Increasing Compassion for Others through a Mindfulness Collective Ritual

Recently, compassion has emerged as an important variable in studies of mental health and psychological therapy. An increasing number of studies have explored the relationship between the practice of mindfulness meditation (especially, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) and compassion. However, there have been no studies exploring this relationship using other more active forms of mindfulness and its relations to compassion for others. In addition, some research has tried to determine the role of perceived emotional synchrony (PES) and shared flow derived from the participation in collective rituals on individual well-being, identity fusion, and compassion. This study analyzed the effects of participation in a mindfulness collective dancing ritual on compassion and hypothesized the mediating role of shared flow and PES. A quasi-experimental design with intervention and control groups was carried out. A sample of 111 volunteer students participated (79% female) aged between 18 and 34 (M = 20.26, SD = 2.45). Results confirmed the positive effect of participation in ritual on compassion and the hypothesized mediating effects of shared flow and PES especially on kindness and common humanity dimensions of compassion. This study revealed the psychosocial effects of active mindfulness on a collective ritual transcending individual’s effects and exploring the compassion for others.