Eric Belky, professor of psychological science at Ball State, sat calmly in a relatively bare office, with only a tree sitting next to a filing cabinet for decoration. The minute he began discussing meditation, his eyes lit up.
Belky began meditating about five years ago. He was in graduate school working on a dissertation. He felt stressed and decided to enroll in a meditation class in Syracuse, N.Y., taught by Zen monks.
Belky said that the first few times were not exciting, and there were times when he wondered why it wasn't more moving. But as time went by, he started to notice a change. He was more relaxed, and more importantly, he was in tune with himself, at one with himself.
"(One of) the turning points was when my wife and I went to the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis," Belky said.
He had never been a strong appreciator of art. But after meditating over a period of time, he had a new perception of beauty.
"I understood for the first time in my life what the artist was trying to say," he said. "It was like I was finally part of the club."
Once Belky became a faculty member at Ball State, he taught an introduction to meditation class at the Center for Peace Studies. Over the years, he has taught about 300 students, but only a handful returned on a regular basis.
Kelley McGrath, a Ball State librarian and co-founder of a meditation group, isn't worried about meditation taking root.
"Interest in this country is growing," McGrath said.
Part of the reasoning behind this interest is because there will always be a psychological interest in meditation, Belky said.
"Regular mediation is it's own advertisement," he said.
By this, Belky said he means that once a person begins meditating on a regular basis, people who are close to them notice a difference. The person exudes an unexplainable quality that everyone wants to possess. But when dealing with college students, there is a level of instability that could possibly account for the lack of returning students.
According to Belky and recent issues of Time magazine, meditation has many benefits. It is said to improve a person's mood, combat stress and depression, can be used as a tool to enhance creativity, encourages a spiritual awakening and improves relationship skills.
Many of these benefits are attributed to the idea of meditation opening up the mind. It causes the person to forget the biases they carry in everyday life. It allows the mind to wander and decreases the idea of conventionality.
As with any new idea (Meditation has actually been around for 2,500 years but is still considered new by many because it hasn't caught on as a traditional way of thinking), there are plenty of misconceptions. Belky said that through his intro classes, he discovered a few of these.
"Meditation is not an escape from the real world, it's a tool to help you to enhance the ability to cope," he said.
Meditation is a gradual experience and something that takes time to master.
Belky compared it to a diet. A person doesn't quit dieting after the first day because they didn't lose 10 pounds.
One other important point that Belky stressed is that anybody can meditate. No matter what religion, meditation is non-denominational. Meditation has actually helped Belky realize the beauty in all religions. The Buddhist religion embraces meditation, but there other forms as well.
An introduction to Insight Meditation Class is offered through the Unitarian Universalist Church in Muncie on Thursday evenings. McGrath offers a meditation group meeting on Sunday nights as well. Once Belky's schedule slows down, he said he hopes to start teaching the classes through the Center for Peace Studies again. Right now, Belky's current project is a seminar on Zen, Sensation and Meditation. The seminar will have exercises such as: looking at a piece of art and writing down your opinion, then after several sessions of meditation looking at art to see if the reaction has changed.
The future of meditation is unclear, but those who have experienced the benefits are firm believers that it will continue to grow.
"As long as people continue to strive for truth, meditation will always be around," McGrath said.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
