Mindfulness Meditation at Union College: The 2018-2019 Obenzinger Scholarship Project

Mindfulness refers to the moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgement. It is consciousness of where we are, what we feel, and what we are doing, without undue interpretation. The practice of mindfulness meditation puts these principles of awareness to use and has been shown to promote health and emotional well-being. College students, in particular, can benefit from mindfulness meditation, as research has shown that mindfulness practices can reduce stress, enhance forgiveness, and even defend against weight gain in first-year students. Research has also shown that mindfulness is a skill that can be learned and improved with practice. In fulfillment of this year’s Obenzinger Scholarship, mindfulness was promoted through a series of sessions called “Mindful Mondays” and through Schenectady ARC’s Discovery Academy. “Mindful Mondays” targeted the Union College student body, while the Discovery Academy sessions were directed toward college-aged adults with learning disabilities. Each session consisted of three segments: (1) a brief introduction to mindfulness and techniques to focus on during the meditation (such as centering on one’s breath or recognizing passing thoughts), (2) a 15 minute uninterrupted meditation period, and (3) a follow-up discussion of the experience along with an opportunity to share intentions to bring the practice of mindfulness into one's day-to-day life. Sessions were available to each target audience at least once a week, and participants were invited to come-back and practice at any time. Session attendance and intentions/dialogue were used as assessments of the meditations in promoting mindfulness in participants. This presentation will describe the process of establishing a mindfulness discourse at Union College and discuss the implementation experience and resulting dialogue.