Perspectives on Compassionate Love: Science, Spirituality, and the Arts - Lynn Underwood

Scientifically oriented models and approaches can enrich our understanding of other-centered love. Quantitative research using the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (www.dsescale.org), can inform our understanding as we examine how these 16 questions, both the 4 explicit questions on divine love, and the others, correlate with various other things in life such as care for others and less compassion fatigue, in scientific studies. These questions can also be used to cultivate love in our lives in an alive way. Qualitative interviews on the topic of compassionate love can also help as we try to understand the complexity of giving love to others, and the various factors involved. The model and qualitative interviews with Christian monks can inform the cultivation of our character in ways that encourage other-centered love. Poetry, Visual Art and Fiction also provide ways to enhance our understanding of the meaning of love, and some examples of that will be provided.