who reluctantly agrees to escort a young boy to his father in the country. As their journey unfolds, we witness the slow but steady hatching of this woman’s heart as she begins to feel her kinship with others.”

Check out this great selection, along with books, stories, quotes, poems, and more–all exploring compassion.

Simply put, there is nothing, nothing in the world, that can take the place of one person intentionally listening or speaking to another. The act of conscious attending to another person–when one once discovers the taste of it and its significance–can become the center of gravity of the work of love. It is very difficult. Almost nothing in our world supports it or even knows about it.
–Jacob Needleman

On the day after Thanksgiving, November 27, 2009, StoryCorps is asking all Americans to start a new holiday tradition: Set aside one hour to interview a friend, a loved one, or someone in your community about his or her life.

The process is simple: select an interview partner, create a question list, and sit down to record a meaningful conversation. StoryCorps has created a free Do-It-Yourself (DIY) interview guide with step-by-step interview instructions, equipment recommendations, and sample questions available online at www.nationaldayoflistening.org.

Compassion manifests itself in the world not by thinking but by doing.
–Charter for Compassion

Tomorrow the words of the Charter for Compassion will be unveiled to the world. 125 international partners will celebrate the launch through 175 events in 32 countries!

The Fetzer Institute, sponsor of the Campaign for Love & Forgiveness and primary sponsor of the Charter, is committed to the long-term vision of the Charter and finds the opportunity to support a worldwide conversation about the need for greater compassion compelling.

We encourage everyone to read, affirm, share, and act on the Charter for Compassion!

The highest expression of love is creativity.
–Deepak Chopra

Love has inspired countless works of art, from immortal plays such as Romeo and Juliet, to architectural masterpieces such as the Taj Mahal, to classic pop songs, like Queen’s “Love of My Life”.
–Nira Liberman and Oren Shapiro, “Does Falling In Love Make Us More Creative,” Scientific American

According to a recent study, thinking of love can make us more creative. The experiments, conducted by psychologists Jens Förster, Kai Epstude, and Amina Özelsel at the University of Amsterdam, suggest that love induces us to think long term, “triggering global processing”–a sort of psychological distancing or perspective–which promotes creativity. Thinking of sex, however, actually engages analytical–short-term, detail-oriented–thinking.

“One of the most noteworthy implications of these experiments is that love and sex don’t simply influence the way we think about the people we love or desire,” says an article in Scientific American. “Instead, they influence the way we think about everything.”

A friend just rekindled a romantic relationship. She and her (re)new love have kicked the creativity quotient into high gear. They both are sending letters and writing poetry to each other. She is knitting, creating collage, and trying new things. There is an aliveness in creative areas of her life that had long been dormant. It may be anecdotal, but they both agree, their rekindled creativity is due to their rekindled love.

It makes me wonder how much more there is to it than global processing. I wonder if thinking of love does something that can’t be quantified–if it opens our hearts and if, with open hearts, we are more creative.

I wonder, too if the expression of creativity is actually a form of love itself. To me, it encompasses both self love and love of others by giving expression to the creative spirit–that kernel of uniqueness and connection to something larger within each of us.

And for those who think creativity is limited to those who express their talents through the “arts,” in fact, ways of expressing creativity are only limited by creativity itself.

If you haven’t already watched Playing for Change’s wonderful video, Stand By Me, or Matt Harding’s Where the Hell is Matt? videos of him dancing in locations and with people from around the world, check them out. It may just trigger that “global processing” the Dutch researchers refer to.