Meditation
Although I've tried meditation in the past, I was never able to stick with it for very long. It is surprisingly difficult to set aside even 10 minutes, let alone 30 minutes or a hour, for self reflection. I have found that it is so much easier to consentrate on everything else but the meditating that is being attempted.
I do find that when I dedicate the time to practice meditation, I come out of it feeling refreshed, calm and able to concentrate better. It's a wonderful feeling.
This semester, I have signed up for a class that it is a requirement to meditate, both in and outside class. In fact, one day a week is dedicated just for the purpose of meditation. What?!?! I get to learn how to meditate as well as practice it in class? Sounds great!
Some may wonder what kind of class this is. It is a class regarding the subject of transpersonal psychology. This is a relatively new school of psych that is not recognized as an official school of psychology by the APA. It mixes eastern and western philosophy and embraces meditation and spirituality as a way to find one's greater meaning in life. For more information on transpersonal psychology, look at some of the links from this website.
Even though this is not the category of psychology that I am interested in (I am more interested in cognitive development), I find myself looking forward to this class, as I will now have a time set aside (even if it is a class) to meditate. I will probably be talking more about this over the next few months as I get into the class.
2 comments:
I'll be interesting in hearing more about your class and what you learn.
I wonder if they will teach all different ways to meditate. I learned a couple years ago that meditation doesn't have to mean sitting still, clearing the mind-- the stereotypical view of meditation. One can meditate while drawing, writing, doing yoga, labyrinth walking (or any kind of walking), and all sorts of other ways.
meditation can be a really healthy thing to do. It gives our minds a break... sort of resting the engine, so to speak.
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