All freshmen at Middlesex participated in an Introduction to Mindfulness course for nine weeks this fall. Mindfulness is about learning to direct our attention to our present moment experience (senses, thoughts, emotions) with open-minded curiosity and acceptance. Rather than worrying about what has happened or might happen, it trains us to respond skillfully to whatever is happening right now. Mindfulness has been very present in the media, as companies, sports teams, and public figures are increasingly practicing mindfulness. Just this December, Anderson Cooper and 60 Minutes produced a segment about mindfulness.
Feedback from the students was overwhelmingly positive; 94% agreed that they had a positive experience. They had these words to say about the mindfulness program:
“I think the program is really great. It is something that has already helped and further practice will be beneficial.”
“This is the best class ever!”
“Mindfulness has helped me become more aware and at peace with my thoughts and actions.”
“I have always been a very stressful player in sports, but now that I have this skill, I hope to use it to my advantage and become a more physically and mentally stronger player.”
“It was definitely the most relaxing part of my week and I am sure it will be applicable to my life in the future.”
“I was not expecting anything really interesting from mindfulness but it was actually very helpful and interesting and definitely helped me with being less stressed for school work and sports.”
The Middlesex course met once a week for 40 minutes over the course of nine weeks. In addition to the freshmen course and upperclassmen introductory courses, Mindfulness instructor Doug Worthen MX’96 also teaches three Mindfulness courses to students and faculty who have completed the introductory level: Improving Your Practice, Mindfulness in Sports, and Relational Mindfulness. Read more about the mindfulness program on our Mindfulness page, and watch a video about mindfulness at Middlesex: