Christine Bagala, Alison Phillips, and Jessica Alvendia traveled to the Magnolia Grove Monastery in Batesville, Mississippi, on Sunday, October 2nd, to participate in a Day of Mindfulness led by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hahn. According to his website: "One of the best known and most respected Zen masters in the world today, poet, peace and human rights activist, Thay (teacher) has led an extraordinary life. Born in central Vietnam in 1926, He was ordained a Buddhist monk in 1942 at the age of sixteen. Just eight years later, He co-founded what was to become the foremost center of Buddhist studies in South Vietnam, the An Quang Buddhist Institute."

During the retreat, Thich Nhat Hahn led a walking meditation followed by a discussion of the Diamond Sutra featured in his book, Cultivating the Mind of Love (selected by Dr. Justin Levitov for the Counseling Philosophy course). The retreat was an extraordinary opportunity to learn more about Buddhism and engage in mindful meditation.