As a music performance professor and outreach coordinator for the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, George Wolfe is not a man with a lot of spare time. Neither is Andrew Brown, a student leader of Campus Crusade for Christ, or Nathan Bogert, a music performance major.
However, all of these men save a portion of their days for meditation.
Let's be clear: Campus is not rife with crossed-legged, closed-eye spiritualists humming about nirvana. The relaxation technique is actually quite different from the media portrayal of it, according to Wolfe, who was named by political activist David Horowitz as "one of the 101 most dangerous academics in America."
Wolfe practices a technique called Gandharva meditation. He said he became interested in it when he studied music in India in the early 1990s through an Eli Lilly Endowment grant.
Gandharva involves deep breathing and listening to an ancient form of East Indian music. The sounds uttered in the Sanskrit language change the physiology of the body and allow the mind to slip into the meditation state of consciousness, Wolfe said.
"This form of meditation does not use any forced concentration," he said. "It's not a matter of trying to control the mind or empty the mind of thought. It's also a very natural and easy way. All you have to do is be able to hear. This change will occur automatically."
Wolfe compared the process to that of falling asleep.
"You don't go to sleep right away, but you've created the proper conditions, so you slip into sleep," he said. "Yet you don't know exactly when it happened."
In the same way, he explained, the involuntary nervous system will allow the body to transition into meditation as long as the proper conditions-deep breathing and East Indian music-are present. He described this as the "fourth state of consciousness," the other three being waking, dreaming and sleeping.
Wolfe offers mini-courses in Gandharva meditation about twice a semester, he said, and they are available to students and faculty from Ball State University and Indiana Academy. He said he has offered the courses for about 12 years and has taught more than 400 students. The next course begins mid-January, he said, and more information will be publicized at the start of the semester.
"[Meditation] is simply very effective and something most people would be able to do, so I think it ought to be made available," Wolfe said.
Bogert took a mini-course a year and a half ago and said he still practices meditation twice a day. He said it's important to realize that meditation is not an alternative to medicine, but it intensely alleviates stress.
While meditation is a deeply reflective and relaxing process based in Hindu tradition, Wolfe and Bogert said they would not call it a religious experience. Meditation is not a process of worshipping anything, Wolfe said.
"I'm a fervent believer, and I've never heard anyone teach me anything [about meditation] that goes against my faith," Bogert said.
In fact, Wolfe said, meditation can supplement faith by giving a person a deeper understanding and appreciation of the contemplative aspects of religious tradition.
Brown said meditation plays a massive role in his faith. However, he clarified that his definition of meditation is somewhat different from Gandharva.
"Meditation is just really thinking of the things of God and what He's done for us," he said.
Brown said that he meditates throughout the day and in simple ways such as deeply thinking about the beauty of nature while he walks to class. He said he would not feel as connected with God if he did not meditate.
In addition to spiritual connection, Wolfe said meditation has many short-term benefits, including being more alert and inspired. During meditation, he said, the mind subconsciously sorts out confusion and allows a person to be more creative and efficient.
"Creative ideas and realizations come more effortlessly," he said. "And you actually get more done if you stop and meditate. It seems like a paradox, but it's true."
Long-term benefits, Wolfe said, include deeper insight into life and relief from past "baggage."
These advantages could lead meditation to have a significant effect on society if more people practiced, Wolfe said.
"Issues which divide people would be reconciled more easily, and conflicts between interest groups would be resolved before erupting into violence," he said. "People would work for the common good rather than for their own selfish interests, for meditation reveals to a person that lasting meaning and happiness in life are to be found within oneself rather than in the pursuit of temporal pleasures found in this transitory material world."
Gandharva meditationGeorge Wolfe, a music performance professor and outreach coordinator for the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, practices the Gandharva tradition of meditation, which he heard about while studying in India. Wolfe offers mini-courses in Gandharva meditation about twice a semester, and has taught more than 400 students in the course of 12 years.
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