The two topics of this week’s class was comprehending the meaning of being mindful and understanding the concepts of paradigms. I truly believe I had healthy takeaways from this research. I feel as if I learned how to truly connect with not only myself but my surroundings as well. I had great takeaways from each individual topic, but I also realized how these two ideas could connect. One of the greatest takeaways from this week learning was the immense amount of benefits that can arise from mindful meditation. From relieving stress, strengthening the mind, and even improving physical health. There are so many great benefits that come from mindful meditation that I didn’t even realize were possible. I also learned about the pros and cons of globalization from the reading of this week. I learned that it is a way in which our values can really affect the way we treat our environment. I truly believe that if we use the mindfulness techniques to transform ourselves it will eventually lead to the way we transform our environment. My greatest takeaways from this week is that being present and in touch with our own needs can eventually lead to meeting our surroundings needs as well. We need to improve our own values in order to improve our sustainability values along with it. We get so caught up in our thoughts and views on social media that we forget to be present and mindful of our personal and environmental needs.

                        What I believe I contributed to the learning community after researching this week’s topic was simply the idea of using the meditation skills in order to become a better student. It is important that we as students transform into the best learners that we can in order to contribute and strengthen the learning community and having the resourceful mindful skills from this week can intensely improve that.  It is also important that we are knowledgeful on the advantages and disadvantages of globalization, in order to make informed decisions on our environmental values. I believe that simply knowing and exercising the concepts of this week’s learning in order to improve brain function and focus will cause me to greatly contribute to the learning community without even realize I am doing so.

            My brief reflection of the mindfulness practice assignment is that it was more helpful than I ever imagined. I never thought that a simple five minutes could change the whole demeanor of my day. In the beginning it was challenging to really let go of my thoughts and be present in the moment. I struggled with the idea on shutting my brain down for even a short amount of time, but what I realized was that the short five minutes was all I needed to recharge my brain and relieve my stresses. I think I will continue to exercise these skills throughout the rest of the school year. This will help me contain control of my wandering thoughts and put a focus on what is important throughout the day. All in all, the topic this week was extremely intriguing and rewarding. I am excited to see how much improvement I will endure by continuing to practice and study and reap the benefits of mindfulness.