Students and professors find some sacred solitude in Pepperdine’s busy environment.
By DeNae Thomas
Assistant Lifestyles Editor
The classic college student does not usually see 4:30 a.m. unless it is through the eyes of a caffeine induced all-night study session. With an increasingly fast-paced lifestyle, the little free time students have is generally spent sleeping.
However, many people on campus realize that quiet time and solitude are necessary to maintain a healthy level of sanity. With little time to themselves, faculty and students have found creative ways to spend time with God, get in touch with nature or just let their minds wander.
Professor of Asian studies Dr. Glenn Webb said the hours between 4:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. are the best time for his rejuvenation. Webb practices a form of meditation called “sitting,” which involves emptying the mind and opening up to the surrounding world.
“You can practice Buddhist meditation without giving up your Christian beliefs,” Webb said. “Since it’s God’s world, when you are opening up to the world, you are ultimately opening up to God.”
Webb perfected the practice while living and teaching in Japan half of each year for 20 years.
Every weekday morning Webb sits in a room in his house designated specifically for sitting. In order to provide a haven away from distraction, the only items in the room are a straw matt. Webb’s faithful dog, Blossom, a 14-year-old greyhound/retriever mix used to accompany him each morning, but he passed away Feb. 14.
“Sitting is a spiritual discipline,” Webb said. “It gets you out of yourself because you are allowed to see a part of the universe in which the focus is not just on yourself.”
Webb said without his daily quiet time, he would be an altogether different person.
“I would be a rotten person if I didn’t sit,” Webb said. “I would be much more grouchy, nervous and hard to live with.”
As an added bonus, Webb said the benefits of his morning quiet time not only spread throughout his day, but may ultimately improve his longevity.
“Sitting not only makes me calmer during the rest of the day, it also has health benefits,” Webb said. “If done regularly, sitting lowers your blood pressure and slows down your heart.”
Some students on campus have found ways to multitask by combining physical workout with renewal.
Junior David Shannon uses running not only as a form of physical exercise, but as a way to clear his mind of all the distractions that accumulate throughout his day.
Throughout his time in Heidelberg last year, Shannon said he used running as his time away when there was too much going on.
“Running is super relaxing for me,” Shannon said. “It is almost therapeutic. I find myself praying naturally, like I am just talking to God. Sometimes I even catch myself talking out loud.”
Shannon grew up in a rural Kansas town where he could run for miles on flat dirt roads with nothing but wheat fields on either side of him.
“For me, that time was to totally clear my mind,” Shannon said. “I would hear nothing but my breathing and my shoes on the dirt road.”
Although he has not had as much time to run lately, Shannon said he tries to find other ways to fit quiet time into his busy schedule. He said he often goes to the beach to surf and watch the sunrise alone or with his friends.
Junior Spiritual Life Advisor Mary Marjorie Bethea said the time she spends by herself is necessary to be able to be a spiritual mentor for others.
“As a Christian and as a spiritual leader, I am ministering to others and I need quiet time for God to minister to me,” Bethea said. “I always feel so rejuvenated in my faith when I get away from the business of Pepperdine life and take time to read God’s word or pray.”
Bethea said she keeps a journal she writes in every day.
“Writing is an outlet for me,” Bethea said. “It’s like I am writing the story of my life. I write prayers to God and I am able to look back and see how he has answered them and how much I have grown.”
Bethea also finds strong significance in the Bible verse, “Be still and know that I am God.”
“Sometimes I don’t even need to read the Bible or write in my journal, I just need to lie on my bed, not do anything and let God speak to me,” Bethea said. “We are always trying to find the next thing to do and that can be dangerous.”
Like Webb, Bethea said things do not go as well when she does not take the time to focus and make sure her priorities are in order.
Because Pepperdine is a Christian university, some coursework is designed to provide students with a chance to experience peace amidst a hectic lifestyle.
Senior Lee Diaz is currently in a calligraphy course taught by Webb where he is able to experience quiet.
“Calligraphy in itself is really meditative,” Diaz said. “It is not just about drawing pretty things.”
Each week Diaz spends four hours by himself in the small ISAC library copying Chinese and Japanese characters, which are translations from the Bible and other enlightening Buddhist texts.
“It is tough to find peaceful time during the week so having calligraphy as a class gives me a guaranteed opportunity for quiet each week,” Diaz said. “The four hours are an escape and one of the few times during the week when I don’t have to accomplish anything or struggle through something.”
Other courses at Pepperdine also promote finding peace and quiet, such as the “way of tea” classes in the Japanese Tea House, taught by Dr. Carol Webb.
“There is no exact procedure for finding quiet time,” Webb said. “My wife (Carol Webb) practices meditation through the tea procedures she performs in the tea room on campus.”
For those who want to start making time for undistracted contemplation, Webb suggests carving out a time each day and making it sacred time.
“Find a place with nothing cluttering it and take the time seriously,” Webb said. “Do not let yourself be interrupted by anything. Even the death of a loved one can be faced more completely in deep meditation. Ultimately, if you are quiet enough it doesn’t matter if you are in severe emotional turmoil, an earthquake or the nosiest dorm room.”
Webb said the time and place should be wherever you can best find peace and quiet. This may be inside or out in nature, in the early morning or late at night.
Ultimately, Webb said, quiet time should make people see things clearer.
“It is a form of living meditation,” Webb said. “It is possible to keep the love, awareness and compassion you receive from it alive when doing even the most high pressure things throughout your day.”
March 13, 2003
