Reflec tive practices

1. Reflective practices Rick Repetti, Ph.D. Department of History, Philosophy & Political Science Kingsborough Community College

2. Opening Meditation

3. Agenda • 1. Overview of contemplative practices • What, why, how, when, where, and with whom? • 2. “CUNY Contemplatives” group and some members: • What we do in our classes • What is happening on our campuses • 3. Practicum: • Experience sample practice(s) and assignment(s) {time} • 4. Q&A • 5. Closing meditation

4. Why contemplative practices? “The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will... An education which should improve this faculty would be the education par excellence. But it is easier to define this ideal than to give practical directions for bringing it about.” - William James, Principles of Psychology Meditation is the attention-training discipline par excellence. There are many other reasons.

5. Some other reasons why • Alternative mode of inquiry, focus on process (reflection), not product • Dedicate class time to experience slow, relaxed reflection on the content • What is it like to dwell quietly on the content, open, creative? • Heightened awareness, clarity of mind, focused attention (cf. ADD) • Inner calm and outer composure (helps with exams, better grades) • Creates a special mood in class (cf. art studio) • Sense of connectedness to others and the work • Broadening of perspective • Metacognitive processes • These help learning & self-regulation • Intrinsic curiosity: Empirically proven via TMS • Ram Dass: “Undigested experiences”

6. Types of contemplative practices • Great variety of meditation techniques alone • Yoga, zen, breathing, chanting, etc. • Great variety of other reflective practices • Journaling, free writing, process-writing, etc. • Informal: • Reflective dwelling, reverie, or free associating on a topic, image, word, idea, variations • Room for creativity, customizing • Let’s review several

7. Meditation: the paradigm case • 2 types: contraction & expansion • Contraction:One-pointedness • Bull’s eye metaphor: • The “primary object” or target • Black lines represent attention aimed at target • Purple lines represent mind wandering from the target • Mind wanders off, refocus • Anything is a possible target: • Candle flame, mandala, spot on wall, sound, breath, etc.

8. Visualization and guided imagery • Visualization: • Sample = sand mandala • From memory • Each symbol/color has meaning • Others: • Deities, chakras, etc. • Symbols, numbers, etc. • Guided imagery: • Journeys to idyllic places • Symbolic: • armadillos & knights

9. Breathing exercises • Yoga “pranayama”: control (yama) of life-force (prana) • Basic: slow, deep, full, conscious, diaphram breathing • Complex: counting, ratios, speed, holding, etc. • Nadisuddhi(alternate nostril breathing) • Variations: with poses, visualizations, etc. • Zen: simple counting in/out breaths, 1-4, repeat

10. Mindfulness • Non-judgmental observing, watching, witnessing • Of thoughts, breath, bodily sensations, walking, eating, etc. • “Bare seeing” of whatever is, in the here and now • Alternative method: Noting, labeling • Of categories of experience • Thinking, thinking, anger, anger, memory, memory, … • Traditional Theravada Buddhist (also Zen) practices • Bodily sensations (body scan or sweep) or breath • Walking and eating versions • Thoughts, emotions, mental states • Expanded: Stream of consciousness (choiceless awareness/zazen)

11. Other forms • Close reading of a passage • Lectiodivina • 3 stages, cf. 3 rings of the bell • 1. Visual reading aloud • 2. Mental reading, silently • 3. Receptive listening, creative opening • Writing • Reflective, journaling, free writing, process writing, etc.

12. Geri Deluca’s BC writing class • Practices used: • 1. Meditation and body scan • 2. Lectiodivina • 3. Close listening and saying back what you hear • 4. Reading texts with a “spiritual” orientation: considering the connection between great literature and a deep sense of values

13. Helene Dunkelblau’s ESL QCC class • Practices used: • 1. Reflective writing • Reader response journals in conjunction with The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (spiritual content) • 2. Guided imagery • Stimulus for essay writing • 3. Breath meditation • Before high-stakes tests

14. My KCC philosophy classes • Calming breath, mindfulness, lectiodivina • Post-meditation free-writing, post-reading journaling • Content-related meditations • Sample 1: Identity • “What if…?” Imagine a different childhood, career • All things considered: Who am I? What am I? • Sample 2 : What would it be like to be a brain in a vat? • Sample 3: If in an experience machine, why be moral?

15. Alex Tarasko’s QCC nursing class Practices used: 1.Loving-kindness meditation • to develop empathy in nursing students 2.Story telling and active listening • as therapeutic interventions with patients facing losses • tell story about some loss, listener repeats it back 3. Focused breathing meditation • to help students diminish their distractive thoughts at beginning of lecture • as stress reduction prior to an exam

16. Others at KCC • 2 members of our Contemplative Practices FIG • Susan Ednie (Sociology) & Jay Mancini (Physical Sciences) use 3-minute breath exercises before exams • Both are statisticians who keep detailed computerized records of grades • Both used the technique in target classes as against otherwise identical control group classes • Both had statistically significant increases in grades in the target classes • Similar results in my own classes (no stats yet for me…)

17. CUNY Contemplatives at BC • Weekly meditations open to faculty, staff, students • Formerly: Monthly meetings of the involved faculty • 1-per-semester meetings with CUNY group

18. CUNY Contemplatives at QCC • Monthly meetings of the faculty from Queensborough and from Queens College • 1-per-semester meetings with CUNY group • Presentations at conferences

19. CUNY Contemplatives at KCC • FIG’s weekly meditations for faculty/staff, 1 release hour • 1-per-semester meetings with CUNY group • Presentations at conferences on teaching • PSC-CUNY grant to research use of meditation in my classes • $10K CUNY faculty development grant & also KCC President’s Innovative Pedagogy Award for learning community: “Reflective Practice: Medium & Message” • Kate Garretson (ESL), Holly Krech Thomas (Speech) & my ancient philosophy class • Contemplative classes at Vassar College summer program

20. At CUNY School of Law • Contemplative class as 1-credit elective • Skills development related to public interest advocacy • Connected with Center for Contemplative Mind in Society • They have a law program and an academic program • Became part of the CUNY Contemplatives last week at our presentation at the 4th annual CUNY Gen Ed conference

21. Practicum: Hands-on • Three techniques: • Lectiodivina – followed by: • Reflective free-writing – followed by: • Mindful listening and verbal mirroring • Cf. 3 levels of the bell ring • 1. actual sound • 2. mental repetition of sound (cf. after-image) • 3. silent, receptive, listening, opening (creative effects)

22. LectiodivinaPassage: I love the dark hours of my being. My mind deepens into them. There I can find, as in old letters, the days of my life, already lived, and held like a legend, and understood. Then, the knowing comes: I can open to another life that's wide and timeless. So, I am sometimes like a tree rustling over a gravesite and making real the dream of the one its living roots embrace: a dream once lost among sorrows and songs. --Rilke, Book of Hours, I,5

23. Reflective Free-writing 5 minutes, non-stop writing. Uncensored, unedited. Stream of consciousness. Whatever comes up. Or whatever came up.

24. Mindful listening & repeating Speaker: 5 minutes, non-stop , mindful speaking. Uncensored, unedited. Stream of consciousness. Whatever comes up. Or whatever came up. Listener: Non-judgmental, mindful listening, noting. Switch: Listener repeats back, 1st speaker listens

25. Q&A and etc. • Q & A? • Join the other CUNY Contemplatives? • CUNY-wide network of like-minded academics • Stay connected and aware of our activities: • http://cunycontemplative.pbwiki.com • Sign email list, and you’ll get an e-vite to the wiki • Next meeting October 24, 5 p.m., restaurant NYC

26. Closing meditation

27. Thank you! Namaste! http://cunycontemplatives.pbwiki.com www.contemplativemind.org Rick Repetti (KCC) RRepetti@kingsborough.edu