*** Note: This blog was written by our former Director of Marketing Preston Simmons.

Today we are going to talk about the science of connectedness. Four concepts about connection were created by Sarah Lentz, who graduated from Harvard with a Master of Divinity. During her Friday Focus interview, she mentioned that she received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia. 

According to Sarah, the science of connectedness is comprised of the following four connections. How can you connect to yourself and to your community?

• Connection to Self

• Connection to Community

• Connection to Environment

• Connection to the Transcendent

One of the elements we will concentrate on is Connection to Self, since our mission at Peace360 is to provide individuals with resources and skills to improve their mental health. Connection to Community will also be explored because we encourage everyone to serve those around them in ways that will help the people in need. Tips that anyone can implement in their life will be listed and explained.

Connection to Self

On her website about the Science of Connectedness, Sarah defines and expounds upon the four connectedness relationships. She explains that you can connect to yourself by “finding a purpose in [your] life”. I encourage you to read about the ways to create a connection to self that Sarah mentions on her website. In addition to these tips, this purpose could be any of the following that I have thought of in addition to any other purposes that you find for yourself:

1. Serving others.
2. Obtaining knowledge about a particular subject.
3. Participating in a religion or spiritual belief system.
4. Working in a fulfilling job or career

In her article 5 Ways to Strengthen Your Connection to Yourself, Margarita Tartakovsky of PsychCentral quotes Jennifer Kogan, a LICSW or Licensed and Independent Clinical Social Worker and psychotherapist who says to “notice your feelings”. Kogan then gives an example: “Let’s say you’re rushing to an appointment. Take a moment to pause, and find where in your body you’re holding your stress”.

Brief moments of introspection are very important because they allow you to focus on emotions that may be harming your mental well-being instead of ignoring those emotions and your mental health. In addition to taking time to identify what is causing a particular harmful emotion, afterwards you should also take time to reflect upon what you can do to cope with it in the moment. Then, take action to help yourself manage that emotion.

Connection to Community

Connecting to one’s community is very important. To establish and maintain this connection, Sarah recommends that we connect to individuals “in groups (religious, sports, musical, etc.)”. These personal relationships can be invaluable because they will allow us to enjoy interests or hobbies, create lasting friendships and serve others. Other ways to create community connections alone or with a group that the National Geographic recommends in the article Connect With Your Community include:

1. Help a neighbor.
2. Participate in a community organization.
3. Pick up trash.
4. Donate items to a charitable organization.

We at Peace360 hope that you will take time to connect to yourself and your community. “Approximately 63 million Americans — 25% of the adult population — volunteer their time, talents, and energy to making a difference” (Nonprofits Source). You will see a difference in your life as you prioritize your mental health by learning and implementing healthy emotional management tactics, especially during moments when you may be feeling stressed, sad or angry. Connecting to your local community will give you a sense of belonging and will allow you to serve others in meaningful ways.

By serving others, we establish social connections. We also use our time, energy and talents in meaningful ways to selflessly help someone accomplish a task that they may not be able to do on their own. Oftentimes, the person who serves others benefits just as much as the person who is being served.

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This Friday, February 5th at 9:00am (Pacific Time), our Friday Focus on Facebook Live will be about spiritual bypassing. We hope to see you there! Click on the links below to follow us on social media!

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