Welcome to the Sunrise Spirit –
the Weekly Newsletter of The Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise
We hope that you will attend one of our lively Friday meetings,
whether or not you are interested in joining Rotary.
Usually, we meet on most Fridays at 7 am in the Plaza View Room
at Arcata’s historic Jacoby Storehouse,
however, while we are under the Shelter In Place order, we are meeting online.
Please visit the RCAS Website for the meeting links.
Rotary Vision:
Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change
– across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.
The Calendar …
RISE: “Rotary Involvement Strengthens Everyone“
- October 14th – Sunrise Swednesday at the Griffin
- October 24th – District Conference & Foundation Celebration – 4:00 to 6:00 pm online
- October 25th – RCAS Oktoberfest from 4:00 to 6:30 pm
- January 20 & 27 – RCAS Equity & Diversity Workshops
Announcements
President Maggie thanked those who participated in the Coastal Cleanup. The group took 150 pounds of trash to the dump! Great job!
Lisa Hemphill asked us to please check our emails for information about Backpacks for Kids signups. We heard that a very generous donor contributed $3,000 to the program, so we can serve even more children in need.
Mike Pazeian is looking for volunteers to help with the Veterans Day Flag Ceremony on the Arcata Plaza. The event will take place on Veterans Day – Wednesday, November 11th. Contact Mike if you can lend a hand.
Later that day, we will have our Sunrise Swednesday for November, with a focus on veterans.
President Maggie noted that World Polio Day is scheduled for Saturday, October 24th, the same day as the District 5130 Virtual District Conference. She remined us that polio may be only the second disease to be eradicated, and that is in large part due to the continued efforts of Rotarians. Maggie said that Tunji Funsho is the first person to be named to the Time 100 for his efforts to help eradicate polio.
Maggie suggested that we consider joining the PolioPlus Society by donating $100 or more each year until the World Health Organization declares the disease has been eradicated. Your donation will be matched on a 2 to 1 basis by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and you currently have the opportunity to get double PHF recognition points!
Claire Ajina Discusses ACT and Mindfulness
Sunriser Claire Ajina was our Featured Speaker. Claire is a licensed Educational Psychologist , and she spoke to us about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). This approach encourages people to come to terms with their feelings, rather than feeling guilty about them and working to resist them. ACT was developed by Dr. Steven C. Hayes, who was working as a psychology professor at the University of Nevada in the 1980s and 1990s. His research led him to develop ACT as well as Relational Frame Theory (RFT).
Claire said that ACT is rooted in mindfulness, and it helps people live meaningful lives, accepting that life will be painful at times. It emphasized values such as acceptance, compassion, forgiveness, present moment awareness, living a valued life, and “accessing a transcendant sense of self”. When people uses ACT to process the challenges in their lives, they are able to accept difficult thoughts and feelings without avoiding or suppressing them. Mindfulness is a major tool used in ACT. This allows people to strengthen their abilities to explore difficult experiences without rejecting them.
She noted that ACT is unique in that its focus is on living a valued life. Although ACT does not focus on reducing symptoms, the are often alleviated during the process. Western psychology assumes a “healthy normality”, and its focus on suppressing symptoms can lead to clinical disorders.
Mindfulness, Claire told us, was defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn as “awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.” (In response to a question, Claire distinguished mindfulness and meditation.) She told us about the work of the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center, and noted that they have developed a free app for smartphones, called “Mindful”.
(Click here to view the video of the full meeting.)