BLOOMING...
What a magical Journey we took this past Sunday, discovering our very flower selves! How lovely it was to start our day together, in this fresh and sunny way...
CELEBRATING...
We Sang of Bird, and Sun, tree and wind, stream, rain and world, in Great Big Smile, a celebration of nature and the oneness of all life... a Planting Seeds CD favorite.
(click here & go back to the blog for lyrics)
"Waking up I smile
24 brand new hours before me
I vow to live them mindfully
with love and compassion for all beings"
-Thich Nhat Hanh
SMILING...
We stretched, and took root, as we brought our Waking up poem to life. Ask your child to lead the stretch in his or her own way, or follow the step-by-step guide on our Weekly Mindful Challenge page. (click here for guide) IMAGINING...
We traveled through time with our good friend AHN, to explore how getting lost in thoughts about the past and future might affect our sense of well being.
WE CAUGHT UP WITH HIM on his bicycle, bathed in the beauty of a present moment paradise. All had ideas on what he might be experiencing - "Smelling the salt water", "seeing flowers & sand", "hearing the ocean waves", his "bicycle tires", and "birds", feeling and "tasting the sea air". Some thought him "joyful" or "happy" or "free". There was no doubt in anyone's mind Ahn was blooming! And why not? He looked peaceful, optimistic, & connected to the world around him; perfectly in touch with his flower freshness. The children then shared places that made them feel happy and peaceful.
SHIFTING PERSPECTIVE we imagined Ahn's mind began to wander, re-visiting past wounds or fretting about a future uncertain. We used dry erase markers to record the thoughts he might be thinking. Angry: "something happened that made him mad", worried: "maybe he's lost", excited: "he's going to a party", and sad: "maybe something happened to his dog". Like dark and stormy thunderheads the dry erase marker thought bubbles began to crowd and block the clear sky of Ahn's present moment.
Disconnected from his present moment, and unable to gain solace from the beauty all around him, we watched as his thoughts seemed to hijack his feelings, and transport him bicycle and all to a much different landscape - now his feelings were described as "it's darker", "he's scared", "worried", "he doesn't know where he is".
The question seemed to be HOW WAS AHN GOING TO GET BACK? For us sitting in the circle it was no problem - slipping him out of his plastic sleeve Ahn simply shed his dry erase thought bubbles and let go of the past and future, but what about us? We turn to master teacher Thich Nhat Hanh for a simple yet profound answer...
"Mindfulness is the energy that helps you to recognize the conditions of happiness.
Anyone can help remind us that we can be happy right here, and right now-
So who is going to do that in our daily life?
the answer is YOU have to do that! YOU are the one who has to do that
You remind yourself and you remind the person next to you,
and the other person next to her or to him.
That is the practice of mindfulness."
While mindfulness doesn't change the facts of a situation or event, it can transform the way we think about it, and in turn, the way we feel about it, and finally, how we react to it. Short daily practices like the Waking Up Poem & stretch, or Stopping with Sound, can help our families stay connected and keep these truisms in the forefront of all our minds so that we can remind each other and ourselves.
We scooped and scraped our tangy, fuzzy, green Kiwi, and sipped the delicious homemade apple cider. All helped to read our Food Contemplations, set our snack, and tidy up in the end. Many hands helping for all to enjoy.
BEING...
We imagined ourselves flowers as we journeyed in our mind's eye to a magical forest where each breath brought us closer to our own flower freshness. We beamed and bloomed, and felt the warm sun on our petals and leaves, as we nestled protected near the safe and solid trunk of a nearby tree. Exploring all aspects of our new flora form, we listened to the sounds of the bell and breathed in the forest air as it sang for us.
PAINTING...
We took our flower imaginings and made beautiful wall hangings. Using India ink and watercolor on damp cotton fabric we watched as the colors seemed to blend and grow almost on their own. (click here to see their work)
HAVE A LOOK at what's to come...
Week 5
We Practice Mountain
Sing-a-long: There's Ol' Buddha from Planting Seeds CD
Feelings poem and stretch from Planting Seeds
Discussion: What it means to be solid from Planting Seeds
Tree Huggers find a special tree explore and share it with the group
Rooted food contemplations with mini carrot muffins and ginger-ale
Our story is Aloka and The Band of Robbers from The Buddha's Apprentice
Mountain Meditation from A Handful of Quiet
Fun with clay: make your own never ending, ever fruitful, mountain
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