Course Details
| Department & Course Number | SPT&REC 298-298 |
| Class Number | 61615 |
| Course Type | Undergraduate (College of General Studies) |
| Credits | 1 |
| Meets Requirements | |
| Instructor | Deborah Zarate |
| Course Dates | June 24 - August 03, 2024 (Third 6-week Session) |
When we think of kindness, we often think of how to treat others with respect and empathy, but kindness stretches beyond that and starts with us. Most of us put effort into doing different things to bring about our well-being and success. We go to school, work, play sports, create music or art, eat well and exercise, sleep, and have fun things to do. But how many of us work proactively to care for our minds? Our mind is the most valuable resource we have. We experience every single moment of our life with this mind. We rely on it to be happy, content, and strong – to get us through each day, term, or semester. We don’t often think about taking care of our minds until our feelings, thoughts, and emotions start to bother us. In today’s speedy and complex world, it’s too easy to brush aside stressful thoughts and feelings, but if we don’t acknowledge these feelings, they will just keep piling up. Since we travel the path of life with our minds as well as our bodies, doesn’t it make sense to learn to be kind to them, too?
Being kind to your mind means spending a little quality time caring for the experiencer of life – our minds. The practice of mindfulness meditation is an excellent way to do this, as it helps us foster a mindful, nonjudgmental, and compassionate attitude toward our inner experience. It helps us learn to accept and forgive ourselves and others for our shortcomings. Seeing ourselves mindfully with care and kindness promotes self-worth, which is crucial for good mental health. This course introduces mindfulness and explores the scientific research supporting it, which shows its promising, beneficial effects on physical and mental health as well as overall well-being.
Course Syllabus (PDF)