Hello everyone,

Dear meditation club and campus community,

Walking meditation in upper state new york with the Won Dharma Center, Summer 2017

Greetings!

The first event is Freedom Seder on April 10th at 6:30PM in the UC Ballroom,

• Our many student organization partners to hear stories of freedom.  Voices from the UMBC community will share their stories from challenge to freedom through the symbolism of the Passover Seder. Experience the UMBC freedom story with your fellow Retrievers!"

• Three students and one faculty member will be sharing their stories 

• Swathi Prakash

• Nikki Donboli

• Naqiya Ghulamali

• Dr. Jodi Kelber-Kaye

• Free tickets will be available at the CIC

• Certified Kosher dinner will be served

Where: The University Center (UC) Ballroom
When: Tuesday, April 10, from 6:30-8:30 PM

For more information, check out the myUMBC Freedom Seder post here:

https://my.umbc.edu/groups/umbchillel/events/58709

Our second event is a Meditative Shabbat Dinner:

UMBC Hillel hosts weekly Shabbat dinners on Friday nights (amongst other events).

This week, Meditation at UMBC will partner with UMBC Hillel for our second Meditative Shabbat Dinner of the semester. At the dinner, we will incorporate principles of meditative practice into the event, through 2 15 minute meditations at the beginning and end of the night as well as having a discussion about how meditation relates to Judaism during dinner.

This event is free of charge and it is special thanks to UMBC Hillel for welcoming the UMBC community to this dinner with the opportunity to learn more about Jewish culture and meditation.

When: Friday April 13th, from 5:30-7:30 PM
Where: Interfaith Center

Greetings Meditation Practitioners,

This Spring we are hosting meditation sessions 5 days a week.

Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday sessions will be held in UC 115.

Monday(room 202) and Wednesday(room 208) Meditation are both in Sondheim.

Get to know our leaders and see what you can expect from each of us as we lead our unique sessions:

Monday Meditation 11:00AM-12:00PM, will be lead by Chris Meas

Chris plans to lead sessions that approach meditation with a beginner’s mind while focusing on mindfulness, gratefulness, and positivity in each moment of life by finding one’s true self.

“About myself, I guess I'd like to say: I am someone who seeks the joys of life through adventure and experience. I feel that it is important to understand life through experience so therefore, I try to keep an open mind to everything there is in the world with the mentality that I'll try it at least once -or thrice. I can be a bit eccentric because I find myself interested in the many beauties that life has to offer. One thing that always makes me tear up however, is music. I am known to cry easily when it comes to many things, especially movies, mainly because I am easily moved by the great spectacle that is human emotion. My favorite interest is finding that magic which exists between two beings that have found a way to understand each other. 

Can't wait for all the beautiful faces at meditation club!”

- Chris 

Tuesday Meditation 4:00PM-5:00PM  will be lead by Wouhib Tamrat

“A little about myself, I grew up in Ethiopia and moved to Maryland when I was 12 years old. I am currently in my last semester at UMBC majoring in Psychology. After graduation, I am hoping to go to graduate school in Counseling Psychology with a focus on mindfulness-based psychotherapy. During my sessions, I plan on starting out with a guided meditation, followed by time for discussion and mindfulness teachings, then end with silent meditation.”

- Wouhib

Wednesday Meditation 12:00PM-1:00PM will be lead by Jason Kelly(starting after Spring Break)

“I’m a senior sociology and media and communications double major with a minor in anthropology. I’ve been meditating for about a year and a half now and have a daily practice of around an hour each day.  My session will focus on mainly vipassana or breathe based meditation, but will also include self inquiry and ways to remain present in day to day life. 

I think learning different styles is a really good idea.  Maybe we can all focus on one each before the next retreat or something like that.”

-Jason 

Thursday Meditation 4:00PM-5:00PM  will be lead by Alyssa Lambert

“Hello everyone. I began leading meditation club in the Spring of 2016. I started meditating in my freshman year of college (Spring 2013) by going behind the ITE building, putting music on, and tuning into the air around me (most enjoyable when the sun is out). I’m graduating with a B.A. degree in Information Systems this Spring and will eventually pursue a graduate degree in Data Science.

 For my sessions, I plan to continue incorporating moving meditation and hand mudra meditation, as well as teaching about the 7 chakras and showing a different hand mudra for every Thursday session. In the beginning, my sessions can be as short as 15 minutes, and as the semester goes on, that time can extend to 25 minutes. I’m thankful for all of the feedback that everyone has provided us and hope you all make the most out of this semester.”

Peace and Tranquility,

Alyssa, President

Friday Meditation 12:00PM-1:00PM  will be lead by Jaimee Pineda

“I started meditating roughly 6 years ago and am extremely passionate about the practice.  Through my practice I've seen how meditation can have an extraordinarily positive shift in one's life experience. When we practice stillness and clearly witness life in the present moment we may be touched by grace, peace, and great insight! 

 My sessions will first consist of a 15-20-minute guided meditation. We'll take a break to stretch and mindfully speak on our experience or anything that may come up. Finally, we end on a 15-20-minute silent session. This is a rough sketch on the typical layout my sessions, not every session will be this way.

 I will teach about how to meditate, mindfulness, stillness, space, awareness, the mind, and the nature of the ego. I will also include teachings from some of my favorite masters of the practice! I look forward to sharing this beautiful practice with all that wish to join!”

- Jaimee, Vice President

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One of the most important things to note about meditation is that the benefits come with continuity.

The goal of our club is to guide you in your meditation practice. Our hope is that we can help you commit to the practice by having multiple meditation sessions so that you are not alone. This way, it’s less likely for you to get distracted.

At first, it can feel awkward meditating in a group. You’re sitting silently in a room of people you may not know at all. But, the beauty of meditating in a group is that it helps us let go of self-consciousness and ego. You realize that no one’s scrutinizing the way you sit or the way you breathe. Each of us pursues our own special meditation path, but we do it together and with the acceptance of everyone around us.

So, take advantage of our diverse times and see if meditation is right for you. We have really cool leaders, and may this be our best semester yet!”