 Geraldine Deluca, Ph.D.
 English Department

Brooklyn College
 Rick Repetti, Ph.D.
 Department of History,
Philosophy & Political
Science

Kingsborough Community
College
 Helene Dunkelblau, Ph.D.  Alexandra Tarasko, R.N.,
M.A., C.S.
 Department of Basic
Educational Skills
 Department of Nursing

Queensborough
Community College

Queensborough Community
College
Opening breath meditation
Agenda
 1. Brief overview of contemplative practices & benefits
 2. The presenters will discuss:
 What they do in their classes
 What is happening on their campuses
 3. Practicum
 Experience a sample of contemplative practices
 4. Brief Q&A
 5. Planning session aimed at CUNY-wide network
 6. Brief closing meditation
Types of contemplative practices
 Why?
 “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: the paradigm case
 One-pointedness (candle flame, image, mandala, etc.)
Other forms of meditation
 Mindfulness (non-judgmental observing)

Thoughts, breath, bodily sensations, walking, etc.
 Visualization and guided imagery
 Breathing exercises
 Mantra
 Informal: Reflective dwelling, reverie, or free
associating on a topic, image, word, idea, variations
 Ram Dass: “Undigested experiences”
Sample Mandala
Other forms
 Close reading of a passage
 Lectio divina



1. Visual reading aloud
2. Mental reading, silently
3. Receptive listening, creative opening
 Writing
 Focused, reflective, journaling, free writing, etc.
Effects of contemplative practices
 Mindfulness, heightened awareness
 Clarity of mind
 Focused attention
 Inner calm
 Presence (cf. art studio atmosphere)
 Sense of connectedness to others and the work
 Broadening of perspective
 Metacognitive processes
 Intrinsic curiosity
Geri Deluca’s class
 Practices used:
 1. Meditation and body scan
 2. Lectio divina
 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
Helene Dunkelblau’s class
 Practices used:
 1.
Reflective writing

 2.
Guided imagery

 3.
Reader response journals in conjunction with The Alchemist by
Paulo Coelho (spiritual content)
Stimulus for essay writing
Breath meditation

Before high-stakes tests
Rick Repetti’s philosophy classes
 Calming breath, mindfulness, lectio divina
 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?
 Sociology teacher uses calming breath before exams
Alex Tarasko’s 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
3. Focused breathing meditation
to help students diminish their distractive thoughts at beginning of lecture
 as stress reduction prior to an exam

At Brooklyn College
 Weekly meditations open to faculty, staff, students
 Formerly: Monthly meetings of the involved faculty
 Periodic (1/semester) meetings with KCC/QCC faculty
At Queensborough CC
 Monthly meetings of the faculty from Queensborough
and from Queens College
 Periodic (1/semester) meetings with BC & KCC faculty
 Presentations at conferences
At Kingsborough CC
 FIG’s weekly meditations for faculty/staff, 1 release hour
 Periodic (1/semester) meetings with BC’s & QCC’s faculty
 Presentations at conferences on teaching
 PSC-CUNY grant to research use of meditation in my classes
Also:
 Contemplative classes at Vassar College summer program
Practicum: Hands-on
 Techniques:
 Lectio divina – followed by:
 Reflective free-writing
 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)
Lectio divina Passage:
You’re sitting here with us, but you’re also out walking
in a field at dawn. You are yourself
the animal we hunt when you come with us on the hunt.
You’re in your body like a plant is solid on the ground,
yet you’re wind. You’re the diver’s clothes
lying empty on the beach. You’re the fish.
In the ocean are many bright strands
and many dark strands like veins that are seen
when a wing is lifted up.
Your hidden self is blood in those, those veins
that are lute strings that make ocean music,
not the sad edge of surf, but the sound of no shore.
- Rumi
(Born in Afghanistan, 1207, fled to Turkey to escape Mongol invasion, became a
scholar, mystic, died 1279.)
Reflective Free-writing
5 minutes, non-stop writing. Uncensored, unedited.
Stream of consciousness. Whatever comes up. Or
whatever came up.
Q&A and Planning Stage
 Q & A?
 Questions to address:
 What would a CUNY-wide network look like?
 What sorts of events would we plan?
 How would we connect and organize activities?


http://cunycontemplatives.pbwiki.com
Sign our email list, and you’ll get an e-vite to the wiki
 What would we read?
 What kinds of funding could we seek?
 Other questions, comments?
Closing meditation
Thank you!
 http://cunycontemplatives.pbwiki.com
 Geri Deluca (BC):
 Gerdlu@aol.com
 Helene Dunkelblau (QCC):
 HDunkelblau@qcc.cuny.edu
 Rick Repetti (KCC):
 RRepetti@kingsborough.edu
 Alexandra Tarasko (QCC):
 atarasko@qcc.cuny.edu