With the opening of the Contemplative Commons, the Contemplative Sciences Center is expanding its reach and its intentions far beyond its beginning as a free yoga program for all students. With the addition of this state-of-the-art, highly improvisational 57,000 square foot building — funded almost entirely by private donors — CSC has envisioned and manifested a space where all students are welcome to meditate, mindfully move, consciously connect, rigorously research, study, or simply hang out with friends in a beautifully maintained natural setting.
In this inaugural year of the Commons, we are asking our twelve Student Advisors, along with our Program Director, to fill these gorgeous studios, classrooms, and convergence hall with relevant and accessible offerings for students, faculty, staff, and the Charlottesville community. In addition, we will be conducting ground-breaking research in all aspects of contemplation, often in partnership with other schools at UVA and/or other universities. We will host large events for the university, and, in the evening, we will keep our doors open to UVA students as late as possible.
We aim to be a salve in the current mental health crisis and to afford students the opportunity to learn how to regulate themselves and to be at peace amidst the turbulence of the modern world. We have high aspirations, and we want you to join us in this adventure. To that end, we are initiating a Forest Floor Fund which will allow donors — young and old, dedicated alums and new friends of the University — to be a part of this revolution which hopes to educate students in their innate worth, creativity, and intrinsic well-being, independent of their performance and society’s demands.
Gifts of any size are welcome and deeply appreciated, of course.