Welcome to Reed College meditation

“Reed College meditation” probably suggests more than it should. There are many meditation opportunities on campus (see listings of PE classes if you have an unusual schedule). This webpage provides information about a weekly, lunchtime silent meditation session that began operating in 2012 and has been available to all-comers. (*** See Summer Break Begins in June *** for updates regarding upcoming sessions in May, June, and beyond.)

The basic features of our sessions are that they are:

silent
not affiliated with any religious group or particular style of meditation (what we provide is a period of silence that you can use pretty much as you wish)
offered during the noon lunch hour with an “official” silent period from 12:10-12:40 pm
open to everyone in the campus community (staff, faculty, students), to all campus visitors, and to online participants (no prior experience necessary)
available on a “drop in” basis, meaning that you can choose when to arrive and when to leave (you don’t need to contact us in advance – just show up!)

The overarching idea is to make it as convenient as possible for you to fit some meditation into your weekly schedule.

If all this sounds very simple and flexible, that’s because it is meant to be so. We offer a time and a place on campus (and online) for you to sit quietly. Come join us.

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Summer Break Begins in June

We currently have the Chapel reserved for in-person meditation sessions for 4 Tuesdays in May (see Our Schedule for dates). After that I plan to take a break from weekly sessions for the summer (June-July-August) so that I can attend to other pressing matters.

The outstanding question at the moment is whether or not we will resume weekly sessions in the Fall 2024 semester. I am currently undecided. This is partly because I am waiting to see how my family commitments evolve this summer. “Wait and see” is the operating phrase here.

In the meantime, the blog and its resources will remain available to all who are interested. And, as always, I will try my best to respond to email questions and requests. -Alan, alan@reed.edu

Greater Good Science Center Resources

Today I received a copy of the “Student Life Scoop” email that Dr. K sends out periodically (for those who don’t know, “Dr. K” is Karnell McConnell-Black, EdD, Reed College Vice President for Student Life). In the section of the email devoted to “Keys to Well-Being”, Dr. K gives a shout-out to the many useful resources available online from the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

I’ll quote from Dr. K’s email to give you a quick taste of what you can access from that website:

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Labyrinth – A Walking Path for 2024

Gary Granger will be restoring the labyrinth to the Great Lawn on Thursday, April 18. The winding path will stay in place at least 10 days, making it available for all of Earth Day, April 22, and Renn Fayre weekend, April 26-28.

If you are unfamiliar with the Reed labyrinth, check out this announcement from 2023.

For those who are unfamiliar with labyrinths, they offer a quick introduction to the key features of walking meditation: walking slowly (otherwise you’ll get lost), paying attention (otherwise you’ll get lost for sure), and practicing letting go of distractions and notions (the labyrinth ends where it begins – there is no “destination” – when your goals arise, notice them, and let them go).

Please try it out!

Thank you, Gary <3

The Reed Labyrinth Reappears for Reunion Week

Six weeks ago a walking labyrinth magically appeared in time for Earth Week and Renn Fayre on the South Lawn. Scores of Reedies – students, staff, faculty, and campus guests – intrigued by the labyrinth’s curious shape, braved the cold and wet to slowly saunter back and forth through the labyrinth’s twists and turns. For me, it was an exercise in personal exploration, not unlike walking meditation, an opening to whatever might appear. And it also became the beginning of a wonderful, ongoing conversation with the driving energy behind the Reed labyrinth, Gary Granger. Although I had worked alongside Gary for many years, I had not realized that Gary wore two hats at Reed: Director of Community Safety and the teacher of Mindful Walking at Reed (available to students as a physical education class).

Recently, Gary, the Keeper of the Reed Labyrinth, informed me that the labyrinth will be reappearing this week in time for the Reed Reunion. Here are some useful details:

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Walking Your Inner Talk

Show someone 5 photos of people in different situations and ask them, “Which of these people is meditating?” and they will invariably choose the person seated in a lotus position with eyes closed. This image of “meditation = seated lotus” is etched into our cultural consciousness, not to mention the Buddha sculptures you see in Portland yards. So what I am about to say may come as quite a shock. You can meditate in any position that supports your intention for your meditation.

Suppose your intention is to practice mindful awareness. In that case, any position that allows you to pay attention to whatever is taking place in this moment is acceptable. Lotus? Good. Sit in a chair? Also good. Lie on the grass or stand in line at the airport terminal? Both good. You can even practice mindful awareness of body sensations, of thoughts (the ‘inner talk’ in the title), of emotions and feelings, and more, while walking.

I am calling attention to walking because Reed College now has a special place on the front lawn to practice mindful awareness while walking. It is a labyrinth. A colored design that has been added to the Front Lawn between the flag pole and the central door of Eliot Hall. There are plenty of lawn signs calling attention to it so you can’t miss it. The labyrinth opened yesterday (4/19) at noon, and, with the plausible cooperation of the weather and the geese, it will remain in place until Sunday, 4/30 (note: this date is part of Renn Fayre and the campus will be closed to visitors that final weekend in April).

You can learn more about the Reed Labyrinth here. And, if the idea of walking meditation interests you, check out one of my previous posts on this topic (see below).

Full disclosure: You don’t need to do walking meditation while walking the labyrinth. Likewise, you don’t need a labyrinth to do walking meditation. But, as I discovered yesterday, they go together very nicely. So try one or the other, or even both!

Well newsletter recommends mindfulness podcasts

Subscribe to the New York Times and you can sign up to have newsletters on various topics delivered to your email inbox. One of the newsletters that I follow is the Well newsletter which delivers tips on health and wellness. The March 9 newsletter is no exception. It contains links to a wide range of articles, e.g., keeping bacteria out of breast pumps, whether cannabis can be used as a sleep aid, and new trends in male grandparenting. But what makes it relevant for this blog is the list of 12 recommended podcasts dealing with health and wellness issues. Two, in particular, focus on meditation, mindfulness practices, and their application in everyday life. The newsletter provides brief descriptions of the broadcasts and recommends two ‘get-acquainted’ episodes for podcast listeners. Here are capsule summaries of these podcasts:

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Guided Forest Therapy Walk, May 9 !!

4/25 update – The 5/2 walk has been cancelled and rescheduled for 5/9. There are still spots open if you are interested.

I am passing along the following announcement from Reed College’s Wellness committee. This is the 2nd of 2 opportunities (the first walk was held on April 6). Please take advantage of this opportunity to get out in nature and put your mind at ease. The Reed campus is so much, much more than offices, classrooms, and parking lots. If you can’t make the walk for some reason, use the sidebar’s word cloud to find related posts. I particularly recommend posts tagged under nature, walking, sound, and solitude. I also encourage you to start your time in nature with a poem. One of my favorites: Worms by Carl Dennis.

A message from Erica Nukaya and the Wellness Committee to Reed College staff and faculty (sent 3/31):

The wellness committee is hosting two guided forest therapy walks and a plant swap. We hope you can join us!

Guided Forest Therapy Walks
Wednesday, April 6 and Monday, May 2
12:00 to 1:30 p.m.
Meet at Cerf amphitheater

Join us for a gentle, restorative walk in the Reed Canyon or nearby Reed grounds, depending on accessibility needs.

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A Quiet Place, An Open Place (reposted)

Back in the 1960′s, a Trappist monk named Thomas Merton wrote,

Douglas Steere remarks very perceptively that there is a pervasive form of contemporary violence to which the idealist fighting for peace by nonviolent methods most easily succumbs: activism and overwork. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence.

He went on,

To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone and everything is to succumb to violence. More than that, it is cooperation in violence. The frenzy of the activist neutralizes his work for peace. It destroys his own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of his own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.

from ‘Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander’ by Thomas Merton*

I have spent most of my 60+ years being ‘carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns.’ If the internet and email and work haven’t been enough, there has also been my natural desire to be valued by my peers and my unshakeable belief that my ‘value’ is rooted in my accomplishments, real and imagined.

Believing that, I get carried away.

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Mindfulness in the Classroom

In Spring 2019, just when COVID was getting serious, I received an article titled “Mindfulness in the Classroom” (Faculty Focus, 29 Apr 2019). It was written by biology professor, Erica Kosal, who had been teaching at North Carolina Wesleyan College, and together with 2 other colleagues, had been introducing short (5-7 minute) mindfulness practices into their classroom sessions.

This very charming article is a quick read that describes a few of the practices that Kosal employed, student reactions to them and how these changed over time, and how the faculty also felt transformed by this addition to their class. As Kosal explains,

At first, most students reported that they felt silly engaging in the activities and/or didn’t see how five minutes of meditative practices could really help. But over the next several weeks, they found themselves looking forward to the practices, welcoming the opportunity to clear their minds so they could in fact focus on biology. Some students even reported that they were using the practices on their own—for example, before starting homework or a study session. One student even reported he started doing a short mindful practice prior to soccer games and his teammates noticed an improvement in his performance.

Several things stand out here. First, the practices were diverse. The students didn’t necessarily sit silently, nor did they repeat a single practice over and over. Second, student (and faculty) appreciation for the short practices grew over time. In the beginning, the mindfulness practices may have seemed like unexpected (and perhaps wasteful?) uses of classroom time. I am certain that they didn’t fit with student expectations for what their time in a biology classroom would look like. Nevertheless, as Kosal reports, students “found themselves looking forward to the practices, welcoming the opportunity to clear their minds so they could in fact focus on biology.“

Mindful teaching of this sort is something that every teacher might consider. There is no single recipe for what the best mindfulness practice might be for any given teacher on any given day, but once a practice has been selected, repetition will cultivate familiarity and acceptance, and likely make the practice more effective over time. Rather than being a sacrifice of precious class time, the practice becomes something that enhances the classroom experience by making everyone more present, open, and focused. And it may also pay off beyond the classroom.