Welcome to our first newsletter of the 2023-24 academic year. I hope you have managed to get settled in by now as we move into the month of October.
I expect that by now you will already have restarted the practice of meditation with the children in your classroom. You know from previous experience that children love to meditate and they take very easily to the practice, especially when it is a regular part of their school experience.
World Mental Health Day takes place on 10 October each year and many schools use that opportunity to remind children about the wonderful practical benefits of meditation. Meditation has physical, psychological, emotional and cognitive benefits for adults and children alike. It calms the mind, lessens anxiety and develops in children the very important and necessary quality of attention. So, if you haven’t already started meditating so far this year, please consider beginning again this week.
Children say that meditation helps them to let go of all the drama and teachers find that meditation really does help them to let go of all the tensions and anxieties that can arise during morning and lunch break. That is why so many schools do their meditation immediately after morning break or lunch break.
To get your class started again, simple say: Remember children, the most important thing to know about meditation is how to meditate. So let’s get ourselves ready by pulling our chairs back from the desk so you can all face the whiteboard. And remember, we sit with your back straight with both feet touching the floor. Then close your eyes gently and begin to say your word Ma-ra-na-tha. Say it quietly and gently inside your head so no one else can hear you. (Try not to move your lips). And then repeat your word over and over again, deep in your heart. And listen to it as you say it. When a thought comes into your head, just let it go and go back to saying your word silently and lovingly until the bell rings at the end of our meditation. And then play one of the video timers from here – or you can download the timer to your own laptop beforehand, whichever suits you best.
I have developed a range of resources that are available from my YouTube site. One set of videos contains 20 short videos, each between 4-6 minutes long that can be used to re-introduce children to meditation. There is also a set of video timers for timing short meditation sessions from 2 minutes upwards. All downloadable
They say feedback is the breakfast of champions. I would love to get a email from you – even a single short sentence – to let me know that you are still meditating with your class! If you have time for a longer message, say more about how you think the children respond to the practice. You can send your email to meditationandchildren@gmail.com
It is challenging trying to support teachers and schools from a distance but I passionately believe that meditation helps children in so many ways that I hope to continue this support for as long as I can. It feels like gold-dust to me when someone takes a minute to click on the email link and send me a simple message. You can do that so easily now on your phone so please. click the link meditationandchildren@gmail.com and send me a quick message now .
Bear in Mind by John Martin
A bear is chasing me through a meadow
and I’m running as fast as I can but
he’s gaining on me—it seems
he’s always gaining on me.
I’m running and running but also
thinking I should just
turn around and say,
“Stop it! Stop chasing me. We both
know you aren’t going to catch me.
All you can ever do is chase me. So,
think about it—why bother?”
The bear does stop,
and he sits on his haunches and thinks,
or seems to think. And then
the bear says to me,
“I have to chase you, you know
that. Or you should. And, sure,
we both know I’ll never catch you.
So, why not give us both a break and
just stop thinking about me?” But, with that said, he gets back on four feet,
sticks his long pink tongue out, licks down
both sides of his snout. Then he sighs, looks
behind himself, then at me and says, “Okay,
ready when you are.”
Read this poem slowly and gently, in silence. Then read it again, this time out loud, listening to it as you say it. Then consider what words and phrases resonate with you? What does the poem say to you about the nature of our monkey mind and how can meditation help to heal us?
Copyright © 2022 Christian Meditation Ireland clg (Charity No.: 20083489 Company No.: 530525, All rights reserved.
