For many decades, many have tried to obtain a perfect mixture of a healthy state of mind in

“Whilst I was saddened by the thought of losing the aid of my kind mistress, I was gladdened by the invaluable instruction which, by the merest accident, I had gained from my master. Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read. The very decided manner with which he spoke, and strove to impress his wife with the evil consequences of giving me instruction, served to convince me that he was deeply sensible of the truths he was uttering. It gave me the best assurance that I might rely with the utmost confidence on the results which, he said, would flow from teaching me to read. ( Douglass 6.3)”. Since his master forbid his mistress to teach Douglass anymore, the power of reading and writing

The purpose of this paper is to examine Positive Psychology Mindfulness, and the therapeutic application of Mindfulness in the treatment of dependency, specifically alcohol dependency. This paper will review some of the latest research in the field of Mindfulness, the results of therapeutic interventions, and the author’s personal experience in this field. The relationship between Positive Psychology and Mindfulness (Siegel, 2011) was the focus of a Harvard Health Publication “Positive Psychology, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School, is a guide to the concepts that can be helpful in finding well-being and happiness, based on the latest research.” Other authors have reported that the benefits include a reduction in rumination,

Familial relationships play a great part in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. However, hardly any of the families in Great Expectations can be described as “traditional” with a mother, father and a certain amount of children. The novel explores different models of parentage, which are not necessarily based on a genetic relation between the parental figure and child. The parents or parental figures within Great Expectations differ greatly from each other, but something that they seem to have in common is their inability to raise children properly. The incompetence of the parents moreover seems to be the reason for the trials their children face.

Furthermore, like many members of the bourgeoisie, Bounderby tries to better himself at the expense of the proletarians. While Bounderby was a member of the lower class in his youth, he has completely turned his back on them. He treats the proletarians with contempt, and he believes that all the proletarians desire “to be fed on turtle soup and venison, with a gold spoon.” Dickens is creating an irony here. Bounderby believes that all the proletarians want to get rich without working, yet the proletarians are actually doing all the excruciating work in the society. However, the wealth is not going to the proletarians but to Bounderby himself.

According the article “A Balanced Psychology and a Full Life” by Seligman there are three routes to happiness which are pleasure (or positive emotion), engagement and meaning. In this article Seligman states “Within limits, we can increase our positive emotion about the past (e.g. by cultivating gratitude and forgiveness), our positive emotion about the present (e.g. by savoring and mindfulness) and our positive emotion about the future (e.g. by building hope and optimism).”(Seligman 418) This helps further explain that if we forgive for the things that we did in the past that made us unhappy and try to help move past it, if you want to increase your positive emotion about the present just be mindful, then lastly the increase your positive

Both Michel De Montaigne and John Donne argue that the cultivation of the mind is linked to the well being of the body. Both argue that a mind void of proper enrichment and education will lead to an unhealthy body. However, Montaigne argues that the appropriate means of “education and enrichment” are studying and following the works of other great thinkers of history. Additionally, Montaigne declares imagination to be the impetus for the downfall of the body. Conversely, Donne argues that a mind groomed in imagination is the proper mode of finding bodily health. In their writings, both Montaigne and Donne are seeking a unity between the mind and the body. By comparing Montaigne’s

A mixture of Thomas Jefferson’s quest for learning and Ben Franklin’s disdain for knowledge, should be a goal of all instruction. Understanding that yes, money is largely an important necessity, many believe that wealth is the ultimate answer. Realizing that knowledge of past mistakes in history,

In recent discussions of movie trailers, a controversial issue has been whether trailers present a clear theme. On the one hand, some argue that Annabelle 2 is about a child that becomes possessed and A Cure for Wellness is about a hospital that cures the ill. From this perspective, viewers only pay attention to the surface of the trailers. On the other hand, however, others argue that Annabelle 2 is about believing in Christ, and if you believe and put it in his hands, then everything will work itself out. Some also believe that A Cure for Wellness is about a hospital that experiments on the living to find a cure for the small sicknesses. In sum, then, the issue is whether, Annabelle 2 poses demon possession, or defending your faith. The issue presented with A Cure for Wellness is whether the medical facility cures the ill or experiments on people for greater purposes. Movie trailers present clear and hidden themes by the use of rhetorical devices through camera angles and soundtracks.

Ms. Gruwell followed this theory by developing her curriculum and assessments around material she knew her students could relate to. She provided high-quality feedback for her students so they could continually improve. Her frequent observation and monitoring of her students were instrumental in the academic growth that was shown in her students from the beginning of the movie to the end. She conferred with her students what they were interested in learning, and then using discussion and their writing journals as a tool, she helped her students to reflect on what they learned and how they are changed because of

We as humans have no real way of knowing our purpose on this world. One potential reasoning for human existence could be whether or not we were put here to congregate together, or to fend for ourselves. John Donne expresses in “Meditation 17” his belief in working together in mankind; whereas in Matthew Arnold’s poem, “To Marguerite – Continued” states that “We mortal enemies live alone.” Even though Donne’s theory would be most ideal to put belief in, I firmly believe in the idea that humans are alone in a sea of people. This concept has been written, sung, and painted about over the centuries. Giotto’s Crucifix, Renee Magritte’s The Human Condition, and Howard Nemerov’s “The Human Condition” all support their own idea of loneliness of each individual in a society.

In Dicken’s Great Expectations, Pip knew how to read and write; however, his guardian, Joe, did not. This was shown when Pip tried to teach Joe how to read while sitting near a river. He would write on a chalk board and help Joe to try to sound out the words. Also, these schools were creativity-free zones. Even the windows were placed high on the walls so that the children could not look out of them! In Hard Times, Mr. Gradgrind created a school. His main goal was to base the school primarily on facts. Creativity and wondering were never allowed. The novel opens with Mr. Gradgrind’s words: “NOW, WHAT I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts” (1). Many children are in this school and they are taught based upon absolutely nothing but facts. With this in mind, creativity and wondering are limited, resulting in the lack of knowing how to deal with feelings. Louisa drastically portrays the terrible effect of this teaching, She cries to her dad saying, “I do not know that I am sorry, I do not know that I am ashamed, I do not know that I am degraded in my own esteem. All that I know is, your philosophy and your teaching will not save me” (164). She also says “What I have learned has left me doubting, misbelieving, despising, regretting, what I have not learned” (162). Because Louisa was taught a philosophy of fact and fact only, she does not know emotion.

“For all father cared, I could have grown up illiterate and cooked for my living, or swept. So I had to teach myself history, and teach myself to teach." (155)

In Hard Times, Dickens presents life philosophies of three men that directly contradict each other. James Harthouse sees one’s actions in life as meaningless since life is so short. Mr. Gradgrind emphasizes the importance of fact and discourages fantasy since life is exactly as it was designed to be. Mr. Slearly exhibits that “all work and no play” will make very dull people out of all of us. He also proclaims that one should never look back on one’s life and regret past actions. Dickens is certainly advocating Sleary’s life philosophy because the subjects of the other two philosophies led depressing and unhappy lives. This is made clear when Louisa realises her childhood of fact without fancy has ruined her, when Tom’s life falls apart after leaving his father’s home in rejection of his strict parenting, and when Mr. Gradgrind himself realises the faults in his own philosophy and devotes the rest of his life to virtue and charity.

Sometimes even the richest people in the world are not satisfied. On the other hand, though, some penniless people are much content with what they have. This indicates one should not base his contentment on the amount of money they have, but rather what makes them happy or their inner worth. Charles Dickens’s “Great Expectations” is a world set in Victorian England, where the main character, Pip receives money from a secret benefactor and travels from his home on the marshes to respected society in Britain. His father figure Joe Gargery is a loyal, and forgiving man, but Pip loses connection with him when he goes to Britain. In Britain, he meets his mentor who will teach him the ways of a true ‘Gentleman’, Matthew Pocket. Both of these men are content with what they have. Charles Dickens creates the characters of Joe Gargery, and Matthew Pocket to elucidate the theme that one’s inner worth too can serve as an aspect for fulfillment.

How can you give a utilitarian man such as Gradgrind such power over a town? I do like how Dickens structures the book to make one ask obvious questions such as these. Dickens does not tell us much about the success of the other students of the school besides Bitzer, who is fairly successful on paper, but does not have the capacity as a person to deal with life’s everyday struggles.