Contemplative empathy in religion

Contemplative empathy is a 'way of knowing' about the feelings and thoughts of other people, about how we impact upon them and how we can treat them better. Unlike face to face empathy however; we tend to practice contemplative empathy when we are alone. There is a collective silence towards contemplative empathy in the scriptures of the major world religions and within prayer theory, particularly towards practicing it as a regular ritual and asking God for help with it. Kindness and love for others are traditionally achieved through oneness with divinity, through following scripture, and through intercession and compassion meditations. I argue that everyone is called to practice contemplative empathy as a regular ritual, to use their own spiritual concepts and practices to assist them with it, and that divinity would like it to occur. Disciplined contemplative empathy allows people to relate to each other better, to treat each other and their environment better, and to feel happier within themselves. To help discuss this, I will engage with theorists such as Merton, Levinas, Aristotle, Outka, Pembroke, and De Botton