On August 24, the Mindfulness at FriendlyCare team went to visit the Guang Ming College – Tagaytay for the third-year college students’ orientation to the Mindfulness for Compassion and Well-being (MCW) course that they will be taking for the whole duration of the semester. Guang Ming College is one of FriendlyCare’s educational institution partners and has always been supportive of the organization's mental health programs. Influenced by its Buddhist roots, the institution takes pride in their mindful practices that they continue to embed in their students’ day-to-day life. Funded by Fo Guang Shan International Consortium, GMC currently has three campuses residing in Cebu, Manila, and Tagaytay. The GMC Tagaytay campus which was visited by the FriendlyCare team houses 137 scholars, all enrolled in three college programs which are: Performing Arts, Sports Science, and Human Services (formerly named as Buddhist studies). During the orientation, GMC’s President, and former chancellor of UP Diliman, Michael L. Tan, PhD, led the introduction for what is mindfulness and why GMC continues to invest in this program for their students. By looking back to the history of mindfulness, Dr. Michael Tan introduced this concept as a significant practice being observed by many religions, only in different forms.
Although usually associated with Buddhism and a part of Buddhist psychology in terms of reducing suffering, mindfulness practices can be seen across various religions such as the Sufi Dervishes in the Muslim community in Turkey, the quiet prayers practiced by the Christian community practices quiet meditation, and the Pentecostal Sects which involves singing, dancing, and slaying of the spirit being performed by other Christian denominations. In essence, mindfulness can be perceived as a secular concept – something that can be separate (and may also interject) from one’s religion; or the lack thereof. Its main purpose is to help train the brain and body to handle emotions and thoughts better. The mindfulness program in GMC, as described by Dr. Tan, has a mixed toolbox which consists of Buddhist meditation and principles, yoga, and reflection. According to him, this nature of the program will help the students be more inclined to generate positive feelings of compassion, gratitude, and forgiveness. With the help of Mindfulness at FriendlyCare, the GMC – Tagaytay is now able to enrich their mindfulness program by delivering MCW to its third-year college students. It is a 12-week course, with one 2-hour session every week, that will allow the students to discover various mindfulness practices that will help them be more resilient in handling difficult thoughts and emotions. Prior to this course program, the students have encountered the “Mindful U” program, which is a 6-session program offered by the Mindfulness at FriendlyCare, to introduce mindfulness practices in a more condensed version. The students were able to share their learnings on the program and elaborate on which practices are most helpful to them when fazed by situations.
Some of the students from the Performance Arts program said, “Mas nakakatulong sa amin ang mindfulness kasi mas nailulugar namin ang aming isip bago mag-perform.” [Mindfulness is more helpful for us (performers) because we are able to place our minds better before we perform.] “Naaapply din siya sa backstaging kasi hindi lahat ng bagay na-reresolve kapag lagi kang galit, especially madaming nangyayaring stressful sa backstage.” [It can also be applied backstage because not everything can be resolved when you are mad, especially that there are many circumstances happening backstage.] “Body scanning is mostly helpful in knowing which part of my body feels the tension; and then from there, I can act on resolving/alleviating the tension through journaling or meditating.” “Proper breathing helps calm oneself and makes you realize that it’s normal to have bad days and believe that tomorrow may be better.” Starting on August 31, the third-year students will be starting their 12-week MCW course as part of their core curriculum. Facilitators from the FriendlyCare Foundation will be leading the sessions in partnership with the GMC.