Contemplation in Daily Life
Reclaim space for stillness and reflection in the midst of daily concerns. Explore or deepen spiritual practices to reconnect to what is important, build spiritual reserves, and connect with the diverse spiritual resources of our community.
This new program offers opportunities to engage in contemplative practices from a variety of religious traditions with the accompaniment of a spiritual advisor from the multifaith team of Campus Ministry. Over the course of one week, participants will be guided through 30 minutes of daily contemplative practices and will meet one-on-one with a spiritual advisor for 30 minutes to reflect on their experiences. At the beginning and end of the week, participants will gather as a community of diverse identities to share their journeys.
Who: Open to all Georgetown University students.
When: TBD.
Participant Schedule: TBD
Sunday: Virtual Opening Gathering, 8 – 9 PM (EST)
Monday – Friday:
- Daily 30 minutes of contemplative practice
- Daily 30 minutes of reflection with a spiritual advisor
Friday: Virtual Closing Gathering, 3 – 4 PM (EST)
Choose from one of the following programs:
A Prayer in Daily Life Retreat: Deepening Friendship with God
Grounded in the spirituality of St. Ignatius, this retreat in daily life offers the opportunity to pray with scripture each day and meet individually with Jesuits, chaplains and other spiritual directors for spiritual conversation and guidance.
Poetic Prayer in Daily Life: Protestant Christian Edition
Drawing from the poetry of African-American Christian spiritual voices, participants will be guided through an experience of contemplative listening and spiritual reflection toward a deeper awareness of God. Participants will be accompanied by Protestant Christian spiritual advisors.
Prayer in Daily Life: Eastern Orthodox Edition
Explore ancient practices of prayerful recitation long cherished in the Eastern Christian traditions. The Prayer of the Heart has been practiced for more than 1,500 years as a method for purifying and illuminating the mind and transforming the heart through a deep union with the divine (theosis). Participants will be guided through a series of traditional spiritual practices by an Orthodox Christian spiritual advisor.
Meniya Meditation: Engaging Barriers (Jewish Mussar tradition)
In modern Hebrew a “barrier” is called a meniya and usually refers to pylons used by construction companies to block access to ao construction site. Rabbi Nachman taught that people have spiritual meniyot (pl. of meniya) that keep us from accessing a sense of spiritual wholeness and can prevent us from actualizing our highest selves and deepest values. In this guided daily experience, the spiritual advisor will accompany the participant in a process – derived from the 18th century Mussar movement – in which they’ll identify a desired spiritual quality or personal core value as well as their spiritual barrier to accessing it. Through Mussar meditation, reflection, and conversation, the advisor and participant will work with the barrier, and see what spiritual benefits emerge.
Muraqabah and Mindfulness in the Islamic tradition
How can we have a better understanding and control over our minds and hearts in a time filled with anxieties and uncertainties? Exercising mindfulness, or muraqabah can help shape our minds in order to handle and deal with our current challenges and focus on our connection with Creator. In this exercise, we will learn how to find ways to deal with our daily undesired noises, distractions, and crises. We will learn how we can find peace in moments that make us feel that we are constantly attacked from every direction to the point that a moment of real stillness seems just too much to achieve. How to find peace in salah, meditation, and Khalwah (seclusion), and to find the time to train our minds to do so are our very aim in this exercise.
Meditation in Daily Life: Vedānta Edition
In this virtual experience, we will explore how meditation grounded in authentic meditation practices and non-theistic Upaniṣadic wisdom can be meaningful for you, calibrated for your daily life.
Meditation in Daily Life: Buddhist Edition
In this virtual experience, we will explore how the authentic meditation practices of the Buddha can help you gain balance, focus, calm, and loving compassion in your life, guided by an experienced teacher of the path.
Journeying with Devotion: Shaiva, Shakta, Vaishnava & Smarta (Hindu tradition)
In this virtual experience, we will explore the path of the devotee, deepening your connection with the Divine with insights from the devotional masters, in a manner that meaningfully suits your context.