"Immerse Yourself is our Mantra" - A Message From Prof. Stephen Kaplan

Immerse Yourself is our Mantra

Immerse yourself in mysticism, immerse yourself in meditation, immerse yourself in yoga, immerse yourself in the Bahamas. This spring semester (2015), I am offering a course on mysticism that will have two unusual features.

First, one week of this course will be an intensive, morning to night, immersion experience in a Hindu ashram and yoga retreat on Paradise Island, Bahamas. We will wake up at 5:30 a.m. and head to the meditation hall for meditation and chanting followed by a morning talk. At 8 a.m., we will soak in the ocean and bay breezes as we participate in two hours of hatha yoga taught at different levels by professional yoga instructors. At 10, it is time for a morning meal—strictly vegetarian as there is no meat, no fish, no alcohol, no caffeine, no drugs at the ashram. At noon, we will have the pleasure of attending a seminar on masculine and feminine images in world mysticisms lead by 5 internationally renown scholars. By mid-afternoon, it is time for a break and the ocean may be calling for a swim or a walk or a nap. (You might even want to work on your journal or take a second yoga class.) The second meal is at 6 followed by an 8 p.m. return to the meditation hall for an hour of meditation and chanting, which is followed by another talk. A long day and I believe one that everyone should find very relaxing, very chilled.

The second unusual feature of this course will be the term paper preparation, which will consume the second half of the course. Before our spring break trip, we will have 8 weeks of class, one night a week. Those 8 weeks will be our introduction to mysticism. Our week in the Bahamas will complete our class time on studying mysticism. Therefore, when we return to campus each student will choose a research topic and begin working on a paper (14-16 pages). Each student will meet with me to discuss the progress of his or her paper on a regular basis. We will not meet in class again until the final two weeks of the semester when each student will offer a synopsis of their research to the class.

I have been to the Sivananda Ashram and Yoga Retreat twice. I have taken my wife and children there and have been there with friends and colleagues to lecture on neuroscience and spirituality. Both times I have found it to be an open, warm, and delightful experience. It is my hope that everyone participating in this course will find the experience rewarding. Please check out their website, http://www.sivanandabahamas.org/.

Stephen Kaplan