Founders of a new campus organization say simple and practical meditation techniques can reduce stress, improve relationships and solve daily problems.
"The goal of the group is to let students, teachers and staff know that you can make yourself happy through meditation," said Jennifer Haig, a UNM senior and Mid-Day Meditation Group founder. "Life is stressful and it takes a toll on all of us. This group was designed to provide an avenue to relieve that stress and help the UNM community find happiness through meditation."
Haig said she, UNM junior Indian Schrankel and two University faculty advisers, Heidi Reed and Margaret Menache, formed the Mid-day Meditation group this semester to introduce the concepts and countless benefits of meditation to campus.
"It really is a great thing," Haig said. "Meditation has something to offer everybody."
Western Buddhist nun Kelsang Gomlam has been teaching the group's last five meditation sessions.
Gomlam said the group is following the Kadampa Buddhism tradition, a type of meditation designed to produce a positive state of mind, reduce stress and anxiety and help meditators experience greater contentment and well-being.
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"I'm helping them to find happiness in their heart," Gomlam said. "I want to help people see that they can produce that feeling of happiness themselves."
Gomlam has been practicing Buddhism for more than six years and gears her teaching toward the busy Western student.
"I want to let everyone on campus know that meditation is possible and that it can be used to calm down a busy life," she said
Gomlam said meditation is not a form of relaxation, but is really a way to be happy. She said meditation can be practiced by anybody seeking a life of peace.
"Thinking just one thought is meditation," she said.
Haig said more than a dozen students and faculty currently attend the weekly gatherings, and anyone interested can attend.
The group meets every Wednesday at noon in the Thunderbird Room in the SUB.
UNM senior Stephen Carvlin-Miller attended the group's meeting Wednesday for the first time at the recommendation of a friend.
"I thought it was a very good break from the other stuff of the day," Carvlin-Miller said. "I actually learned something different."
Carvlin-Miller said he plans on returning to future meetings and encouraged other students to come as well.
"It could really supplement a healthy lifestyle," he said. "And for those people who have less than healthy lifestyles, it's never too late to start."
