Response to Zazen Meditation & Day of Silence Ginko

I really enjoyed the meditation. Especially that day, I was really stressed out and it was just really nice to sit and not concentrate on anything taxing. After class, I felt much less stressed out. I have never meditated before but I thought it was a great experience and am considering trying it in the future. Liz Hare

The meditation session was relaxing but also tense for me. I had a hard time thinking of only one thing. Also its hard to concentrate in a group meditation because theres so much distraction even if everyone tries not to distract. I did enjoy it once i got concentrated. Afterwards it was really hard to stay quiet while walking in the group but after getting to a place where we could sit it was interesting how we fed off of eachothers haiku. Especially because everyone was kind of in their own little world. —Amy Hofstetter

I liked the day of silence; it helped me to think more clearly. It was fun to walk around campus with my group only able to communicate through haiku. It forced me to organize my thoughts because I didn’t want to communicate something that wasn’t important. Phil Koberlein

Overall, I found the meditation to be very relaxing. I think it is a good way to clear your mind and to really reflect on past events. It was very helpful with just generating haiku, I didn’t feel rushed or forced to create haiku, only like it was a good opportunity. I thought it was a good experience writing in silence as a good as we didn’t have to discuss and say, “no I don’t like that one” we just agreed and carried on to a new haiku. I found it to be an overall very relaxing experience and a good time for reflecting. Whitney

I found the day of silent meditation a little difficult. I am not the type of person who doesn’t talk, so I think it was just a clash of interest, however I did find the whole experience amusing as well. To me, a communication major none the least, a silent room full of people screams awkward. I found myself thinking more about what it would simply be like not to talk other than haiku. Keith

I think that the meditation would have gone better in a different room with not as much noise. The computers just made so much of a stir and there wasn’t that much room to spread out. Other than that I liked it because right now is the time where everyone is rushing because it’s the end of the year and it was just nice to sit and relax and just be. Andi

The zazen meditation experience was a good one. The instructions that you provided were helpful as a guide in telling me how to go about meditating. I was in a philosophy class at Millikin that in the beginning of class each day we would do fifteen minutes of Tai chi. We would concentrate on breathing and do stretches. During the Zazen experience I found it helpful to think about my breathing, next I would clear my mind of worries, but after that I lost concentration and got bored. I wish that didn’t happen and I realize that it was a failure on my part. So I refocused. After the meditation exercise Rider and I began to construct our ginko Haiku that arose. Phil Jones

I think the Zazen really relaxed my mind. The haiku I am most proud of, that I created during this assignment, is: the warm licks, on my face, puppy love! I feel the Zazen really brought me to a specific moment. I was able to think though my senses! And this silent haiku walk was fun. Even though we did not broaden our walk we were still able to use our current surrounding and past experiences to create this haiku chain. We used some of the rules from rengay, but not all of them. It was fun. It was also nice we could not talk about the haiku. What we wrote was not debated. Lorin

test later on
she adds
more sprinkles

Rachel Morrison

zombi march
to class
smell of alcohol

Joan Tirado

thunderstorm
he checks on me
in my sleep

Brittney Gillespie

late at night
I discover you’re the one
heartbeats in sync

Jenna Pelej

test later on
she adds
more sprinkles

thunderstorm
he checks on me
in my sleep

top quarter champion

thunderstorm
he checks on me
in my sleep
 

top half champion

thunderstorm
he checks on me
in my sleep
 

bottom quarter champion

washing my face
in the mirror
those unhappy eyes
 

washing my face
in the mirror
those unhappy eyes

young girls
dress up like sluts
college visit

washing my face
in the mirror
those unhappy eyes

Deirdre Fields

room of strangers
he fakes
a disability

Keith Chandler

spring chill
we refuse to wear
anything but flip-flops

Joan Tirado

young girls
dress up like sluts
college visit

Sarah VanderZee

top half champion

thunderstorm
he checks on me
in my sleep
 

champion

thunderstorm
he checks on me
in my sleep

bottom half champion

cemetery ahead
I hear
the birds chirp
 

crowded auditorium
during a moment of silence
a phone rings

Alyssa Owens

paper tearing
the sound of dress shoes
tapping down the hall

Phil Jones &
Rider Hallenstein

forced to be silent
alone
my thoughts wander

Phil Koberlein

sideways glances
at our silence
train whistle blows

Cindie Zelhart

crowded auditorium
during a moment of silence
a phone rings

forced to be silent
alone
my thoughts wander

top quarter champion

crowded auditorium
during a moment of silence
a phone rings
 

bottom half champion

cemetery ahead
I hear
the birds chirp
 

bottom quarter champion

cemetery ahead
I hear
the birds chirp
 

bronze man
so many memories
for just one man

cemetery ahead
I hear
the birds chirp

bronze man
so many memories
for just one man

Shannon Hackl

the bronze man
has more to say
than us

Chonita Ziegler

look ahead
in our path
a beautiful flower

Lindsey Jones

cemetery ahead
I hear
the birds chirp

Lorin Glazer