Unoriginal Title Number 3

The group today consisted of John, Joanna, and myself. This was not a problem, and we delved right into the first question, which was to John, about what he we learning from the class.

John explained that he had previously believed that meditation was something that he would never be able to really do. He thought that meditation meant to sit alone and be silent for many hours on end. This cut off any opportunity he had to meditate, because he simply can not sit still for that long without falling asleep. In class he discovered that meditation could mean memorizing and repeating scripture throughout his day. Not only was this possible, but it is actually something John was already doing. Joanna added that it is nice to know that meditation is not for Buddhists only.

We then talked about how we have learned from our college experience so far. John's perspective was clear and concise: We are learning great things but are too busy to practice these spiritual disciplines. I (Mat) agreed emphatically. The amount of knowledge that is absorbed at EBC is so extensive that it is not possible to integrate it all into our lives.

On the other hand, Joanna has had some positive experience with this so far. She has been effectively challenged to make spiritual practices a part of her day, and has managed to make time to do so. We then had some discussion about how it is difficult to take time for spiritually healthy activities when there is so much to get done. Joanna ended up challenging John to do something spiritual for five minutes instead of going for a smoke break at least once before class next week. John likened Joanna's challenge to a punch in the face.