Friendship: Meaning of Life and Friends Essay

What is a friend? According to Aristotle, a friend is a single sole dwelling in two bodies. People understand the concept of friendship differently, but there is one common ground for it. It is always built on a mutual sympathy. Friendship plays an important role in our lives, to a large extent. Friends can help you find the meaning of life by helping you overcome challenges. They are people in your life that care for you and they simple add joy and meaning to your life. In some cases it is short and finds its end quickly, while in other cases it may last for many years and grow stronger every year. True friendship is built on trust and mutual support. Your real friend will always find time to talk and try to find solutions to the hard problems you face every day. They are always there to help you and expect the same from you. Friends are psychologically comfortable with each other, and sometimes are emotionally closer than with their relatives. Friends help you overcome challenges you may face at times in your life. A special thing about friendship is that friends have the ability to do different things like simply talking something through and giving advice or physically helping you Sometimes friends find more comfort in each other rather than family because they might have the idea that there family might judge them, and there friend will tell it right. In difficult times, friends make you see things from a different point of view, allowing you to take time to reflect and examine the situation. Doing this it allows you to see another perspective of the situation and find another way to overcome your challenge. Not only do friends help you through situations, but they go about this through love. Friends are people in your life that love and care about you. They will not only help you through something but they are the ones that will always be there for you in those times of need. They care about you and how you feel and that is what makes them a true friend. A friend is someone who believes in you when you have yet to believe in yourself. They help you to find the meaning of life because they let you know that there is someone out there that cares for you and that you are valuable to someone else in this world. Friends are not only there to help you, but they also add fun, happiness and joy to life. They add fun, happiness and joy as you can relate to each other and share the same values about things. Through sharing the same values you are able to laugh and joke about things that you will both find funny as you share the same ideas. They can make you forget about any problems you have by simply having some fun. Friends can be your whole life as you revolve many things around them. You know you can trust them as much as they can trust you. Friends help us to not take everything in life too seriously and have a bit of fun by simply being in each other’s company. Friendship has great value in the meaning of life. It is one of the richest treasures of life. Friends help you overcome challenges and difficult times in your life, through talking and physically helping you. They are someone who knows you well and cares about you, so that everything they do for you and through love. When the crowd dies down after a crisis, your friends are the ones who are still active. Friends will sit with you in the hospital, be with you while you grieve, be available at a moment’s notice of crisis, come out to help in the middle of the night, stand up for you, lend a hand when there is work to be done, be loyal to you, have fun with you, make you laugh when you are sad etc etc†¦ and the list goes on. The most important thing about friendship is that it adds meaning and value to our lives.

Counselling and Psychotherapy Essay

Carl Ransom Rogers (1902 – 1987) was amongst the most influential figures of humanistic psychology, a school of psychotherapy that rejected medical and psychoanalytic models of treatment, and instead put forth a theory of personality and behaviour that presumed the source of psychological health ultimately resides in the individual person rather than in a programme based on the expert knowledge and authority of a psychiatric professional. Rogers’ specific form of humanistic psychology is broadly based on his view of human personality, which he believed naturally tended to develop in what he considered a healthy manner unless it is adversely influenced by life-experiences. From this theoretical basis, Rogers created a form of therapy that he called ‘client-centred’, (or person-centred) as opposed to forms of treatment that are directed by the expertise of the therapist. In the field of Counselling and Psychotherapy there are many differing theories which are used to help those who seek counselling, including client-centred therapy. In many parts of the world client-centred therapy is seen as a family of therapies, including Experiential Psychotherapy and Focusing. Closely associated with client-centred therapy are existential therapy and various integrative approaches. Since Carl Rogers’ death, there has been much debate regarding what can and cannot rightly claim to be called ‘client-centred therapy.’ Proponents of the differing ‘Tribes’ argue for their schools of thought. (Warner 2006). At the heart of all the differing thoughts and modes of delivery are the six conditions for therapeutic change which Rogers described as being needed before a client could move towards the changes that they wanted to make in their lives. Carl Rogers, along with Abraham Maslow, was the founder of the humanist approach to clinical psychology. Maslow was known as the ‘Third Force in Psychology’ but is mainly known for his thoughts on self- actualization. Prior to Maslow it was thought that human behaviour was just a set of behaviours to satiate the drive for deficits. For example the ‘lack of nutrients – feel hungry – seek food – and eat’ model. Maslow proposed a wide range of human needs in a dynamic and changing system, where needs at higher levels would only be addressed when needs at lower levels had been satisfied (see Fig 1): Rogers’ person-centred theory emphasised the concept of ‘self-actualization’ which implies that there is an internal, biological force to develop one’s capacities and talents to the fullest. The human organism’s central motivation is to learn and to grow. Growth occurs when individuals confront problems, strive to master them and, through experience, endeavour to develop new aspects of their skills, capacities, and views about life, and move forward towards the goal of self-actualization. By way of example, Rogers (1980) often illustrated the concept with reference to organisms in the natural world. He wrote about a potato in the root cellar of his boyhood home: â€Å"The actualizing tendency can, of course, be thwarted or warped, but it cannot be destroyed without destroying the organism. I remember that in my boyhood home, the bin in which we stored our winter’s supply of potatoes was in the basement, several feet below a small window. The conditions were unfavourable, but the potatoes would begin to sprout pale white sprouts, so unlike the healthy green shoots they sent up when planted in the soil in the spring. But these sad, spindly sprouts would grow two or three feet in length as they reached toward the distant light of the window. The sprouts were, in their bizarre, futile growth, a sort of desperate expression of the directional tendency I have been describing. They would never become plants, never mature, never fulfill their real potential. But under the most adverse circumstances, they were striving to become. Life would not give up, even if it could not flourish.† So it can be seen that Rogers was saying that this effective and strong constructive tendency is the underlying basis of the client-centred approach. Rogers’ groundbreaking understanding was that for a person to be truly helped, the important healing factor is the relationship itself. His view of human behaviour is that it is â€Å"exquisitely rational† Rogers (1961). Furthermore, in his opinion: â€Å"The core of man’s nature is essentially positive† Rogers (1961), and he is a â€Å"trustworthy organism† Rogers (1977). Rogers focused on ways in which the therapist could promote certain core conditions between him/herself and the client. Central to his theory was that the actualizing tendency was a natural process, yet in order for each human organism to do so it required the nurturing of a caregiver. Rogers understood that inherently people need people, and that we are fundamentally dependent on others for our being. Many critics of the theory have misunderstood Roger’s concepts and commented that this is outmoded today, and, according to Bohart (2007) the critics were saying that it â€Å"glorifies the individual at the expense of others†. Wilkins (2003) argued that Rogers’ concept of self-actualization is culturally biased, reflecting a Western cultural emphasis on the separate, autonomous individualistic self. However, Bohart states that Rogers’ concept of self as culture-specific is compatible with cultures which view the self in relational rather than individualistic terms, even cultures that have no concept of self. Self-actualization means enhancing or actualizing the self as the self is defined for that person and culture. Rogers did believe that the tendency of actualization of a person in therapy was to always go in a positive pro-social direction, but critics state that it may lead to self-centred, narcissistic behaviour (Bozarth and Brodley, 1991). Rogers recognised that environmental and social factors could inhibit or distort the process of actualization so that a negative rather than positive outcome may occur, but also that the fully functioning person is ‘soundly and realistically social’ (Rogers 1961). Rogers postulated that therapeutic movement will only occur if, and only if, the six conditions for therapeutic change were in place between the therapist and the client. 1. The first condition of client-centred therapy is that therapist and client should be in psychological contact. The first condition specifies that a minimum relationship must exist. Rogers (1957) stated: â€Å"I am hypothesizing that significant positive personality change does not occur except in a relationship†. (Sanders 2006) â€Å"The relationship is not seen as a third object in the room with the counsellor and the client, but is the client and the counsellor. They bring themselves into the room, and in doing so a unique and ever-changing relationship is the result.† Research into contact between animals and people who live in social groups has shown that in order to grow and become confident then it must be in a psychologically interactive way. Those who were deprived of such conditions, like the children in the orphanages of Romania and the monkeys in Harlow’s experiments, grew up with permanent behavioural and emotional problems. (Harlow 1959, Carlson 1999, Bowlby, 1953, Warner 2002). Rogers thought that psychological contact was an all-or-nothing, one-off event, but others like Rose Cameron (2003) and Whelton and Greenberg (2002) see psychological contact as a variable and dynamic quality in relationships, and Margaret Warner (2002:79) says that the â€Å"contact can be viewed as a continuum†. In my opinion, despite the differing views of the various ‘Tribes’, the one over-riding view is that psychological contact is essential if the therapeutic process is going to work. It can simply be the mere recognition of the other person in the room, or a deeply-shared experience between the therapist and the client. 2. Client incongruence, a state of being vulnerable and anxious, is presented as the second of the six conditions which Rogers defined as a ‘discrepancy between the actual experience of the organism and the self-picture of the individual’s experience insofar as it represents that experience’ (Rogers 1957), and which he saw as being necessary for therapy to be successful. Pearson (1974) thought that this condition had created some confusion, since the relationship between incongruence and felt anxiety or vulnerability is complex. All people are incongruent to some degree all of the time (since human beings can never fully symbolize their experience), and some sorts of incongruence may actually lower anxiety. Rogers’ concept of incongruence was simply saying that clients sense that they have underlying issues that have distorted their sense of equilibrium and therefore are motivated to seek counselling. I believe that this second condition affects how clients will respond to counselling because the change that needs to happen has to come from within the client and cannot happen against their will. For example, if someone is referred by a doctor, or school, or made to attend counselling with a spouse or parent, then the client will be in a state of incongruence and the first condition will not take place, without which there is no therapeutic relationship. 3. The third core condition is that the second person, the therapist, is congruent in the relationship. By congruent Rogers understood it to be real, genuine and transparent. As early as 1946 he wrote about the fact that the therapist should have a â€Å"genuine interest in the client†. Rogers makes it very clear in a video on the internet where he is talking about what it means to be congruent when he says: â€Å"Can I be real in the relationship; this has come to have an increasing amount of importance to me over the years. I feel that genuineness is another way of describing the quality I would like to have. I like the term congruence, by which I mean that what I am experiencing inside is present in my awareness and comes out though my communication. In a sense when I have this quality I am all in one piece in the relationship. There is another word that describes it for me; I feel that in the relationship I would like to have transparency. I would be quite willing for my client to see all the way through me and that there would be nothing hidden, and when I’m real in this fashion that I’m trying to describe, I know that my own feelings will often bubble up into awareness and will be expressed, but be expressed in ways that won’t impose themselves on my client.† (You Tube 2010). Despite Rogers’ insistence that being congruent with clients is of paramount importance, a number of studies over the years have shown that no significant relationship exists between levels of congruence and outcomes in the therapeutic relationship (Klein et al 2002, Orlinsky et al 2004, Burckell and Goldried 2006, Feifel and Eells, 1963). In contrast Cooper (2008) has suggested that this may be because it is a ‘high frequency’ event in therapy and therefore the correlation between genuineness and outcome are not truly recognised†. Without an empathetic response from the therapist I believe that the client would not feel valued or understood and the therapeutic relationship would break down. 4. In the development of self-concept Rogers also stated that the fourth condition – unconditional positive regard – the complete acceptance and support for a person no matter what they say or do – is necessary for self-actualization. By showing unconditional positive regard, or prizing, clients are said to feel valued and so accepted and take responsibility for themselves (Rogers 1957:98). Conversely, I believe self-actualization is thwarted by conditional positive regard when acceptance is dependent on the positive or negative evaluation of a person’s actions. Those raised in an environment of conditional positive regard, Rogers felt, only feel worthy if they match conditions laid down by others – conditions of worth – which, in turn, can lead to shaping themselves determined not by their organismic valuing or actualizing tendency, but by a society that may or may not truly have their best interests at heart. 5. The fifth core concept states that the counsellor should experience an empathic understanding of the client’s internal frame of reference. Each of us perceives and responds to our environments as a unified and organised whole, and each forms their unique frame of reference. Our understanding of the world is shaped through our experiences, and each time these are interpreted on the basis of our personal value system. In order for a therapist to understand a client’s behaviour it should be from the internal frame of reference of the client. Empathy is not just listening but trying to feel the experiences and feelings that the other person has at that moment in time. It involves stepping into their shoes and laying aside one’s own perceptions, values, perspectives and meanings as far as possible. If the therapist attempts to understand the client on the basis of his/her own personal experiences, this would be an external frame of reference. When the therapist remains within the client’s frame of reference, which is his/her own understanding of the world, it enhances empathy and promotes unconditional positive regard. Holding an external frame of reference might convey to the client that the therapist has their own agenda or is criticising the client. The question is, would the therapeutic process take place if the counsellor did not enter the client’s world so personally? From the large number of studies that have been carried out in an attempt to measure client’s reaction to the therapist’s empathy, the evidence shows it to be a ‘demonstrably effective element of the therapeutic relationship’ (Steering Committee, 2002). 6. The sixth and final condition – client perception – is as important as all the others, and is complementary to the idea that the first condition – psychological contact – is continued. Rogers (1959:213) wrote: ‘that the client perceives, at least to a minimal degree, conditions 4 and 5 – the unconditional positive regard of the therapist for the client – and the empathetic understanding of the therapist’. To some degree client perception has been ignored over the years. Tudor in 2000 referred to it as â€Å"the lost condition†. Sanders (2004) states that â€Å"Carl Rogers made it clear that the client was the centre of the therapeutic process, and furthermore it was the client who had the final say as to whether the ‘therapist-provided conditions’ were actually provided (as opposed to being assumed by the therapist)†. Dagmar Pescitelli (1996) argues that the theory of client-centred therapy may not be effective for severe psychopathologies such as schizophrenia (deemed to have a strong biological component) or other disorders such as phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or even severe depression (currently effectively treated with drugs and cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT). Pescitelli (1996) cites one meta-analysis of psychotherapy effectiveness that looked at 400 studies, and person-centred therapy was found least effective. In fact, it was no more effective than the placebo condition (Glass 1983; cited in Krebs & Blackman, 1988). In contrast, meta-analyses of client-centred therapy as a whole support the theory that it is an efficacious and effective form of therapy, no matter what ‘Tribe’. It is similar to other orientations such as CBT and psychodynamic therapy, with evidence indicating that all schools may be efficacious for clients with depressive, traumatic, schizophrenic and health related problems, but there is less evidence on the impact of anxiety disorders (Elliott, Greenberg et al., 2004).

Realism Paper

Brandon Jackson There are many differences between realism and theatricalism. Realism consists of any type of play that is based off of real life events. And theatricalism is the complete opposite. It doesn’t consist of any real life events and they aren’t supposed to do such. Realism plays don’t have to have any sort of originality but they are normally written directly from real life events. When play writers are writing a realistic play they tend to write the play as common and close to everyday speech and actions of humans. Realistic plays almost always recall on flashbacks, which consist of scenes that occurred in the characters past.In realistic plays actors and actresses do not even look directly at the audience, many of times in these plays actors do not even acknowledge the audience’s presence in order to give it that realistic feel. Take the play Joe Turners come and gone for example the characters sway away from keeping in contact with the crowd and they make sure not to look at the audience for any reason. If I where to write a play on the realism of a high school students way of speaking, I would be sure to use a lot of slang in my speech to make it as realistic as possible.As said before the play Joe Turners come and gone is a great example of realism. The play shows the struggles of an African American family and consists of real live events like slavery and poverty. The characters are all working class who are barely making a living. Another realistic play, which consists of realistic event, is The Piano Lesson. Just like Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, the characters in The Piano Lesson are all working class African Americans working hard just to survive.The main character Boy Wille is so desperate for money he decides he wants to trade a piano that has been in the family for several years in order to acquire land for crop growing. But the play does use some theatricalism. Towards the end of the play they make a g host a ghost which many could agree isnt exactly realism. But even within the play they still seem to make the story very believable with a realistic. The same with The Last Five Years. This play and or musical are very realistic and utilize many different scenes of the everyday life of a married couple in Ohio.Unlike the Play Joe Turners come and gone, Angles in America is completely un realistic and is clearly imaginary. There are many aspects of Thearicalism found in this play. Nothing in this play is predictable and throughout the play the audience can be found both confused and some amazed by its creativity. Absurdism is another aspect of theatricalsim. Absurdism is the philosophical thought of people are meaningless and have no job or role in life. Many Fictional plays normally consist of some sort theatricalism and many Absurdism. Expersionalism is the thought of painting a picture with words and or in the form of a play.This can be seen in almost any play because theatre is a form or art and the main objective of any play is to paint a picture. But in any Thearticalism play the Every aspect of these plays are make believe, and they normally don’t consist of a true plot and or seem realistic. The use of Imagery and exaggeration and distortion can be found in just about any theatrical play. http://www. musicomh. com/theatre/last-five-years_0706. htm http://www. sparknotes. com/drama/piano/summary. html http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/theatricalism NOTES

The Aztec Empire history research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Aztec Empire history - Research Paper Example The primary source of their lifestyle and history about the Aztec civilization is gathered from the archaeological evidences which are found from the excavations of the famous Temple Mayor, situated in the Mexico City. Many other evidences are also gathered from the codices of indigenous bark papers and record of the direct eyewitness of people who came as Spanish conquistadors such as Hernan Cortes and Bernal Diaz del Castillo. Apart from this, the account recorded by the Spanish clergymen pertaining to the description of the Aztec culture and civilization during the 16th and the 17th century forms a valuable document in this regard. The literate Aztecs who received enlightenment in Spanish and Nahuatl language also contributed much to the formation of Aztec history through their valuable documentation of their knowledge with the help of indigenous Aztec informants. The renowned book named Florentine Codex, which is a well documented compilation done by the Franciscan monk Bernardin o de Sahagun and was formatted with the help of the indigenous Aztec informants stands out to be the most valuable text captivating the history of the Aztec empire (Berdan 1982). The Aztec Empire: Origin, Formation and the Rise to Power The word ‘Aztec’ originated from the Nahuatl word â€Å"people from Aztlan†, which means a mythological place for the Nahuatl speaking contemporary people, belonging to the culture of that time. The Aztec empire originated as a tribute empire which is based in Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan had an extension of its power throughout the vast region of Mesoamerica during the latter half of the post-classic period (Smith 2001, pp. 250-252). Aztec Empire was formed in the year 1427 and it was formed as an alliance between three ‘city – states’ of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan. These three ‘city – states’ actually formed an alliance between them to defeat the Tepanec state of  Azcapotzalco whic h dominated the region within the Basin of Mexico for a long time. Within a very short span of time, the ‘city-states’ of Texcoco and Tlacopan were subverted as junior partners in the alliance which was headed by the Mexica of Tenochtitlan (Smith 1997, pp. 49-58). Through a great combination of trade and military annexation, the empire never exercised its control through military quest and aggression rather it took a very subtle strategy under which it tried to control the client states by implementing marital alliance with them by extending imperial ideology between the ruling dynasties and the client states of the empire (Smith 1997, pp. 174-175). Client states paid homage to the Aztec state through an economic strategy bearing the name Huey Tlatoani which limits the communication and trade amid the outlying polities who became dependent on the imperial central for the accumulation and quest of luxury goods (Smith 1997, pp.  176–182) The political clout of th e triple alliance extended to the far south into Mesoamerica thereby conquering the cities situated in far south like Chiapas and Guatemala. The highest extent of prosperity and annexation by the empire took place during 1519 which is chronologically marked as the year just before the

Cross ultural Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cross ultural Management - Essay Example We can therefore clearly differentiate the different components of this concept that is; have, think, and do. The three components are very much connected and hence hard to clearly separate them. Language, food or dresses have been viewed as external products of the term culture. Beyond this external layer, we find culture in an invisible way. This includes society’s deeper values and norms which are quite difficult to identify. Characteristics The code of conduct among people of a given society differs from culture to culture. This is true to a small-homogenous society where gender, age, religion and ethnicity could show differences in culture. A good example is one person from a rich family compared to a second of same gender but from a poor family. The two individuals might show cultural differences in terms of values and behavioural expectations. Culture delineates different groupings and society units on the basis of similar ways of seeing and interacting with the whole w orld. According to Willcoxson and Millet (2000), adaptive patterns of behaviours in a given society generate new beliefs which can be recognised. Behaviours, values and beliefs, and their related rituals and myths over time have a great effect on the main assumption of the concept of culture. It gives people a great sense of belonging through collective identity other than defining individual characteristics. It defines a given group based on their similarities rather than differences (Bendrups 2008). Songs and dances Ceremonial performances are core aspects of culture. Related ceremonies including songs and dances can bring different cultural characteristics together. Songs and dances were very specific on every occasion including special occasions. Up to date, songs and dances remain a vital and part of the aboriginal life and customs (Chirwa 2001). They are therefore considered special and sacred. They are performed and composed for different ceremonies such as burial and wedding s. In some past instances, both old and young men were positioned in one group where as old women and young girls formed a different group. Most of them would paint their bodies with ochre in a moonlit and flickering camp fires stage. Men would carry spears with them and their dances where more vigorous compared to women and young girls. At present, ceremonial dress and ornamentation are worn when dances and songs are performed by different groups (McIntosh 2006). The old didgeridoo which is a wind instrument is commonly considered the main instrument of Australian Aborigines. It originated from North Queensland, and is now played in many communities in Australia differently. Therefore, diversity and complexity of cultural and spiritual practices exists among Aboriginal communities in Australia. Song and dance form an important part of culture today and though practiced by only a small number of contemporary societies, for most Aboriginal people they remain a significant part of cer emonies (Willcoxson and Millet 2000). The importance of songs and dances is demonstrated by people travelling long distances to learn new songs in exchange for goods. All people who demonstrate greater talent than others members of the aboriginal societies are normally awarded and honoured. Aboriginal religion and the beliefs which early investigators learnt about from ancient Aboriginal informants were different from Christian beliefs and practices. According to Bendrups (2008), during

An advantage and a disadvantage of a large, public company because of Assignment

An advantage and a disadvantage of a large, public company because of its corporate form of ownership - Assignment Example For instance, a key benefit that can be seen is with regards to the fact that the initial public offering in stock price of Twitter has progressively risen since its first offering (Wilhelm, 2014). This of course stands in stark contrast to what was predicted and the way in which a similar platform, Facebook, behave. However, tangential to this, a noted drawback that the authors of several articles have noted has to do with the fact that Twitter has the difficulty of living up to an unrealistic expectation. As individuals have seen the rapid growth and advance in stock price, more and more investors have come to see this as a lucrative investment through which they can make something of a sudden gain upon their initial investments. However, the fact of the matter is that Twitter is an established tech company and seeks to provide a level of resilient growth without being seen as an investment instrument. In this very manner, the negative drawback of the growth that Twitter is facing is ultimately the result of its success. Wilhelm,  A. (2014, January 13).  IPO Underwriter Goldman Sachs Boosts Its Twitter Target 41% To $65 | TechCrunch. Retrieved  February  3, 2014, from

Valuation and Discounted Cash Flows Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Valuation and Discounted Cash Flows - Case Study Example The second alternative suggests that five-year zero-interest loan and the new loan was to be repaying in 5 equal annual payments. And this alternative would save them well more than $2,000 in interest. So the alternative A is better than the alternative B to pay the mortgage. 3) A) If an investor invests $2 million in stock market to purchase shares the return is based on the market. Some time he will get high return on his investment some time he will get loss his investment. The return is based on the economic condition. But the investment in bond will generate constant return to the investor, the investor would get specific percentage of interest at particular period of time also he will get principle amount at the end of specific period of time. Bid is the obtainable price at which the investor can sell his share. $1.5 million is the price that the buyer is willing to pay. Minimum bid price $1.3million has already placed, even there is $1.5 million bid I would not sell at $1.5 million I will hold the investment because the Wall Street financial analyst predicted that the successful bid is $ 2.1 million. The investment is also depending the tax imposed by the government authorities. B) In my point in July 1 1992 the capital market provides fair market value to the investment. The investor gained better yield for their investment and the approximate market fair value of the ticket will be $1.5 million because there has been minimum bid for $1.3 million so the fair value would be $1.5 million for the ticket. C) If tax rate is increased for the bond investment it will decrease the return from this bond investment. Then I would prefer the investment in other investment options like shares, mutual fund etc. If tax rate is increases, for the investment in corporate bond that I would make valuation on the bond based on face value. If tax rate is increased then I would choose