If you’re in need of an outlet from stress, a new meditation group has formed thanks to Indian international student and Entrepreneurship major Parag Sachdeva.

“As soon as I was done with the Vipassana 10-day course back in my home country, New Dehli, I was actually preoccupied about building up an organization, because I went to the website and it had this new organization stuff, so I just streamlined it. I just wanted to make it systematically, so I go systematically, and everybody gets the benefit. I was fortunate enough to have that opportunity, so everybody gets the opportunity,” Sachdeva said.

Sachdeva revealed an experience that ultimately caused him to start this group. “On the 10th day, we have this ‘love, compassion’ theory going on. You try to spread the word to everybody, you want everybody to not get agitated. I wanted America to be an ideal world, so I started it here at Millikin,” Sachdeva said.

This type of meditation is called Vipassana and it is universal, very simple and all about reality. “It’s not about some imagination, some visualization, verbalizations–it’s just truth. I mean you can feel the truth when you do that. It’s just about breathing, and then it goes a bit to an advanced level, up to sensations. You just have to focus on your breath, be aware of your breath, be aware of your sensations–you don’t have to react at all,” Sachdeva said.

Vipassana has changed Sachdeva’s life and has allowed him to be an all-around better person. “To be very honest, I was a spoiled guy. I’ve been through all the phases these guys are going through, because I’m 20 right now. I can certainly relate to these guys, I can certainly empathize that it is not easy to control yourself at this age. 18, 19, and 20 is a really crucial age. Yeah, it’s good to have fun, I’m not saying that you don’t party at all and you don’t have fun, because these are the crucial days, as well. And you’re going to remember those days that you had parties and all that stuff, but at the end of the day, you have to have self control if you want to have a successful life later on, and if you want to have a successful career. Most importantly, because this is student life, if you want to build up a successful career, there’s a specific routine you have to have. Apart from that, there’s so many people who can relate with this technique because of the sensations part. Vipassana is all about the student life. How do you focus a bit more, how do you come back to the breath. But, this is an advanced level, which is about not reacting to certain situations, which is what this is all about. If you’re practicing this practice regularly, you’re going to be better in the real world, as well,” Sachdeva said.

The meditation group meets in the Pilling Chapel meditation room twice a day. It will start out with 15-minute sessions and increase as the year goes on. “It was done by a consensus. Everybody chose to be at the meeting at seven a.m. in the morning for the first meeting and eight p.m. in the evening. That can be shuffled later on if they have any problems with that timing; that’s completely dependent on the club,” Sachdeva said.

The time slots are open for two hours, which means that if someone can’t make it to the first time, they can go later by themselves or with a group. Another option is to meditate at home or somewhere isolated and quiet. However, Sachdeva highly suggests to stop the meditation if it is done incorrectly, for it will make things worse. In December, there will be a group trip to the Dhamma Pakasa Vipassana Meditation Center in Pecatonica, Illinois. This will be the 10-day course previously mentioned. If you or anyone you know is interested in mindfulness and relaxation, consider the Dhamma meditation group.

“The law of nature is just becoming–it’s just becoming every day. Whatever sensation you might have, either pleasant or unpleasant, it’s just going to change–it’s ephemeral. Nobody can stop that. But you can certainly be vigilant about those sensations, be aware of those sensations, acknowledge them. And you can certainly have some kind of attachment to these sensations, because we are humans, and there’s a human tendency–we get attached to some certain sensations, we have some aversion to certain sensations, but the key here is to just acknowledge that you are here becoming attached to it–you don’t have to become attached to it, because it’s going to change. There’s no point getting attached to a sensation, which we all know is going to change. And there’s no point in hating a sensation, because we know it’s going to change, as well.”