Mindfulness Club provides space for conscious living


mindfullness-club
Grand Haven senior Sandra Anderson, wearing brown, speaks about a topic reading at the CMU Mindfulness Club meeting on Oct. 5 in the Bovee University Center.

What started as a leadership capstone project in Jan. 2016 has blossomed into a registered student organization that meets weekly to speak about incorporating mindfulness into everyday life. 

On average, about 10 people attend each meeting. The RSO meets at 7 p.m. on Thursdays in the Bovee University Center Isabella Room. 

Davisburg senior Sam Ekstrom started the Mindfulness Club because he thought about starting a similar program before but it never worked out. He saw his capstone project as an opportunity to share the power of meditation.

“I had seen the power of meditation in my own life and I wanted to share that with others,” Ekstrom said. “After completing the project, I strongly chose to continue the club.”

The Mindfulness Club is an RSO that incorporates readings into their meetings to spark discussions on the topic of being mindful. This discussion is not only led by Ekstrom, the founder and president of the Mindfulness Club — a different member of the club speaks each week and shares their takeaways from the text the club has decided to read.

The meetings take place around a discussion table. The club welcomes members and interested newcomers by hanging a bright, handmade banner outside the discussion room. The meetings are usually an hour to an hour and a half long.

Ekstrom enjoys watching community form within the club. He has seen a spike in meeting attendance and is looking to implement new activities. 

The group is planning to start Skyping various meditation teachers. The Mindfulness Club may also host a few meditation teachers on campus. They are working out how to attend or host a meditation retreat with a trained teacher.

“I would also love to see the community continue to grow both in and out of meetings,” Ekstrom said.

Before coming to Central Michigan University, sophomore Logan Evans, Mindfulness Club treasurer and event coordinator, knew he wanted to be part of a group focused on mindfulness.

“If they did not have a mindfulness club I would have started one myself,” he said. 

Evans enjoys the sense of community and how conferrable he can be with his beliefs. He believes it allows him to be more open about spreading the word of being mindful.

More information about the organization, along with the discussion topics to be addressed at upcoming meetings, can be found at cmumindfulness.com. 

If there is a topic related to conscious living people would like to see covered at a meeting, they can reach out to Ekstrom by email. 

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