Yoga, Buddhism and Lao Tzu Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Yoga, Buddhism and Lao Tzu - Essay Example The raja yoga concerns itself mainly with the wellbeing of one’s mind, known as rsih through cultivation of the same mind whose wellbeing is the main concern. It uses a number of successive steps that include meditation and contemplation to deal with the fluctuations of the mind and how to master the fluctuations. For this reason, the relationship between the body and the mind must be put at ease in order to gain acceptance between the two. As a result, due to the required balance between the body and the mind, one must be in overall god health and psychological condition in prior to pursuance of inward yoga aspects for the mind to be at ease with the body. Therefore, raja yoga serves to control all ways of thought and mental modification in order to further one’s acceptance of reality and achieve liberation. The second form of yoga is the karma yoga, which is taken to mean the yoga of doing owing to its origins in Sanskrit. Karma refers to action while yoga is taken to mean union thus literally meaning the path of union through action and is, therefore, the process of achieving perfection through action. With this in mind, karma yoga is a form of yoga in which one is expected to align his or her actions, thoughts and will towards perfection (Wathen). This is done through action according to one’s sense of duty and without bias towards selfish desires or inclinations towards like and dislike. The third form of yoga according to Bhagavad Gita is the jinana yoga or the path of knowledge, where one is required to achieve knowledge of the absolute (Wathen). It also views the above named knowledge as a condition of devotion. The jinana yoga is aimed at attaining high levels of enlightenment in knowledge, in relation to reality, which is similar to the Karma and raja yoga. The fourth form of yoga is the bhakti yoga or the path of devotion that signifies active involvement by the devotee in divine worship, which relates to the jinana yoga of knowledge in that it calls for attainment of a union with the absolute, which is also characteristic of the karma yoga. The final is the hatha yoga, which is the preparatory stage of physical purification that the body practices for higher meditation; and is related to the other four yoga forms following the higher meditation and attainment of higher enlightenment achieved altogether after their practice. Of all the forms, none can be consi dered the best as they all work to the wellbeing of the individual in question. However, the karma yoga may have an upper hand over the rest following the relationship that it has with one’s way of thought and actions. This is because; it guides one’s actions through peace of mind and creation of harmony between the body and mind. The Noble Truths Buddhism has five aggregates, form, sensation, perception, mental formation and consciousness, which work together to come up with a mental being. Form refers to the physical factors of a being such as the body and all material objects while sensation refers to feelings in three kinds-unpleasant, pleasant and indifferent. The other three forms are perception, which is the formulation of a concept or idea on an object by an individual; while mental formation defines conditional responses to objects with which an individual has experiences. On the other hand, consciousness describes the

Mental Health Issue Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Mental Health Issue - Coursework Example The concepts of media images and perceptions are also explored, offering the possible negative and positive effect of media perceptions. Interestingly, the legal aspect of this issue is also detailed in the guide. A Case Study of Mental Health Service User X Cindy has a responsible job as a software engineer in a multinational company but she feels she is unable to advance in her career because of her inability to contribute in group meetings. It’s almost more than what she could bear just to sit in on meetings, let alone offer her opinions. Yesterday, her boss approaches her about the possibility of giving a presentation about their latest product to some customers. At that point, she began to be nervous and could not open her mouth to talk at all. He walks out of her boss’s office with lack of self-confidence and later refuses to give the presentation. 3 Phobias Phobias can be defined as the persistent and irrational fears that affect some people when they come into c ontact with external factors (stimuli) (Morgan, 2003). There are different categories of phobias based on the sources of stimuli, to which the persons affected withdraw or move away from. Examples of these categories are:- (i) Agoraphobia:- this is irrational and persistent fears about being in a place crowded with many other people, and which might make escape impossible in case there is a sudden danger (Gray, 1994). This may happen with or without a panic attack. (ii) Social phobia:- This is irrational and persistent fears about participating in a social or public event. A chronic form of social phobia also leads to avoidance behavior as the affected person keep running away from social duties (Kleiman, 1988). Cindy is affected by this kind of phobia as she dodges her duties. (iii) Specific phobias:- These are irrational and persistent fears to some specific stimuli. Examples of these stimuli include but are not limited to animal types, natural environment types, situational types , blood-injection injury etc. (Lefton, 1997). 4 Causes of Phobias Several researches have been conducted on the issue of phobias in order to detect their main causes. Although it is not quite certain what is responsible for one particular phobia; however, it has become known in recent years that phobias could occur based on (i) genetical factor—that is, certain fears may affect some families consciously or unconsciously; for example, twins that were raised in different environments still show fear for a certain object or condition; (ii) cultural factor—owing to their cultures, different people entertain different kinds of phobias; (iii) personal experiences—it is also believed that personal experiences constitute mainly the cause of phobias people have today; past unfavorable experiences may beat fear into people’s hearts that would last forever (Gray, 1994); (iv) uncertainty—it is also considered a fact that people tend to exercise some fears to u ncertain conditions or things they could not control like their future, job interviews and meeting new and unfamiliar people (Lefton, 1997). Symptoms of Phobias The symptoms exhibit by patients affected by phobias depends on the types of phobias and their severity. For those suffering from blood-injection injury, they do not normally feel afraid but experience disgust at the sight of needles (Morgan, 2003). However, there are some general symptoms of phobias, which include but are n