Topic: Why Empathy Circles Are So Effective 

10:40 am Speaker: Bob Brown   (10 min)

Summary

Bob Brown, an advocate for empathy, discussed the effectiveness of empathy circles at the Empathy Summit. He explained that empathy circles provide a safe space for individuals to share their thoughts and feelings, fostering a sense of connection and reducing self-centeredness. Brown emphasized that empathy circles promote healthy brain chemistry and heart rhythms, encouraging participants to focus on others rather than themselves. He referenced eight basic human needs and highlighted the transformative power of empathy in personal growth and societal harmony. Brown also recommended "Listening Well: The Art of Empathic Understanding" by William O. Miller as a key resource for developing empathic skills.

Action Items

• [ ] Promote the opportunities offered by the Empathy Center.

• [ ] Follow up on emails from Bob Brown.

Outline

Empathy Circles and Their Effectiveness

• Speaker 1 introduces Bob Brown, highlighting his long-standing commitment to empathy and his work hosting an empathy tent in Thousand Oaks, California.

• Speaker 2, Bob Brown, begins by acknowledging the audience and outlining the topic: why empathy circles are so effective.

• Bob Brown lists eight basic human needs: survival, security, affection, esteem, approval, pleasure, power, and control, emphasizing that people often feel shortchanged in satisfying these needs.

• He explains that empathy circles help individuals connect with others, promoting a sense of not being alone and fostering healthy brain chemistry and harmonized heart electromagnetic fields.

The Role of Empathy Circles in Personal Growth

• Bob Brown discusses how empathy circles can help individuals understand that self-centeredness is not sustainable in the long run, given the vast population of 8 billion people.

• He describes empathy circles as a safe space where people can talk about their thoughts and feelings honestly and vulnerably.

• The experience of an empathy circle can empower individuals to use their freedom to focus on contributing to others rather than just themselves.

• Bob Brown mentions the mysterious and transformative nature of empathy circles, which can lead to personal growth and better understanding of concepts like consciousness and collective consciousness.

Recommended Resources and Final Thoughts

• Bob Brown recommends the book "Listening Well: The Art of Empathic Understanding" by William O. Miller as a standard text for recognizing and maximizing empathic instincts.

• He expresses gratitude to Edwin for his efforts in promoting empathy and thanks the audience for their support in this mission.

• Bob Brown provides his contact information for those interested in getting in touch with him.

• He concludes with a wish for peace and expresses hope that everyone takes advantage of the opportunities offered by the empathy center.

Transcript

https://otter.ai/u/Vv3wpbXBUjhQeRz8l1yrDOIRSUg?view=transcript

Cara, thank you so much. Thanks everyone for being here, and we have life by PowerPoint. Edwin asked me to talk about why empathy circles are so effective. So here my ideas. We've heard many names today about psychology, so let's take a minute to sort of establish what your psychology might be from the past, maybe a teacher or an expert or a psychologist that you respect and learn a lot from. Here's mine. There are eight basic human needs, survival, security, affection, esteem, approval, pleasure, power and control. And it's human nature for me to believe that I am being short changed in satisfying at least one of my basic needs, and in response, I over and over compensate by making one or more of these needs an energy center that requires my utmost attention and becomes my reason for living. 

For many of us, it turns into an addiction, and I become self centered instead of other centered when I take part in an empathy circle, I know that somebody connects with what I'm going through. I know that I'm not alone. I can relax a little being in an empathy circle promotes healthy brain chemistry and a harmonized heart electromagnetic field. These phenomena can empower me to take a closer look at what gives my life meaning. I can understand that in the long run, self centeredness doesn't work,

as many people have pointed out, this morning, there are 8 billion of us on the planet, and it's pretty easy to see What happens when self centeredness is the dominant motivation. When someone comes to an empathy circle for the first time and asks, what's an empathy circle, I say it's a place where you can talk about what's on your mind and what's in your heart. In the empathy circle, I can choose to be honest and vulnerable in a safe environment.

After experiencing an empathy circle, I can then take advantage of the freedom which the universe grants me as well as everybody else. I can use my freedom to focus not on what's in it for me, but to focus on what's in it from me,

there is something mysterious about the empathy circle. When we know that we're being listened to without judgment, we can choose to discover new potentialities that help us to become better people, things like consciousness, the unconscious, collective consciousness, the collective unconscious, the chakras, mysteries like Kundalini yoga.

These two gray boxes are a bit tangential from our main topic. However, empathy often is an important first step that empowers us to listen in the silence for the deepest wisdom, we can look for new ways to play an important part in the human adventure. And now back to our regularly scheduled program. This book, listening well, the art of empathic understanding, by William on Miller was our text when I took the course from Edwin and Bill and Lou and I continued to believe that this is a standard text that helps us recognize and maximize our empathic instinct. You. I hope that everyone takes more advantage of the opportunities I've offered by the empathy Center. 

Thank you, Edwin, for all you do for humanity and the planet, and thanks to everyone here for every everything we all do that help Edwin in this great, great mission. And here's where I can be getting emails from and Peace be with you. I.