About this episode

The episode features a conversation with Serge Prengel about mindfulness, compassion, and the nervous system's role in perception and behavior.

Today's conversation is with Serge Prengel Serge is a therapist who has been exploring creative approaches to mindfulness in therapy and in everyday life. He invites you to join his explorations at https://proactivemindfulness.com/ In today’s conversation, Serge and I explored the distinction between compassion and condoning, and how understanding another person does not require agreeing with or permitting harmful behavior. We spoke about blame, polarization, and the ways people can unconsciously mirror the very dynamics they oppose. Throughout the conversation, we returned repeatedly to the idea that embodied compassion differs from conceptual compassion — that true understanding often emerges not through abstract ideals, but through contact with our own felt experience of fear, defensiveness, threat, and protection. We also explored the nervous system’s role in shaping perception and behavior, including how even subtle moments can activate fight-or-flight responses. Serge reflected beautifully on the importance of pause — not as passivity, but as creating enough space to reassess habitual reactions and discover more skillful ways of responding. Together we discussed safety…

People in this episode

Host: Global Community of Bodyworkers

Guest: Serge Prengel

Topics covered

• mindfulness
• compassion
• nervous system
• embodiment
• self-awareness

Keywords

• mindfulness
• compassion
• nervous system
• embodiment
• self-awareness
• therapy
• polarization

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: proactivemindfulness.com

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