Meditation with Children at school

Today the grade 4 students at Montpellier Primary School in Highton attended meditation sessions. It was brilliantly successful. I love it, the kids loved it, and the teachers loved it! Happy all round. It was part of their term subject of ‘Healthy Bodies’, it was fantastic to see that a healthy mind is valued just as a healthy physical is.
I received some valuable feed back from the children after their meditation, comments included:
· It was awesome!
· It was so relaxing.
· I couldn’t hear the music when I was meditating I didn’t remember anything else going on, just what was in my mind.
· You forget all your worries and it’s good.
· While I was meditating I couldn’t feel the pain in my knee. [a child with an injured knee]
· I forgot that I was here in this room, I was in another world.
· You can create colours and what ever you want.
· You don’t know what else is going on around you.
· You don’t have to be worrying about anything.
· It was really, really, really good!
· I felt like I was on a holiday in Hawaii and not here.
· I could do anything I wanted and be happy, it was good.
Sounds like the children successfully tuned out from the external world and were totally absorbed in their own minds. All the children were definitely relaxed and lots of smiling was happening, it was absolutely wonderful to see and to be apart of.
Thank you to Montpellier P.S.!

Our Inner Child calls us

Awaken your inner child....

"I believe we each have that divine child within us who holds the spark of our passion – the key to our creativity… that wonderful, magical essence tucked within us who can chart the course to our mastery and fill our hearts with pure joy." - Cathryn Taylor

Permission to shine

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be

brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small doesn't serve the world.

There's nothing enlightened about shrinking

so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously

give other people permission to do the same.

As we're liberated from our own fear,

our presence automatically liberates others."

- Marianne Williamson, "A Return to Love"

Gratefulness

A beautiful little 6 year old girl in my class just the other day, unexpectedly and unprompted, who was very shy and quietly spoken, gently spoke the words "Linda thank you for coming today" at the end of the class. I felt truly wonderful to have inspired her so as she decided to thank me in such a way.
Another girl in the same class, full of pride in her achievement, explained to me that when I was guiding them to imagine the taste of a particular object, that she tasted it exactly as if it was in her mouth. It's wonderful to see the children bring alive their imaginations and their senses.
I feel on top of the world after completing a meditation session with the children!

Can we do it everyday?

I ran a meditation class today for some children. One child in particular wanted to join in, to my surprise, he had been negative towards it for some time. He found it difficult to fit in, I could sense a struggle with in himself; he wanted to be there but didn't know how to act or how to accept the change. He disrupted the class, his only way to cope was to gain attention to himself. He left the group with a statement. He hid around the corner and listened, I'm sure he joined in, in his own space, in his own way, trying as only he could. Eventually he came back and was welcomed to rejoin us in the group. He enjoyed the drawing at the end, he drew what he had experienced with wonderful unique creativity. I encouraged him without making a special fuss. At the end, he asked me "can we do this everyday?". That question brought immense joy to my heart, a joy that I can not express in words. It was truely wonderful. I know I'm assisting in making a positive difference in his life.

Passion

Passion:-
1. a strong feeling or emotion
2. the trait of being intensely emotional [syn: heat]
3. something that is desired intensely;
(www.dictionary.com)

When I am talking about conducting meditation classes for children, it ignites the passion in me. It ignites my light, my burning desire, my love, my excitment, my dreams. I feel my whole body being happy. I feel my eyes light up and positive energy radiates. I feel the smile on my face and the child-like excitment in me. I shine.

Other people feel my excitment and happiness, it is contagious.

When you shine your light, it encourages and sparks other people to shine theirs too.

enjoy! smile! shine!

Sport and meditation

I was talking with someone yesterday about advertising my meditation for children classes in their newsletter. It was explained to me that for private businesses they charge a fee. Fair enough I thought. As I discussed the finer details of the opportunity to advertise, the person made a comment, lightly and passing, but one that has stuck in my mind. The comment was something along the lines indicating that if it is advertising a sport then there is no charge because in this persons opinion, sport is very important for children.

In my opionion, meditation is very important for children too.

I am tempted to do some research and write an article about comparing the values of sport and meditation, the similaralities and differences, the value for children.

Dont get me wrong, I fully believe sport is very valuable. I would rate them on a par, each having their own unique qualities, neither better than the other, but both just as important. In fact meditation is also an important part of sport.

I feel the real issue here is that sport is well known by everyone and accepted as a norm. Meditation is still somewhat alternative. More education is needed.

What do you think?