CGE’s Meditation Monday Provides Community with Support, Connection

Join the Center for Global Engagement every Monday at 12 p.m. on Zoom for a virtual 20-minute guided meditation.

Meditation Monday began in summer 2020 to provide the FSU community with a space to relax and stay connected. CGE staff member Michelle Lawson leads students, faculty, and staff who attend using a variety of meditative techniques.

“So much of our online presence during the pandemic requires ‘being on and alert’ instead of ‘just being,’ ” Lawson said. “Meditation Monday is a space where we can slow down, turn our focus inward, and just be present in the current moment together. I am so pleased to be a part of this program and to engage in this practice with so many wonderful people.”

Many students, faculty, and staff have participated in Meditation Monday with the CGE to practice meditation, take a break from school or work and relax their mind, or simply to get ready for the week ahead.

“I started coming this semester because my mind really needs it,” said Lauryn Feacher, FSU sophomore studying psychology. “Meditation is a practice that I have read a lot about, but it does not come easy to me. Since it can be kind of difficult for me to do on my own and I don't always have the motivation to stop what I'm doing to meditate, Meditation Monday is the perfect space for me. The guided meditation is helpful with giving me something to focus on, like my body or my breath, and letting the thoughts of my day pass through. I'm really glad that this resource is available to us as students.”

Feacher believes participating in Meditation Monday every week will help her become more comfortable meditating on her own and finding moments of peace throughout the day.

Beth Ann Williams, postdoctoral fellow with FSU’s Department of Religion, moved to Tallahassee in fall 2020 and immediately began attending Meditation Monday weekly. “It's been tough during the pandemic to build routines and find community in a new place. For me, the event represents a commitment to myself to show up and be present in the here and now. I meditate on my own with an app but knowing that there are other people working through the same experience with me and having Michelle lead us in real time makes MM especially precious to me in this season,” she said.

If you are interested in receiving the Meditation Monday link every Monday at 11:45 a.m. prior to the event, please sign up at bit.ly/CGEmeditation. Each participant must sign up for these emails for the security of our community. If you know someone interested in participating, please share the signup link with them.