An introduction to contemplation as a way of life and to the academic field of contemplative studies, sometimes called the theory and practice of mindfulness. An introduction to mind-body awareness much touted these days thanks to the rediscoveries of ancient truths via the neurosciences. If reason were embodied education would have to include the education of body – modes of thinking as ways of being. To events familiar to the college seminar, reading, writing, test-taking, we combine Ashtanga and Bikram yoga and spin before, after, and during “class.” We learn disciplines of mind as body and body as mind. Several words inform our journey, chosen in part for their reach into and across academic disciplines, evident too as cultural habits and political sensibilities. This year our principal novel is Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, supplemented by selections from Epstein’s Thoughts without a Thinker, Palmer, Zajonc, and Scribner, The Heart of Higher Education, Hanson and Mendius’ Buddha’s Brain, Pieper’s Happiness and Contemplation, Gunaratana’s Mindfulness in Plain English, and Lightman’s Einstein’s Dreams among others.
