WEEK 1: SELF People who understand themselves are
familiar with analyzing because they
“The life which is unexamined is not worth
living.” - Plato
What is the self?
Definition:
- The self is the person that someone
normally or truly is.
- The self refers to the total
characteristics or qualities of a
person both known and unknown to
others (but known to oneself).
Essential Reasons for Understanding the
Self
1. You’ll understand yourself better.
Without self-understanding we will not be
able to understand why we do the things we
do or feel the things we feel, and if things go
wrong, we would know how to begin
resolution.
2. You will have a better
understanding of what affects
your beliefs.
People who have a high degree of self-
understanding know more deeply where
their beliefs come from and are more able to
take a closer look at a bias and realize it is
not a fact that cannot be changed.
3. You will strengthen your critical
thinking skills.
People who have a reasonable degree or
self-understanding are able to identify the
subjective parts of themselves- like their
feelings and opinions and you do their best
to not let them play a huge role in their
critical thinking.
4. You’ll improve your decision-
making.
analyze their thoughts and feelings, and
make a decision that fits them best.
5. You will get to know your
strengths.
Taking the time and energy to look at our
life gives us information about what we’re
good at. Knowing our strength also means
we can choose to spend time improving
them
6. You’ll discover your weaknesses.
If we want to improve, we have to know
what to improve.
Knowing about our shortcomings is also an
opportunity to practice self-compassion.
This is an important component to build a
happy life.
7. You will have better listening
skills.
When we don’t listen to ourselves and don’t
understand our own thoughts and feelings,
it is very difficult to do that for others.
People who understand themselves are
good listeners because they can recognize
emotional triggers and biases that affect
communication.
8. You will have better self-
regulation.
If we struggle with our reactions and feel
bound to intense feelings, self regulation
can help. To self regulate, we need first to
identify our emotions and what triggers
them.
9. You will have more empathy.
We become aware that everyone’s feelings
and beliefs come from their experiences.
You also become a better listener which is
essential to practicing empathy.
10. You will become a better leader.
Since self-understanding leads to other
skills like active listening, critical thinking,
decision-making, and empathy, it follows
that self-understanding makes us good
leaders because these skills are the traits
that good leaders must possess.
“Somehow we learn who we really are and
then live with that decision.” - Eleanor
Roosevelt
WEEK 2: PHILOSOPHY AND
SELF
What Philosophy Says About the Self
Socrates
- The self is a being composed of
body and soul.
- The soul is man’s capacity for
intelligence and character. It is a
person’s conscious personality.
- The soul is “that within us in virtue of
which we are pronounced wise or
foolish, good or bad.”
- The soul’s activity is to know and to
govern a person’s daily conduct.
Plato
- Man is composed of body and soul
but the soul of the man is a non-
material entity which can exist apart
from the body.
The Human Soul is Indestructible and
has Three Parts:
1. Appetitive
- Desires for the things of the body,
the appetites.
- Might lead us into a world of fantasy,
and deceive us into thinking that
certain pleasures will bring us
happiness.
2. Spiritual
- Drives us toward action.
- Makes man assert and experience
abomination or anger.
3. Rational
- Seeks the true good of life by
evaluating things according to their
nature.
- Directs the passions to objects of
love.
Aristotle’s View of the Self
- The body and soul of the self are in
the state of unity. There is no
dichotomy between man’s body and
soul.
- Man is a single essence of body and
soul.
- The soul is formed to the body while
the body is matter to the soul.
The self possesses a rational soul which
has the ff. capacities:
1. Capacity for scientific thought.
2. Understanding the relationships of
things.
3. Capacity to distinguish between
different kinds of things.
4. Capacity for deliberation.
Two Parts of the Soul
1. Irrational
- Gives us the capacity for
nutrition and sustains our
biological needs.
- Also enables us to
experience desires and fulfill
these desires.
2. Rational
- Thinking and contemplation.
WEEK 3: WHAT SCIENCE SAYS
ABOUT THE SELF
Two Classifications of the Scientific
Study of the Self
1. Physical Sciences
Focuses on biological factors that
make up the human body, the
underlying growth and maturational
mechanisms, and environmental
influences that contribute to human
development.
2. Social Sciences
Are concerned with institutions,
cultures and the interpersonal
relationships of people living in
society.
Biological/Physiological Science
- The study of the human body from a
physical perspective paved the way
for a fuller understanding of the self,
as consciousness. A fundamental
core of the self, is influenced by
inner dynamics and environments.
Neurophilosophy (Paul and Patricia
Churchland)
- Is concerned with the association of
the brain and the mind.
- In order to understand the workings
of the human mind, people must first
understand the brain, its function,
and wave activity.
- Human consciousness, worldviews,
beliefs, and other attributes are
distinctly connected to brain
physiology and functioning.
Maurice - Merleau Ponty
- Attempted to incorporate the
physical and the psychological
aspects of the self with his theorem
“We are our bodies.”
- For Merleau-Ponty, the union of
mind and body is inextricable. There
is no experience that is not an
embodied experience. There is
never a moment in which we are
separated from our bodies. Our
bodies open our existence to the
world.
Psychoneuroimmunology
- Describes the shaping of the self as
similar to how the human immune
system functions. The human body
is made up of nucleotides, the
composition of which makes up the
DNA.
- Individuals capitalize on their
individual attributes and are likely to
reject environmental factors
assumed to be harmful to the body
and its well-being.
Social Sciences
- Are concerned with human
functioning in the context of society
and social institutions.
1. Psychology
Theoretical perspective that explain
the self:
A. Psychoanalysis
- Focuses on the
“unconscious” as a core
element of the self.
- Sigmund Freud likened the
human psyche to an iceberg,
whose small tip represents
the awareness of the
individual and the large part
submerged underwater as
the “unconscious,”
 influencing behavior
unknown to the person.
B. Behaviorism
- Maintains that the study of
behavior should be made
from an observable and
measurable perspective.
- Largely attributes behavior to
environment conditioning.
C. Humanistic Perspective
- Believes that every individual
has the ability to reach self
actualization and
transcendence, and that
each person is inherently
good or possesses
something that is good.
- Focuses on the strengths
and inherently good nature of
people.
- Man has a choice and free
will and is able to overcome
environmental boundaries
through human efforts.
2. Sociology
- Study of the collective
behavior of people within
society and focuses on the
problems encountered by
individuals.
- It does not see a person on
his or her own, but rather, on
the impact of social
institutions and relationships
within society on one’s
thoughts, feelings, and
behavior.
3. Anthropology
- Is the study of human beings
and their ancestors through
time and space in relation to
physical character,
environmental and social
relations, and culture.
- Examines the developmental
advancements society has
made and how they have
influenced people within that
society.
4. Political Science
- Is concerned about the
participation of individuals in
establishing a government
and making political choices.
- One’s participation in
government, ideologies, and
advocacies are seen as
significant contributions to his
or her own selfhood.
5. Economics
- Describes and analyzes the
production, distribution, and
consumption of goods and
services.
- Economic activities affect
peoples’ value systems and
sense of self.
Week 1: Digital Self
Social Media
- refer to the websites and
applications that make it easier to
create and share information, ideas
and interests.
- Has features that allow people to
communicate to specific groups
sharing common interests (through
chat, video call, or posting of status
and photos) and become members
of virtual communities, be it locally or
globally.
Online Disembodiment
- Through the use of social media
people may act differently since
interactions in social media do not
happen face to face and there is no
physical presence required. With
this, people are less likely to display
their “real selves” to others,
especially to strangers. Based on
studies, individuals are prone to
create digital identities, which are
different from their real selves.
Online Disinhibition
When people adopt fake identities, they are
likely to engage in behaviors that they would
not do in real life situations.
Two Categories:
1. Benign Disinhibition - occurs when
people tend to self-disclose more on
the internet that they would in real
life or go out of their way to help
someone or show kindness.
2. Toxic Disinhibition - occurs when
people use rude language, bully or
threaten others on online platforms,
and go to websites with contents of
violence, crime and pornography.
Reasons Why People Engage in Online
Disinhibition
1. Advantage of anonymity, virtual
invisibility and asynchronous
communication (where there is no
need to deal with another person’s
reaction or feedback immediately).
2. Introjection - people tend to assign
an identity to other person that is
also a reflection of their own self.
Setting Boundaries to your Online Self:
Smart Sharing
1. Is this post/story necessary?
2. Is there a real benefit to this post? Is
it funny, warm-hearted, teachable- or
am I just making noise online without
purpose?
3. Have we (as a family or parent/child)
resolved this issue? An issue that is
still being overworked at home, or
one that is either vulnerable or highly
emotional, should not be made
public.
4. Is it appropriate? Does it stay within
the boundaries of our family values?
5. Will this seem as funny in 5, 10, or
15 years? Or is this post better
suited for sharing with a small group
of family members? Or maybe not at
all?
Rules to Follow:
Additional guidelines for proper sharing of
information and ethical use of the internet
according to NE (2014)
1. Stick to safer sites.
2. Guard your passwords.
3. Limit what you share.
4. Remember that anything you put
online or post on a site is there
forever, even if you try to delete it.
5. Do not be mean or embarrass other
people online.
 6. Always tell if you see strange or bad
behavior online.
7. Be choosy about your online friends.
8. Be patient.
Week 2: Emotional Intelligence
Definitions:
1. Bar-on (1997)
Emotional intelligence is an “array of non-
cognitive abilities, competencies and skills
that influence one’s ability to succeed in
coping with environmental demands and
pressures.”
2. Mayer, Salovey and Caruso (2004):
Emotional intelligence is one’s ability to
understand emotion. It includes one’s
capacity to regulate emotions and to be
emotionally aware which is helpful on one’s
emotional and intellectual growth.
3. Daniel Goleman (1998):
Emotional intelligence is “the capacity for
recognizing our own feelings and those of
others, for motivating ourselves, and for
managing emotions effectively in ourselves
and others.”
Components of Emotional Intelligence
Self-Awareness: Know Your Emotions
- This is about being aware of our
emotions as they arise, instead of
being swept away by them. When
we can observe the emotions as
they arise, it shifts our mental
activities from the amygdala to the
neocortex, making the unconscious
conscious.
Self-Regulation: Manage Your Emotions
- We usually can't control our
emotions when they first surface.
However, once we're aware of them,
we can manage our response to
(i) determine how long those feelings last,
and;
(ii) react in a way that's appropriate for the
situation.
Self Motivation: Channel Your Emotions
Productively
- This is about managing our impulses
so they support our goals, not hinder
them.
- It includes the ability to delay
gratification, stay motivated and
channel our feelings productively.
- Studies have shown the link
between feelings and productivity,
between optimism and positive
performance, and between feelings
and flow experience.
Empathy: Recognize Other's Emotions
- Relationship management is
ultimately about managing other
people's emotions. To do that, we
must first develop empathy, i.e.
recognize other's feelings and be
attuned to their needs and wants.
Research-Proven Benefits Of Emotional
Intelligence
1. It has positive effects on thinking
abilities during anxiety-provoking
testing conditions and enables
students to obtain good scores.
2. It is negatively correlated to
aggressive and delinquent
behaviors.
3. People with high emotional
intelligence manifest high social
competence in dealing with different
kinds of people
4. Employees with high EQ tend to be
successful in the workplace.
5. Emotional intelligence influences
well being and life satisfaction.
Week 3: Anatomy of Anger
Anger
is a secondary response telling us that
something is wrong and uncomfortable and
needs to be checked, fixed or changed.
Three Major Categories Of Emotions
Causing Anger
1) Unmet Needs and Feelings of Hurt
- We need to belong, to have
relationships; to be connected, loved
and supported.
- When these needs aren't met, we
feel hurt and generally get angry.
2) Unmet Expectations
- When things don't go our way, we
get frustrated.
- When plans change unexpectedly,
when goals are blocked, when
dreams are dashed and hopes are
abandoned, anger is fast on their
heels.
3) Feelings of Insecurity
- When the threat is real or perceived,
emotional or physical, we respond
with anger because it helps protect
or shield us.
- When our self-esteem is under
attack or our well being in danger,
we feel insecure.
Steps To Take When Angry
1. Acknowledge You Are/Were Angry
Admit and accept your anger.
2. Backtrack And Identify The Primary
Emotions
Ask yourself what you were really feeling.
3. Consider The Cause (What Really
Contributed To The Feelings?)
Ask yourself what happened and why you
feel that way.
4. Determine How To Deal With It?
How do you respond to the situation?
Week 4: Managing and Caring for the
Self
Definitions Of Stress:
Richard Lazarus’
1. Psychological Standpoint
Stress is a state of anxiety produced when
events and responsibilities exceed one's
coping abilities.
2. Physiological Standpoint
Stress is defined as the rate of wear and
tear on the body.
3. Holistic Medicine
Stress is the inability to cope with a
perceived(real or imagined)threat to one's
mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual
well-being, which results in a series of
physiological responses and adaptations.
Types Of Stress
1. Eustress
Is good stress and arises in any situation or
circumstance that a person finds motivating.
2. Neustress
- Describes sensory stimuli that have
no consequential effect
- Is considered neither good nor bad.
3) Distress
is considered bad and often is abbreviated
simply as stress.
Types of Distress
A. Acute Stress
- is that which surfaces.
- Is quite intense but disappears very
quickly
B. Chronic Stress
is not as intense but its duration is
unbearably long.
Examples:
Being stuck for the whole semester with the
"roommate from hell”.
Having a slave-driver boss.
- This type of stress is associated with
disease, because the body is
perpetually aroused for danger.
Types Of Stressors:
1. Bioecological Influences
- These are external influences,
including sunlight, technological
changes, electrical pollution,
environmental toxins, noise pollution
and other potential bioecological
influences.
- Some synthetic food additives may
trigger the release of various stress
hormones throughout the body.
- Some of these bioecological factors
can be positively influenced by
lifestyle changes, including dietary
habits, exercise, and the regular
practice of relaxation techniques,
which bring back a sense of
balance.
2. Psychointrapersonal Influences
- These stressors currently make up
the greatest percentage of stressors.
- These are the perceptions of stimuli
that we create through our own
mental processes.
- These involve those thoughts,
values, beliefs, attitudes, opinions,
and perceptions that we use to
defend our identity or ego.
3. Social Influences
- Social causes of stress include
overcrowding and urban sprawl,
financial insecurity, the effects of
relocation, violation of human rights,
low socioeconomic status etc.
Strategies For Coping With Stress
1. Problem-Focused Coping
- This basically involves creative
problem solving
- Refers to generating solutions,
weighing the costs and benefits of
each, then choosing one and acting
on it.
2. Emotion-Focused Coping
- This is applicable only if the event or
situation that you are facing is
uncontrollable, or if you are so
overwhelmed by negative emotions
that you are unable to begin to take
action.
Types of Emotion-focused Coping
A) Behavioral Strategies
- This might include distraction or
physical exercise (to life your spirits)
or seeking emotional support from
people close to you(e.g. getting
sympathy and understanding from a
friend.)
b) Cognitive Strategies
- This may include positively
reinterpreting the situation (e.g.
Trying to learn from the experience
or looking for something good in
what is happening), acceptance(e.g.
learning to live with it) or turning to
religion(e.g finding solace in beliefs
about the afterlife).
- A very Important cognitive strategy
especially in traumatic events is
FINDING MEANING.
- Finding meaning includes gaining a
new perspective on ourselves and
our own lives(e.g., that we should
spend more family and friends, that
 we should live our life to the fullest,
that we should take more risks) as
well as growth in our spirituality or
faith.
3. Behavior Modification
- This refers to the act of taking steps
to change a negative (stress-
causing) behavior into a positive
one.
- It involves among others awareness,
a genuine desire to change and
evaluation whether the new behavior
worked.
4) Journal-Writing
- This coping strategy initiates the
communication of self-reflection
between the mind and the soul, the
necessary first step in the resolution
and closure of perceived stress.
- As a technique to clear the mind of
thoughts, a calming effect takes
place as thoughts and feelings are
transferred from the mind to the
written page.
5) Expressive Art Therapy
- This is a coping technique of self
expression and self-awareness
employing various media to describe
feelings and thoughts in ways that
verbal language cannot.
- Art therapy can strengthen the
bonds of self-communication
Goals Associated With Art Therapy
A) To provide a cathartic experience: To let
emotions that have an immobilizing effect
be released in the physical act of creating
personal expression through art.
B) To provide a means to uncover anger: to
employ the use of colors and shapes to
express and detect feelings of aggression.
C) To offer an avenue to reduce guilt: by
conveying inner thoughts or past feelings
and behavior associated with the guilt
process.
D) To facilitate impulse control: To allow
freedom of self-expression, rather than its
repression, through a positive behavior.
E) To help patients use art as a new outlet
during incapacitating illness: To use art a
tool to strengthen body-mind connection by
using various media to augment the
imagery aspect of self healing.
5) HUMOR THERAPY
- Humor therapy is a coping technique
which uses humor and comic relief
as a means to relieve and reduce
emotional stress by focusing on the
funny, humorous, and positive
aspects of life.
Basis: Humor has the power to diffuse both
anger and anxiety. It is powerful at reducing
both emotions.
Steps To Initiate Humor Therapy
1)Learn not to take life too seriously.
2) Find one humorous thing a day
3) Work to improve your imagination and
creativity.
SOME WAYS TO IMPROVE IMAGINATION
SKILLS
a) Read more books (fiction and nonfiction).
b) Write a story, a fable or poem every now
and then.
c) Play with children.
d) Go exploring - Do something completely
new. Go to a museum of fine art, or a
greenhouse etc.
e) Create something - Plant a garden. Start
a new hobby. Invent something.
f) Find a host of varied humor venues.
- Humor venues include (but are not
limited to) movies, theater, books,
music, television and live-stand-up
comedy.
Week 5: The Spiritual Self
DEFINITIONS OF SPIRITUALITY:
1. Spirituality is the aspect of the self
that is associated to an individual’s
process of seeking and expressing
meaning and how he or she is
connected to the self, to others, to
the moment, and to everything else
that composes his or her
environment, including the sacred
and significant (Puchalski).
2. Spirituality is any experience that is
thought to bring the experiencer in
contact with the divine; it is not just
any experience that feels meaningful
(Beauregard & O’Leary).
3. It is the individual’s personal relation
to the sacred or transcendent, a
relation that then informs other
relationships and the meaning of
one’s own life.(Sinnot)
4. 4) Spirituality is the “personal and
private beliefs that transcend the
material aspects of life and give a
deep sense of wholeness,
connectedness, and openness to the
infinite.” (Myers)
COMMONALITIES IN THE DEFINITIONS
OF SPIRITUALITY
1. Spirituality talks about meaning and
purpose that go beyond the physical
realities of life.
2. Spirituality is focused on a person’s
connections to different aspects of
his or her existence: to other people,
to nature, and to the sacredness and
divinity.
3. Spirituality talks about the sacred
and the transcendent.
- It is a general belief that in this vast
universe, there is a force higher than
the self.
RELIGIOUSITY
Definition: Religiosity is the adherence to a
belief system and practices associated with
a tradition in which there is agreement
about what is believed and practiced.
- It is a formal attachment to the set of
beliefs, values, and practices of a
particular religious sect.
Difference between religiosity and
spirituality
- For religiosity, beliefs and practices
are within religious groups. On the
other hand, spiritual attributes
include the need for spiritual quest,
ecumenical worldviews,
compassion, service and inner
peace.
- Religiosity is not anchored on
religious orientation.
Positive Consequences of Spirituality
1. A spiritual person finds contentment
and serenity in his or her life
circumstances.
2. A spiritual person aligns his or her
thoughts, words and actions to his or
her spiritual beliefs.
3. He or she engages in activities that
boost his or her self-respect and
actualization.
4. Spiritual well-being entails wisdom,
self-transcendence, acceptance of
life, and meaningful existence.
 5. Spirituality increases self-esteem,
enhances interpersonal relationships
through the establishment of trust.
6. It encourages people to engage in
positive meaningful behavior.
7. Spirituality drives one to ask
questions such as, “Am I a good
person?” and “How can I live my life
to the fullest?”
8. Spirituality allows one to become
resilient amidst challenges and
roadblocks that occur in life.
WAYS OF ENHANCING SPIRITUALITY
1. Fostering quality parent-child
relationships
- has a significant positive influence
on one’s spiritual orientation.
2. Introducing programs and
interventions which include retreats,
recollections, seminars and worship.
3. Utilizing teaching strategies that
foster contemplation, reflection, and
self-evaluation
- This can strengthen one’s spiritual
well-being
4. Constant reflection and meditation of
life choices and decisions.
5. Developing empathy and
compassion toward other people.
6. Having faith in a higher being
- can enhance spiritual intelligence.
CONCLUSION:
SPIRITUALITY PAVES THE WAY FOR
CREATING MEANING, VISION AND
VALUES IN THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE
DO. MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT ENABLES
AN INDIVIDUAL TO FURTHER
UNDERSTAND HIMSELF OR HERSELF.
DALAI LAMA’S VIEW OF COMPASSION
Compassion:
1. Compassion is a state of mind that is
non-violent, non-harming, and non-
aggressive.
2. It is a mental attitude based on the
wish for others to be free of their
suffering.
3. It is associated with a sense of
commitment, responsibility, and
respect towards the other.
Two types:
1. Compassion tinged with
atachment
- The feeling of controlling someone,
or loving someone so that person
will love you back.
- This ordinary type of compassion is
quite partial and biased because if a
situation changes (ex.
Disagreement) the emotional
attachment easily evaporates.
2. Genuine compassion
a. This is based on the rationale that all
human beings have an innate desire
to be happy and overcome suffering.
b. This is based on the other’s
fundamental rights rather than one’s
mental projection.
c. This is feeling of unbearableness at
the sight of another sentient being’s
suffering.
d. This provides the basis for human
survival.
Benefits of compassion
1. Developing compassion and altruism
has a positive impact on our physical
health.
2. Compassion and reaching out to
help others can induce a feeling of
happiness and a calmer mind.
3. Compassion and kindness enhance
self-worth
Conclusion:
Compassion is a crucial factor for personal
happiness.