“Spiritual health is achieved when you feel at peace with life. It is when you are able to find hope and comfort in even the hardest of times,” states Wespath, a United Methodist Church investment company. “It can help to support you as you experience life completely.… [and it] is different for everyone.”
UVU is “committed to providing meaningful activities that contribute to students’ physical, academic, social, and spiritual well-being,” UVU’s Interfaith website states. In fact, the University’s deep dedication to this mission has provided students with the Reflection Center, a place to help students, staff, and faculty feel “at peace with life” as well as “comfort in even the hardest of times.”
The Reflection Center is located in the Student Life and Wellness Center in room SL 112. Open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Reflection Center is set aside as “a place for Meditation, Prayer, Reflection, or other forms of individual religious expression”.
Brian Walker, UVU’s Reflection Center guide, stated, “the Reflection Center’s goal (broadly) is to work with people of different worldviews—which we define as religious, spiritual, or sectual identities—to work towards the common good.” To achieve this goal, the Reflection Center is broken into three different rooms. The Reflection Center website provides information about them.
“The Convening Room is a space for religious club meetings, gatherings, and interfaith events.” This room provides interfaith dialogue that educates participants on different beliefs and practices. Currently, these dialogues can only be read in the convening room; however, Walker mentioned that they will become available for rent in the future. The Convening Room is open whenever there is Staff available to supervise.
The Prayer Room allows UVU students and staff to vocally worship in private. “This room has benches, rugs, and mats and is versatile in its arrangement.” The Prayer Room is open “during all building hours.”
The Meditation Room is a quiet space, free of technology and other forms of distraction. There is natural lighting and pillows to help you meditate, and it is also open “during all building hours.”
These three rooms help the UVU Reflection Center accomplish its goal of helping “students … find a space to express their religious or ethical identity, be challenged by hearing about other identities, and be equipped to find ways to be in [a] relationship no matter how we orient around religion,” explained Walker.
If you haven’t had the chance to visit the Reflection Center, this holiday season could be a memorable time to do so. Walker hinted that on Dec. 7 from 11-2 p.m. there will be a special open house, where different holidays celebrated in December will be on display for participants to learn about and celebrate in the Reflection Center.
To increase your spiritual wellness and learn about other faiths and cultures, try visiting the UVU Reflection Center this holiday season!
