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We held practical contemplative sessions in our undergraduate seminar.

Seminar2023.04.24

We held practical contemplative sessions in our undergraduate seminar.

In the second week of the undergraduate seminar, two mindfulness and meditation-related practices were carried out as an ice-breaking activity. These practices did not involve silent contemplation, but instead utilized physical movements and communication with others.

The first activity was "overtone chanting," where participants formed a circle and vocalized vowels in the sequence "U → O → A → E → I," switching the vowel sound every minute with the sound of a bell. This practice originally stems from Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, and has been practiced in caves. Continuous vocalization minimizes mental distractions, and through the vibrations created by each other's voices, a contemplative experience becomes more accessible. Moreover, simplicity of the method allows individuals unfamiliar with it to participate fully with an instruction. Because this practice was conducted during university classes, I note that it is conducted in a secular context, without religious connotations.

Feedback after practicing overtone chanting can vary among participants, but many have reported feelings of heightened relaxation, sleepiness, and/or mysterious sensations. Some participants felt the practice was suitable for engaging with members of a music circle.

The second activity is "mindful listening," which could be categorized as a form of attentive listening. In pairs or groups of three, participants take turns being the speaker and the listener, alternating roles every two minutes. Topics of their talks are relatively open-ended, focusing on recent impactful events, thoughts and sensations that come to the mind "here and now". The key role of the listener is to listen with acceptance, refraining from adding evaluations or judgment.

Mindful listening seems quite effective as an ice-breaking activity among individuals who have not been familiar with each other before. In fact, the practice is suggested to be useful as workplace communication improvement strategies.

For this week's session, Mr. Francesco Saldarini, a Visiting Research Fellow, joined us as part of the bonding activities. Consequently, I conducted the seminar almost entirely in English for this week alone. Although conducting all conversations in English should have been a challenge, I believe most participants managed to follow the English class efficiently. Recognizing the feasibility of this approach was one of the positive outcomes of the day.

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Hiromitsu Miyata

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We held practical contemplative sessions in our undergraduate seminar.

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