Michelle L., Student, 17 years
My second year of the Mindfulness Meditation course was definitely different from the first year. During the first year of the course, I was not willing to meditate and thought that it was a silly act to do. To me, it seemed futile to try to calm oneself and to take moments for peace. However, in the second year of the course, I came to find value in meditation. I found that it was more than just being still and quiet, and that there was more behind the scenes. After finding more value in mediation, I came to appreciate it more and that allowed me to concentrate on meditating.
In the first year of meditation, I was very distracted during meditation sessions. I remember that I felt embarrassed doing meditation because it felt silly, like hocus pocus. This made me not want to actively participate in the meditating exercises. But after having another year of the course, I was able to disperse the feelings of embarrassment. That was the time when I realized how meditation was such a huge benefit. I began to understand how meditation was not just sitting and closing your eyes, but also another way to explore the deep realms of the brain. It dawned upon me that it was a way to get to know one’s self better.
The second year of the course was also different in terms of what I learned. In the first year, the things I learned were the basics of meditation and the history of it. In the second year, the session consisted of more in-depth discussions of what really goes on when we meditate. For example, in the first year, we learned about the different layers of the brain. In the second year, we built upon that knowledge that we already knew. When discussion about the layers of the brain commenced in the first year, I did not understand and did not try to understand what it was. But during the discussions about the same topic in the second year, I was able to follow along and understand what was being discussed.
In conclusion, the course Mindfulness Meditation has changed the way I perceive things. The course has also allowed me to gain a new skill that will benefit my health. But beyond those benefits, I was also able to gain knowledge on a subject that I probably would not have searched on my own. Not only did this course help expand my horizons on how I perceive, it also helped me to become more aware of my surroundings and myself.
