Minds Beyond Measure

Mental Health Awareness month:
The power of speaking and listening

For mental health awareness month, we will highlight how listening and speaking are powerful mental health tools, and introduce our Speak 4 Life program.

The power of listening

Listening Increases empathy
When we listen, we learn to care about what is being said. If we ultimately don’t care about what someone is saying, we don’t care about them. Listening, even to those we may not agree with or like, can be of great benefit and keeps us open-minded.

Listening Strengthens social bonds
Communication is transactional, and when we respond to what others say, we expect them to listen to us. We don’t just wait for our turn to speak. When others realize we take the time to listen and respond to them, they realize we care about them and the relationship.

The power of speaking

Speaking Increases confidence
When we learn to speak, and speak well, we grow more confident in ourselves. We articulate what we think; how and what we communicate involves creativity. When we articulate well, and people respond positively to us, we feel respected, smart, creative, and capable.

Speaking as a Mode of Release
Many with depression find when they articulate what they’re feeling to others, such as family, friends, or therapists, they feel better. When we become good at articulation, we are able to organize how we feel about our own health. We can tackle problems that we have.

Speak 4 Life
Our Speak 4 Life program uses student workshops to teach public speaking and spoken word skills. Students learn through poetry reading, analysis, and writing, to become better speakers and listeners. Learn more here: https://www.mindsbeyondmeasure.org/youth-development

And Happy Mental Health Awareness Month!

Today is World Meditation Day! We discuss meditation briefly in our post on Stress.

We have already previously discussed meditation and listed several types of meditation. Today, to celebrate this day, we’ll go through one analysis of meditation - what it does - according to ancient Indian texts.

Vedic Texts
The natural library of medicine reports on the point of view of what meditation does through a purview of vedic texts (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4895748/)

Some interpretations of Vedic and later Indian philosophical texts describe three aspects of a person:
The physical body
The inner faculty (the working consciousness: this is our reasoning, discernment, active mind, which includes the memory, intellect, and ego),
The deep inner self (the unchanging pure consciousness witnesses the activity of the inner faculty, source of knowledge, discernment, etc).

It can be easy to see the deep inner self as a sort of unconsciousness harboring repressed thoughts and memories. However, this is not the case at all. Rather, the deep inner self, according to vedic texts, is an observer of passing thoughts by the inner faculty.

In meditation, according to Vedic texts, we go from observing the inner faculty to realizing that we are the deep inner self. We return to ourselves and touch the inner lake of our resting consciousness. We gently sit in awareness of this, a sort of mild bliss.

The vedic texts aren’t the definitive guide or explanation to meditation - this interpretation of what it does is just one of many. However, seeing this view can open up new ideas of what meditation practice is.

Read about our stress post here: https://www.mindsbeyondmeasure.org/post/stress-awareness-month

Source(s)
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-and-mindfulness-effectiveness-and-safety
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4895748/

https://neuro.wharton.upenn.edu/community/winss_scholar_blog2/

Today, for Mental Health Awareness month, we’ll discuss stress journaling. We’ll go into a study that points towards a benefit for specifically stress journaling, defined as journaling about a time of great stress in one’s life.

This study:
https://transformationalchange.pbworks.com/f/stressjournaling.pdf
Reports on this type of journaling.

When they just journaled about the vivid experience with reference to emotions felt, they reported no results, or even adverse results. However, Stress journaling led to positive results in the study when participants journaled about thoughts and feelings related to the event in combination with cognitively expressing what happened.

What does journaling cognitively mean? The study outlines cognitive journaling as reporting what happened in the situation, and creating a framework of objective fact. This means that when an event happens, one just reports on it; considers the events leading up to it, and structures how the events occurred in order.

Just journaling what happened with no emotions attached may not necessarily be the best either, however. Rather, doing both—reporting one’s thoughts and cognitions when the events happened together, can help restructure and interpret the memory. We call this combined journaling. It changes journaling from just venting to processing.

Journaling using this method is a great way to reduce stress. We wrote about Stress Awareness and other ways of reducing stress here: https://www.mindsbeyondmeasure.org/post/stress-awareness-month

Happy Mental Health Awareness Month! Today, in honor of this month and also Teachers Appreciation week (which is this week), we’re going to discuss the role of teachers in supporting the mental health of students.

Students are growing and vulnerable. They may face bullying, loneliness, a hectic home life, and/or pressure to do well in school. Dealing with this all while still growing and maturing can be a great burden.

What can teachers do? They are a great part of students’ lives—they work with students 7 hours of the day!

Of course, the one thing teachers can do to aid their students is to do what they do best—teach—in a way that conveys understanding and empathy. Being successful teachers inspires students to become better learners and leaders, successfully preparing them for the future.

Teachers can help increase the quality of students’ mental health by being listeners, and detecting signs of struggle early on. It can be as simple as starting a conversation with a student and providing adequate resources such as a school counselor.

MBM works with students and teachers. Our Speak 4 Life program uses the work of educators to teach students emotional resilience. Learn more here: https://www.mindsbeyondmeasure.org/youth-development

We also have a teacher-centered coaching program which you can learn more about here: https://www.mindsbeyondmeasure.org/teacher-centered-coaching

Happy Teachers’ Appreciation week and Mental Health Awareness month!

“So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive.”
-Audre Lorde, “A Litany for Survival”

Today we are going to briefly analyze a poem by Audre Lorde called “A Litany for Survival”. Read the full poem here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/147275/a-litany-for-survival?utm_=

Much of this poem covers the idea of living with restricted choices—leading a life of great constraint because of structural discrimination. Lorde embodies this when saying “for those of us who cannot indulge/the passing dreams of choice” in life, they are “standing on the constant edges of decision”. Structural discrimination encroaches on the poor and disadvantaged as it limits options and the ability to move freely. Lack of opportunities that many take for granted force us to live with only the bare necessities of life.

As we move towards the middle of the poem, Lorde notes that we work for others, “So their dreams will not reflect/the death of ours”. Because we know it is not accessible for us to live a good, free life, we instead work for others; this can be read as working toward a future beyond oneself, where others might live more freely.

Near the end of the poem, through the refrain “we are afraid,” Lorde emphasizes how fear becomes constant, shaped by repeated experiences of loss and vulnerability. The poem suggests that there is no truly safe position—fear exists whether one speaks or remains silent. For those living under discrimination, even supposed forms of safety carry risk. In this way, there is no real refuge, only the necessity of continuing despite that fear.

Speak 4 Life
As stated, we cover Audre Lorde in our Speak 4 Life program. Learn more here: https://www.mindsbeyondmeasure.org/youth-development

Happy Teacher’s appreciation week! This week is special for us at MBM. Teachers are important and throughout history they’ve revolutionized how we teach and learn. Thus, to start off this week, we’re going to cover three revolutionary teachers—and how they changed the practice of teaching.

Plato(c. 428–348 BCE)
There’s much we can say about Plato as a teacher and philosopher. One important aspect of teaching he stressed was that teaching, and learning, was not just a transmission of information, but rather, active meaning-making. He also stressed teaching as not just a way to teach practical skills, but to come to a deeper understanding of life.

John Dewey(1859–1952)
John Dewey is a much more recent teacher. He had similar ideas to Plato and built upon what Plato taught. He taught that students do not just learn through being receptive to being talked at, but rather, through experience. Learning, according to Dewey, is democratic—those that learned have a say in the construction of meaning, not just the teachers.

Anne Sullivan (1866–1936)
Anne Sullivan made a significant breakthrough in teaching Helen Keller. Keller, who was blind and deaf, grew up to be an activist, and author. Keller’s education by Sullivan is central to how Keller was able to grow up educated. Sullivan exemplified patience and individual teaching in her methods. She would put Keller’s hand in water and with her other hand wrote “W-A-T-E-R” to teach her what it was.

Our Coaching program
MBM’s Teacher-centered coaching program works in a 6-stage process, starting with a needs analysis, moving through observation and data collection, and then collaborative goal setting. The collaborative goal setting phase stresses input from the teacher. Then, we move on to feedback and a collaborative reflection. In this phase, the teacher being trained will prepare and plan out suggested strategies. In stage 6, they will apply the recommended strategies.

Learn more here: https://www.mindsbeyondmeasure.org/teacher-centered-coaching

Welcome to the new month of May! MBM would like to discuss all the important happenings of the month and how our posting will tie in with various programs we run.

Stress Awareness month has concluded, and we are entering into Mental Health Awareness month in May. For Stress Awareness month we discussed coping mechanisms for stress as outlined in our blog post. These included journaling, meditation and gratitude. For this Mental Health Awareness month, we will continue to make posts throughout the month that center on mental health.

Mental health awareness is incredibly dear to us at MBM. We encourage everyone—our beneficiaries, those we serve, those that work with us, our followers, and our volunteers to pursue proper mental health resources. Our Rhythm 4 Life and Speak 4 Life program works with students to channel emotions through creative endeavors. Learn more about these programs here: https://www.mindsbeyondmeasure.org/youth-development

Teachers Appreciation week is also this month, starting May 4th until the 8th. We will be celebrating by discussing teachers’ contributions—so keep an eye out for these posts. MBM values educators, and we have our teacher-centered coaching program; learn more here: https://www.mindsbeyondmeasure.org/teacher-centered-coaching

Other areas we will focus on are the importance of water. We have programs such as our Water Tank Program in the Philippines. We recently began construction on the second water tank, and we are very excited for this new project. Donate here: https://givebutter.com/giving-tuesday-water-tank-copy-wwiare to continue supporting our work with the water tank.

And happy May!

Today, for the final week of National Poetry Month, we’re going to honor a poet: Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Many of the poets we’ve covered so far have one thing in common: they challenged norms and used poetry to speak to power. Millay did the same, challenging sexism by embodying a new type of woman in her poetry.

Structure
Millay is well known for her use of rhyme and meter, which give her poetry a lyrical, song-like quality. Drawing on traditional forms reminiscent of nineteenth-century poetry, she combined these structures with modern themes, creating work that bridges earlier poetic traditions and the evolving sensibilities of Modernism.

Autonomy as a Woman
Millay explored the tension between love and personal freedom. While being in a relationship as a woman was, in Millay’s viewpoint, a wonderful experience, it was also a strain on personal autonomy.

Individualism and Freedom
This leads us to another subject Millay explored: individualism and freedom. She chose freedom even when it led to pain. One poem that expresses this is “Figs from Thistles: First Fig”, a short but sweet poem about explosive creative and emotional expression, a candle that burns “at both ends", even if “it will not last the night”. She puts value on bright, fiery emotion, that empowers and embodies freedom, even if it may be fleeting and may lead to regret later.

Check out MBM’s Speak 4 Life program: https://www.mindsbeyondmeasure.org/youth-development which studies poets that speak to power such as Audre Lorde, who we’ve covered before. To become a great poet, study the greats; that includes Lorde, Millay, Dickinson, and Langston Hughes, whom we’ve all covered.

Happy National Poetry Month!

This month is stress awareness month. We would like to discuss a third coping mechanism used for stress tolerance: gratitude.

Most of us don’t experience gratitude; it is only when we lose something do we become grateful for what we have. For example, when someone gets a toothache, they become aware of the pain and wish for a time when there wasn’t pain. However, previous to this, they probably weren’t thinking: thank god I’m not in pain in my tooth!

This is because our default experience is not new to us. For most people, they are perfectly healthy and for those lucky enough, they may live in stable living conditions and don’t have to worry about war, earning a livable wage, and limited food and water access. Thus, we take this for granted. Taking the time to learn gratitude can change this.

Ways to express gratitude
Keep a gratitude journal daily. Set aside time every day to write down what you’re grateful for; many do it at the end of the day, but journaling in the morning can be a great way to start the day. You can get creative by looking up gratitude prompts There are plenty of free resources on the internet; try 25 free prompts here: https://www.atlwell.com/blog/prompts-for-cultivating-gratitude
With new prompts daily, you can go from just saying what you’re grateful for to being specific about it.

Express gratitude towards others
Express gratitude towards others by doing something for them. You will nurture and build relationships and instill gratitude in your relationship(s).

How expressing gratitude helps our mental health
By expressing gratitude, we become more aware of the good in the world and the good that we can directly experience. This decreases stress; we strengthen neural passageways in the brain associated with pleasure, such as dopamine and serotonin. We reinforce the positive aspects of life and decrease stress.

Read about stress awareness month here: https://www.mindsbeyondmeasure.org/post/stress-awareness-month

Today is Earth Day. On this day, we celebrate the Earth’s resources and take the steps to protect our planet from environmental degradation.

In this short post, we will discuss water conservation; our Water Tank program provides clean, readily available water to youth at school in the Philippines. Water conservation helps with the availability and quality of water in these areas.

No matter where we are, when we drink or use water, we are taking potable, clean water from the environment. Fresh, non-salt water is a limited resource.

Water use affects not just humans, but other organisms that thrive in fresh water environments. When we use water, it is taken from groundwater, wells, and rivers, all of which depend on steady water levels to maintain a stable environment for its inhabitants, such as fish and plants.

Just as a lack of water affects waterways, too much also negatively affects them. Excess water pollutes rivers by overwhelming water systems. The more water we use, the more runoff which carries fertilizers, chemicals, and trash into waterways.

Using less water also saves energy. We use energy to pump, water to drink, to treat the water before it is used, and to heat water for cooking and washing. When we use less water, we are not depleting precious energy sources.

This is why we should be aware of our water use. MBM’s Water Tank Initiative in the Philippines thrives on water conservation. Donate here:

https://www.mindsbeyondmeasure.org/donate-philippines

And Happy Earth day!