Cultivating Compassion in an Interfaith World: 99 Meditations to Embrace the Beloved

Cultivating Compassion in and Interfaith World: 99 Meditations to Embrace the Beloved is an invitation to deepen into relationship with the Beloved through cultivating compassion—the Beloved that is personal, inter-personal, and trans-personal, in all that exists. While compassion plays an important role in all religions, this book focuses on three faith traditions—Sufism, Christianity, and Buddhism. Part One speaks to what these teachings say about compassion, and includes personal experiences that have resulted from my commitment to Sufi, Christian, and Buddhist contemplative practices. Part Two offers ninety-nine meditations focused on a particular attribute of the Beloved. Each is comprised of verses from the book of Psalms, a prayer for support, a compassion Metta meditation, and a question for reflection.

An excerpt from the book about the ninety-nine meditations:

“For me, the Psalms are a call to and a response from a compassionate God. The Psalm verses flow back and forth between the longing for the relief of suffering and the experience of that relief from the Beloved. In this prayerful engagement, we are able to deepen into our understanding of what it means to be human. An intimacy emerges with the Beloved, a further discovery of that divine essence which connects us to ourselves, to each other, and to all.

The compassion meditations follow the format of the Buddhist Metta Loving-kindness practice. I have found this ritual to align my heart, mind, and soul into a unified, beneficent force. I am able to cultivate the resources required to energetically hold others and me in a state of wellbeing. This leads me to an actively engaged connection with the Beloved in all. It encourages a dynamic commitment to the world.

I invite you to work with these contemplative practices to cultivate compassion for yourself and others.