We Bask in Nature

"Pebble Meditation was invented as a tangible way for children and families to return to their breathing and their bodies and connect with the world around them."

- from Plantings Seeds 

We put all the pebble elements together, and celebrated our connection to nature through meditation.  It was the perfect start to our Sunday, especially with several of our parents joining in - so very special to have you all there.

Joe Reilly "I Love Nature"

I LOVE NATURE by Joe Reilly 

started us off with song. This fun, infectious tune

will have you singing all week long - here is 

a live version. NOTE: You may want 

to listen rather than watch - the camera work is a bit shaky.

During the previous four weeks, we have explored the dynamics of Flower/Fresh, Mountain/Solid, still water/reflecting, and space/free, through story, meditation, discussion, art, song, and movement. It has been a rich, open and creative time full of lively conversation and shared experiences. (click here for pebble meditation cheat sheet)  Ask your child to teach you this simple and beautiful twelve breath meditation.

Pebble picking is always a lot of fun. 

Because of the rain we stayed close to the Davis, but there were no shortage of stones to choose from. Lots of excitement as they shared and compared treasure. 

Once inside we got right down to pouch work. It was a lovely communal vibe as we sat together lacing and beading, creating beautiful color combinations. When everyone was ready to do the meditation, you could have heard a pin drop. We had been practicing the pieces each week, and now we were putting it all together It was very special. 

After the meditation, We asked a few of our friends about their thoughts on pebble meditation and it's elements - here's what they had to say... send us your child's thoughts on their favorite, and we'll post them next week!

Flower / Fresh

"When my mom gives me a time out I can think about me as a blue flower with big petals and then I feel good.

-Hazel, age 4

Mountain / Solid

"I use mountain in order to calm myself down when I have a strong emotion. If I find out something really exciting at school, or if something really upsets me I imagine I am a mountain because it makes me feel solid. If I get really mad at someone I don't go over and hit them because I root myself. I stay where I am and tell myself I am really mad right now, but I am glad I can control my anger & that makes me feel good. I know I won't feel good if I hurt someone."

-Marlena, age 9

"I like the mountain meditation.  I like how it feels solid. I like to think about the grass, stones and trees and I feel connected to the earth that way. I have not used the meditation when i was upset.  I was scared of the noises that were coming from the fireplace so I thought about the mountain and felt stronger and not so scared"

-Maise, age 6

Space / Free

"I like space because when I get mad I go to my thoughtful spot and lay down or sit. In my space I see the stars and the moon -it's dark blue and silent.  After a few minutes I change from distracted  or mad to not anymore."

-Jackson, age 8

"When I am upset I get some space because it makes me feel good that I am alone, and that helps me think. I go up to my room to meditate and I feel freedom."

-Caleb, age 7

Lastly we gathered for refreshments and and invited parents to read the seven food contemplations with us. We traced back our muffins and pumpkin seeds from store to soil, and enjoyed every bite reflecting on the many people & elements that made our food!

Next week will be our last this season, So come join us! Here's a look at what well be up to...

Week 9 

we give thanks for each other and the Earth

Sing-a-long Many Hands from Planting Seeds CD

Listen Listen poem and stretch from Planting Seeds

Discussion and Exercise: we are all connected, group felt boards

heart food contemplations with strawberries and vanilla milk

Our story is The Sun in my Belly by Sister Susan

Metta meditation from The Buddha at Bedtime

Personal Peace flags with wishes for each other 

We Breathe Space

KITES! We made kites and they flew. (who knew?... woo hoo!) What a way to start our Sunday~ good friends, good fun! Thanks to all for flying with us. (click here for a trip to our Art gallery)

With some new FACES, and a few courageous parents willing to join our circle now and again, we have had an enthusiastic and engaged couple of weeks. Our door is always open to parents and caregivers ~ we invite, encourage, and welcome you to be with us.

The gift of space. The morning circle began with quiry: "What creates feelings of freedom within you?", and boy did we get some fun narratives! Visions ranged  from fast moving, (on horseback or bicycle) to wind blown (in a convertible, or running along a beach) to peaceful (picking pears, or hiking with Dad). We even had the big skies of Oklahoma, and a Wyoming horse ranch conjured before us. It was fun sharing memories & reflections and imagining them to life in our circle.

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"Like The moon traveling through the beautiful night sky, 

we have the capacity for space and freedom no matter where we are."

-Thich Nhat Hanh

We sang another beautiful reminder from the Planting Seeds book and cd. Here is Sr. Morning light singing her song Peacefully Free ~ the simplicity of her voice is lovely. We sang it together, and i've been singing it ever since. The words and tune carry a joy that, is clear, strong, and unmistakably free.

(Click here to see youtube Sr. Morning Light & Br. Phap Bieu)
~*~ 
"I am so free because I can be me.
Look at the clouds at play, passing over everyday.
Inside the sky so blue, immense, spacious, and true

-Sr. Morning Light

Talking space can be a tricky business. What kinds are there? How do we know when to give it? or get it? how much space is enough? Can time be space? If so, how so? The questions themselves can be frazzling and claustrophobic, so we partnered up to play "How close is too close?", and attempted to find out for ourselves. Rulers, string, and a partner were all it took to bring us to some pretty stark conclusions... We started our investigation with partners getting as close together as they could - toe to toe if possible - with one partner holding the ball of string, and the other partner the string's end. The grumblings and reluctance began almost instantly, and were loudly noted. We moved on to phase two. Taking small slow steps backward, each pair was to decide when they were "close enough", and cut their string to measure. We sat comfortably back in the circle to reflect and share our findings.

"Breathing in, I see myself as the big blue sky, with lots of space in and around me

Breathing out, I feel very free and at ease."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

We discovered that the closer together, the more "uncomfortable", "tense", "inward" the feelings. "like a sardine", "restless", and "it was hard to see" were other telling reactions.  As soon as one stepped backward the uncomfortable feelings immediately began to fade, and an important connection between our physical space and our emotional state was made. 

"Space is within you.

When we cultivate spaciousness inside and outside of us, 

we can offer our acceptance and generosity to our beloved ones."

- Thich Nhat Hanh 

Instances illustrating the everyday need for space because of irritation "with sisters" or annoyance "at my brother" were recounted even with siblings clear across the room, and the idea of another type of space was discovered. "I like to hide in the closet for a while to get away from my sister" was an honest example of physical, and emotional space everyone could understand and relate to. It also answered questions about time - and how it can sometimes act like space too.

"if you don't have enough space for yourself, 

how can you offer space to the person you love? It is crucial we know how to cultivate more space for ourselves. Pebble meditation can help cultivate more freshness, solidity, stillness, and freedom "

- Thich Nhat Hanh

After our Space meditation, POPcorn, & Strawberries with WHIP cream puffs, refreshed and made us smile. Thank goodness for seconds!

Dedicated to "all who listen" Douglas Woods beautifully illustrated picture book "A Quiet Place" begins... "Sometimes a person needs a quiet place", and perfectly underscored our celebration of space. 

And then of course, we made KITES... 

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~*~(vimeo privacy password: breathe123)~*~

Next week we combine the four elements of the pebble meditation we have been exploring; flower, mountain, still water, and space. We'll head outside to find some representative stones, and put our pebbles to practice - inviting the bell, following our breath, and imaging ourselves each element. In Art we'll create a lovely felt and bead meditation pouch.   

Here's a peek ahead...

Week 8 

we bask in nature

Sing-a-long I Love Nature from Planting Seeds CD

Feelings poem and stretch from Planting Seeds

Re-cap, child led discussion and Review

Nature walk: collect 4 symbolic pebbles from A Handful of Quiet

Native food contemplations with tortilla chips and apple cider

Our story is Brave Irene by William Steig

Pebble meditation from A Handful of Quiet

Create a felt pebble pouch

We Wonder at Still Water

"Breathing in, Breathing out, I am water reflecting what is real, what is true..."

-Thich Nhat Hanh

Illusion, perception, and the purpose of inner reflection, were our topics last Sunday as we waded into the still water of pebble meditation's third image. Here's some of our highlights...

"Breathing in I go back to the island within myself... "

(click here for lyrics or read from home page side bar) 

The Island Within is a beautiful song. Useful as a lullaby, or soothing mantra, we found it's peaceful simplicity, a gentle reminder of the safe haven that is always available to us from within.

Julian & Chad on you tube

Enjoy this charmingly soulful version, as Julian & Chad  from Wakeup Netherlands combine "The Island Within" and "Call Me By My True Names"... don't be surprised if you find yourself humming along!  

After our poem & stretch, we dove right into our clear thinking discussion using a sampling of images from The Art of The Illusion by Brad Honeycutt to create our exercise. Everybody got an image to reflect on, figure out, and share with the group. Together we discovered how some of the illusions seem to need a certain amount of distance in order to see the second image clearly. This led to the connection that space between ourselves and a difficult situation can often help us see conflict another way. The discussion was lively! We found that getting quiet, taking the time to stay with each image, keeping an open mind, and a willingness to see something different, all helped bring the alternate view into focus.

"Breathing In, I see myself as still water

Breathing out, I reflect things as they truly are."

Keep the conversation going at home 

with some additional illusions and a new mindful challenge...

click here a collection of challenging perceptions

"What is true happiness? 

Often we think that we cannot be happy if we don't get 

what we want. There are a million ways to be happy, 

but because we don't know how to open the 

door to happiness, 

we just chase after the things we think we want." 

In the Chapter Chasing Clouds by Thich Nhat Hanh from A Pebble for Your Pocket, He tells the story of an energetic young stream rushing from a mountaintop in search of the ocean. Her impatience, clinging, and inability to see a deeper beauty, cause her so much sadness. We follow her bitter sweet path of realization as she goes back to herself for the very first time, stays, listens, reflects, and joyfully comes to experience the very foundation of her happiness. This entire book is a wonder.

We practiced our food contemplations, and enjoyed blueberry yogurt together. Yum! (click here for The Seven Food Contemplations)

We invited the bell to meditation  and imagined ourselves still water. Most shared they pictured themselves lakes, although we did have one lovely forest stream...

Reflections on paper. By thickly painting on only one half of the sheet, then folding the paper over, we created a reflecting effect for the still water poem. Beautiful reminders each and every one. 

(click here to go to the Art Gallery!)

NEXT Sunday we breathe space ~ here's a look ahead...

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Week 7 
we breathe space
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Sing-a-long 
Peacefully Free  
Planting Seeds CD
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Poem and Stretch 
Waking up 
Planting Seeds
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Discussion
Giving the gift of space 
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Activity 
The Amoeba Roll 
Meditating with Children
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Food contemplations
 Puffy pop corn and whip cream milk
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Story  
A Quiet Place by Douglas Wood
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Meditation 
seeing myself as Space/Free
 A Handful of Quiet
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Let's make a Paper Kite!