Bonus Paper

The Bulatao Lecture series featured different types of talks, all related to psychology

and its practical application to experiences of an individual. I was able to attend two of them:

the talk on infidelity and mindfulness. Discovering the psychology of these two topics is

interesting, as these are some topics that we understand based on our own subjective

perceptions.

For the first one I was able to attend, the talk on infidelity, I mainly learned that there

is a psychology to the emotions that drive the person going through a difficult time because

of infidelity. From what I remember, anger is one of the emotions that struck me. For the

most part, I thought that one should not let anger get into them, but I was partly wrong. The

speaker said that it is okay to be angry – and it is in fact the first step towards recovery. Being

angry is okay to a certain extent, for negative emotions not to pile up. The lecturer also

presented his own research about infidelity, and it is very informing to see how different

types of people with different experiences cope with the experience of infidelity.

On the other hand, for the talk on mindfulness, it is fascinating to explore on attention

to detail through the very idea of mindfulness. The lecture made a strong point. During the

first part of the talk, we were asked to individually use our senses in observing a piece of

marshmallow. After this, a realization occurred to me – in life, sometimes, we do not pay

attention; we immediately do things. This talk serves as a reminder that learning how to clear

one’s mind, focus, and pay attention is very important in facing life – in making decisions

whether big or small.