Loneliness: the Dalai Lama’s View

According to the WHO 16% of people around the globe experience loneliness. Throughout the years I have gravitated towards the words of the Dalai Lama. Words of compassion and calm are nourishing to the mind as plants (especially those high in spermidine!) are to the body. There has been a magnitude of research about social media and its impact on the loneliness rates. The Dalai Lama places an emphasis on our attitude in cultivating feelings of connectivity or loneliness (Dalai Lama XIV & Cutler, 1998, p. 70). He says that an attitude of compassion is a factor in generating feelings of connection (Dalai Lama XIV & Cutler, 1998, p. 69). His approach is to look at every human being from a positive light (Dalai Lama XIV & Cutler, 1998, p. 68). This reduces fear of apprehension and instead puts in place an affinity (Dalai Lama XIV & Cutler, 1998, p. 68). With an open heart it is hard to feel lonely. This can empower us to create the situation to engage in a positive interaction (Dalai Lama XIV & Cutler, 1998, p. 69). Positive interactions can be made with your teachers, coworkers, the waitress, the barista. The Dalai Lama’s strategy on cultivating feelings of connectivity  bypasses having to learn communication methods (Dalai Lama XIV & Cutler, 1998, p. 71). Might it even bypass the social media problem?