The sun begins to rise on Thursday morning as a group gathers for some spiritual awakening.
Their purposes for meeting may be different, but they have one common goal: becoming more self-aware. The group, called Mindful Meditation is made up of Lethbridge residents of all ages and different walks of life. They meet every week for an hour, beginning with a half-hour of meditation led by Rachael Crowder, who organizes the sessions. The second half-hour is reserved for the group to express their thoughts on their awareness of self. Crowder has her PhD, is a registered social worker and is also a professor at the University of Lethbridge teaching social work.
“The main thing about mindfulness is learning to pay attention. When you think about your daily life, we’re often on automatic pilot,” said Crowder. She goes on to explain how familiar routines can cause our mind to wander and we miss what is happening in the present. “We’re mostly living in the past or future,” she said. Crowder believes that learning how to be more aware of the present enables people to make better decisions in their day-to-day life.
Meditation is one way this group is working to become more in-tune with the present. Crowder leads the meditation encouraging individuals in the group to focus on how they are breathing, how their physical body feels and how their current environment feels around them. “Seeing your thoughts as just thoughts, your emotions as just emotions, and not as you, that’s very powerful,” said Crowder.
Judi Forbes has been attending the group for about two years. She explains how often she feels as though her thoughts are always running in circles. She goes on to say, “I come here because it’s an hour of peace and it helps to teach my mind to calm down.”
Scientists and scholars are gaining interest in the benefits of meditation. The Mind and Life Institute has been bringing scholars and scientists together since 1986 to start dialogues on contemplative practices and its relation to health. The non-profit organization began with a meeting of three visionaries: the 14th Dalai Lama, a neuroscientist and a lawyer. Over the years, the group has held various dialogues and conducted research on topics like addiction, ecology, ethics, attention, neuroplasticity, destructive emotions, altruism, and economics. Their mission is to combine contemplative traditions and integrate it with scientific methods to improve on and learn more about, the practice of mindfulness.
If you would like more information on mindful meditation you can visit uleth
Rachael Crowder prepares for her Mindful Meditation group on on Feb. 25 at the Community of Christ Church in Lethbridge.
