Meditation Retreat
This week was a change from the normal class routine since we had a field trip for my positive psychology class. We attended a meditation center in Maastricht for a meditation retreat. It was actually very helpful not only in my studies but personally as well. We spent the class duration practicing meditation, body scanning and sharing our reflections bringing us back into the moment. I really liked how our instructor wanted us to go on a field trip to practice meditation. I feel it helped to support what we were learning on mindfulness practices and third wave therapies to really solidify the knowledge on this new approach. I feel attending the retreat also helped with centering myself and being able to take a moment to reflect on my journey this far and really just be in a state of immense gratitude for everything, for my life, for my love ones, for my purpose, for all my blessings.
I really enjoy this more holistic approach to the field of psychology. I feel positive psychology and third-wave therapies really give this room for creation for innovation in utilizing positive psychology in both the clinical setting and in our own personal lives.
Exploring Paris
One of the awesome parts about studying in Maastricht is that it is so close to so many other countries making it really easy to get around! This week I was able to travel to the beautiful city of Paris! Growing up you see the iconic Eiffel Tower and hear all these stories about Paris but it’s a whole different experience to really travel to Paris and explore the city yourself!
When I travel to places I love to sightsee, explore nature and admire the unique artworks in the local museums. Paris is like a city full of gold, for art, so many beautiful museums with SO MANY works of art. There are so many that it would take at least a whole day to really explore all the artworks in one museum.
Starting off on the journey to explore Paris’ museums the first part was learning to ride the transit system. Very similar to New York Paris has a metro system that can get you to almost every corner of the city first stop the Picasso Museum.
Picasso Museum
The Picasso Museum was full of more artworks by Picasso than I have ever seen in my life. Growing up I loved the artworks by Picasso I loved the way his work was depicting an imagine but in a sort of distorted way. Unfortunately, after learning more about Picasso’s history I came to learn that a lot of Picasso’s artworks were not unique to his mind, a lot of his work was adopted from traditional African art with his own little twist on it. Now I am all for being influenced by others but credit needs to be given where it is due and I feel that Picasso did not honor that in taking something and naming it to be from his unique creativity.
So it was cool checking out Picasso’s art but even more to learn a deeper history and a new perspective on art and cultural appropriation.
Musee du Louvre
The Louvre was such a HUGE museum this is one of those museums that you need a whole day to really explore and see all the different exhibitions and take in all the history of the art. I didn’t get to see the whole museum because of time constraints but from what I did get to explore it was really cool to experience works of art in person that I learned about growing up. Artworks like the Mona Lisa and the sculpture of Aphrodite growing up you hear the history of these works of art and the artists who created them it was a bit nostalgic to be there in person physically experiencing these works of art. It is always so amazing to me how these works of art are still here for the world to see after hundreds of years.
I would definitely have to come back to really explore the whole museum. A trip I look forwarded to making in the future!
Immersive Van Gogh Art Exhibition
The Van Gogh immersive art experience was definitely the highlight of my museum adventures. I am a HUGE fan of Van Gogh I connect with his artwork on so many levels, I can really feel the emotions in his texture brushstrokes that’s why his art has been such a big influence on me as a person and as an artist.
This exhibition was AMAZING to say the least so many Van Gogh artworks were projected on the walls in this pitch dark warehouse room. Not only were his artworks projected but they were also edited to come alive and move simultaneously to the music of choice, mostly classical, it was definitely an amazing experience and opportunity I can’t wait to see more artworks by Van Gogh while I am out here. Van Gogh was a dutch artist so studying and exploring his homeland is definitely a great privilege for me.
I look forward to exploring more of the different European countries and immerse myself into the different cultures that come with the experience of exploring Europe.
I feel I have grown so much since being out here both in my academics and in my personal life. Being out here and exploring other places has given me this time to really reflect on my journey, where I come from, where I am going, and the unique beauty of differences that is needed in the world. It’s like the world is a big masterpiece and all the different people with their different cultures, traditions, way of life paints a beautiful unique painting that without the diversity would not make it what it is today: humanity. Feeling blessed!
Missy's Adventures in the World 