The Take Care Tuesday Series sponsored by Elizabethtown College’s Student Wellness group continued this week with a presentation on the practice of meditation. The presentation, given by Dr. Jeffery Long, professor of religion and Asian Studies, focused on providing students with some basic information behind meditation, including its history and possible benefits. Following the presentation, he led those in attendance in a group meditation session, allowing them to experience the practice for themselves.
Meditation, Long explained, began as a religious practice in many Eastern philosophical traditions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism. However, it has since spread to all areas of the world, becoming a daily habit of people from all races and creeds for a wealth of reasons.
He explained that there are actually two different types of meditation that are practiced: one pointed meditation, which involves focusing on a single, fixed concept, and mindfulness meditation, which is a process by which one mentally steps back and allows thoughts to happen without focusing explicitly on any of them. Both methods of meditation have individual benefits, such as increasing the ability to concentrate and mindfulness which is allowing oneself to see patterns more easily in speech and behavior.
Long explained that all forms of meditation have been shown to have long-term benefits for health and emotions. These benefits, including decreased stress, improved immune system and a higher level of energy in daily life, can only be felt, however, if meditation is done as part of a daily routine. In order to maintain a meditative routine, Long suggested finding a mostly silent space around campus and meditating there.
Eventually, this spot will become a symbol of peace in one’s mind, creating a space that immediately puts one in the mood to meditate. Even without a well-maintained daily schedule, meditation has the immediate effects of calming the restless mind and bringing about a sense of serenity. “If you think of the mind as a lake, and all our thoughts are waves on the surface of that lake, meditation is a way for us to quiet those waves and peer down into the depths of the mind, where we may see all kinds of things that we couldn’t notice before,” Long said.
During the meditation session, Long explained the basic body posture required for successful meditation: a straight back, which enables unobstructed breathing, with hands and feet in a comfortable position. Long’s meditation group emphasized controlled breathing in order to incorporate focus on something that is normally done without thought. He instructed the students to close their eyes and concentrate on inhaling deeply, pausing for a short time, exhaling and pausing again before taking another breath.
After the 20-minute meditative session, Long began to bring the group back to the conscious world. He explained that the resulting feelings of peace and calm are always within the mind and are always accessible when one feels a great deal of stress or simply wishes to further explore their mind. He then brought the group fully back from their unconscious minds, instructing the participants to slowly open their eyes.
Long then invited all members of the group to share any experiences that they had during the session or any final questions on the topic of meditation. Many expressed that they had great feelings of serenity and energy, and several showed a great interest in continuing meditation as a daily ritual.
