Meditation Reflection

GROUP C’s Reflection Post is due: Tuesday November 22nd @ 11:59pm
GROUPs A & B Comments are due: Wednesday November 30th @ 11:59pm

I. For this reflection, we ask you to find a way to meditate. To do so, you have two options:

A) You can meditate along with prerecorded audio guides found online at:
http://www.audiodharma.org/series/1/talk/1835/
Choose a mediation that is between 18 – 50 minutes long (e.g., Guided Body Scan by Gil Fronsdal; Guided Meditation by Mark Abramson). We advise downloading the session rather
than streaming. Realize that the recordings have brief vocal prompts from the teacher followed by long periods of silence. Try not to get too caught up in with, “has the recording stopped? Is it working?” And if you do, that is fine, just note your awareness of such thoughts 🙂

B) For the bold and brave, a second option is to attend a live meditation class–their are a limited number of free and low cost meditation classes around the city. Many centers offer Yoga, which includes some meditation, but few offer meditation alone. Please note that each meditation center has it’s own approach and philosophy. Read up on the center you plan to visit and be sure you are comfortable with their philosophy. Here are some options:
http://ny.shambhala.org/meditate.php (Tuesday’s with Master teacher Sharon Salzberg)
http://meditationinnewyork.org/classesforbeginners.php

II. Before you begin your meditation, we ask you assess and take notes on your own state of mind during the 24 hour period leading up to the meditation.

A. First, take note of the moods you’ve experienced.

Here is a chart to help you:

B. Assess your overall level of anxiety on a scale of 1 to 10.

C. Assess the level of physical tension in your body- where do you notice the tension? Try rating your overall tension on a scale of 1 to 10.

III. After you have finished your meditation, re-asses your state of mind and body.
A. Reassess your mood on the chart.
B. Reassess your level of anxiety from 1 to 10.
C. Reasses your level of physical tension and rate it from 1 to 10.

IV. Describe the experience– What type of meditation did you choose? Describe what was going on in your mind and your body, what kind of thoughts and sensations did you experience during the meditation? Were there any challenging or frustrating aspects of the experience, and if so, what were they? Would you try this again in the future? Why or why not?

Comment Prompt (Group’s A & B):

1. After reading the reflection writer’s description, what do you think was happening to them during the meditation on a physiological level?
2. Based on your readings throughout the semester, what areas of their central and peripheral nervous systems may have been effected during the meditation?
3. What questions do you have for the writer about their experience?
4. Based on the description provided, would you be open to trying the same meditation exercise?