Meditation script

1 A Farmington Fellowship Report ‘Stilling and Guided Meditation’ Karen Wardle April 2007 Bridgnorth Endowed School, Shropshire 2 Key Words: Relaxation, Stilling, Guided, Visualisation, Meditation Contents Page 1. Be Still and Know that I am God 4 2. Mother Teresa said: 5 3. The Dalai Lama said: 6 4. We shall not cease from exploration 7 5. Or, in secular terms… 8 6. Introduction 9 7. The Value of Stilling Exercises and 11 Guided Meditations 8. Safeguards for Stilling Exercises and 17 Guided Meditations 9. General Follow Up Work 20 10. Stilling the Restless Mind 21 11. Stilling: Relaxing Your Body 23 12. A Simple Stilling 27 13. A Guided Meditation: My Special Place 28 14. Variations on ‘My Special Place’ 30 Guided Meditation 15. Guided Meditation on Prayer Beads 33 16. Rainbow Meditation 34 17. Candle Meditation 35 18. On Silence 36 3 19. A Few Other Ideas for Using Stilling/39 Guided Meditations 20. Meditation on the Parable of the Prodigal Son 41 21. Meditation at Home 42 22. Christian Meditations 43 23. Meditation in Christianity – Lectio Divina 44 24. General ideas/resources 45 25. The Interview with God 46 26. A Simple Story 48 27. The 23rd Psalm Today? 49 28. The 23rd Channel 50 29. Just for Fun – The Rules 51 30. Labyrinths – The Journey of Life 52 31. A Meditation on Time and Change 54 32. Perception 57 33. Mandalas 59 34. Listening Tasks 60 35. Conclusion 61 36. My grateful thanks: 62 37. Appendix 63 38. Bibliography 64 39. Photographs for Meditation 66 4 Be Still, and Know that I am God! Psalm 46:10 ‘God is not something we have to create, but something we have to discover.’ (Hughes, 1996) 5 Mother Teresa said: Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin. 6 The Dalai Lama said: I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warm-hearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone. The key is to develop inner peace. 7 We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And to know the place for the first time. T S Eliot8 Or, in secular terms… ‘The person who is developing their potential to be fully human is consciously seeking to develop their emotional intelligence, ie self-awareness and the ability to relate to others. They are also developing their ability to learn and so to create personal knowledge and understanding. Balancing these elements is the spiritual which creates the meaning and purpose which gives significance to the other two.’ National College for School Leadership, Leadership and Spirituality After a diagram to clarify this relationship we are finally offered: ‘If this definition is over elaborate then a more direct definition might be: Spirituality is the reservoir of hope.’ 9 Introduction Stilling and Meditation: A Safe, Simple and Serene Space Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic and power in it. Begin it now. Goethe Easier said than done. But it isn’t that difficult. Essentially stilling is just being still, in body and in mind. However it is an activity and it does lead to an experience that pupils seem to value. It is a method of helping pupils develop their spiritual awareness. Stilling is about ‘being’ not ‘doing’, and we are human beings not human doings. Once you’re stilled and centred and therefore quiet and relaxed, you can be most easily led into a guided meditation. I use this term to cover both a guided visualisation, where you mentally explore a suggested setting, or into a guided fantasy, where you become part of a story. (I offer some scripts and suggestions and book references that teachers may find useful initially or they may wish to adapt and modify them as they think best). You can also settle into a meditation, where you train your attention to create an awareness undisturbed by the mindless chatter of conscious thought, usually by focusing your attention on the breath or on your activity. (I include a few hints to help pupils who may wish to develop this practice at home). All these states are enjoyable natural states of the mind which foster self-awareness and enhance self-esteem. It has been claimed by various authors that these techniques aid physical relaxation, improve concentration, memory and creative thinking, increase tranquillity and enhance spiritual development – with such an impressive list of credentials why aren’t all schools using these techniques? The teacher can adapt the exercises as they want to suit virtually any subject and Key Stage. However my main aim has been to provide some help and encouragement to teachers of Key Stage 3 and 4 RE students. 10 The 1988 Education Reform Act requires teachers of all subjects to attend to the spiritual development of students. The ‘learning from’ Attainment Target of RE syllabi means that pupils should be given not only opportunities, but also tools to properly reflect on their growing understanding of the spiritual dimension of life. Fortunately these tools have been tried and tested for centuries in the very religions studied in schools. ‘All major religions offer those who follow them tools, personal and corporate, for coping creatively with the side of being human that is about silence or quietness, as well as the more well known moral and ethical side of world religions which offer tools for dealing with your place in community.’ Dr Ian Terry, Diocesan Director of Education, Hereford. Yet religion is about more than just how we deal with other people; it is also about relating with yourself. ‘Love your neighbour as much as you love yourself’, -the Christian Church recognises that each person has a duty to love themselves, as well as others; indeed most people would agree that you cannot love others if you don’t love yourself. Some pupils may be helped to achieve this through following stilling exercises; they can develop the quiet side of themselves. Silence and stillness give children personal space of which they can take complete ownership. They offer the tools whereby students can enhance their lives and gain greater autonomy through the skill of inner listening; they can make their own decisions and learn discernment. ‘Every Child Matters’ recognises that children should be offered opportunities to adopt a healthy lifestyle and to enjoy and achieve. Having the tools to enable you to relax, calm down and reappraise your situation in your own safe space will enhance your psychological well-being and thus contribute to a healthy lifestyle. It is yet another benefit that most pupils enjoy these activities and ask for them to be repeated. Some studies have shown that the use of guided meditations can improve attainment through the effect of rehearsal skills, this will improve achievement. In short these exercises are a proactive way of helping all young people to enhance their mental and physical health. 11 The Value of Stilling Exercises and Guided Meditations ‘The ability to calm the body and the mind in order to consider the inner self allows the discovery of new channels of concentration and energy. After experiencing total stillness for the first time most people want to repeat the experience. Bodily relaxation and clearing the mind are recommended by many religious traditions.’ Hammond et al (1990, p.72) ‘Stilling is an activity which offers children and young people a variety of techniques and exercises through which to acknowledge, explore and develop the spiritual dimension of their lives. These ways include, but go beyond a purely cognitive and rational approach to teaching and learning, by involving the whole person through affective learning, i.e. learning through the senses, feelings, imagination and intuition.’ Michael Beesley (2003) Stilling helps pupils develop an inner awareness and provides them with their personal safe quiet space. It is an effective tool to combat stress. ‘Stillness offers food for the soul, clarity for the mind and rest for the body.’ Ruth Ward (2006) Stilling exercises encourage a longer attention span and better concentration skills; especially necessary in today’s world of the remote controlled TV handset, which encourages children to rarely commit their attention for long, there always being the temptation of something better happening on another channel. Engaging in exercises that focus the mind and teach it to be fully absorbed in one thought lead naturally to improving a person’s empathetic skills. A guided meditation exercise can have as its aim the sharing of a particular feeling or situation. Pupils are enabled to understand, accept and identify the feelings of others. Knowing that we are all different can give pupils more confidence in expressing their own uniqueness. Guided meditations can help pupils face up to their fears in a safe, structured framework over which they have full control. They can be used to help pupils rehearse situations that they find challenging to give them confidence to meet these challenges in real life. The meditation can help the pupil become clearer about the appropriate intention needed to achieve a particular outcome. They can focus on this intention in everyday life. It can give them the strength to say no when necessary. It enhances their self-confidence. Guided meditations also provide empathetic experiences for pupils. 12 Stilling exercises provide a safe place for the pupil to use for recovery from stresses, to help with mental and emotional healing, by providing a personal space for the pupil over which he/she has total control and to which they can return whenever they want. Hall et al found that imagery techniques (guided meditations) seem to work particularly well with special needs students. They provided evidence of learning gains for all age groups. Learning to relax the body and become aware of the current state of both mind and body are the preliminary stages to stilling. Students may discover that they spend a lot of their time tensed and worried. This is the first step towards being able to relax, deal with worries and become happier. There is some research, which suggests that there is a need to teach people how to be happy, this is called ‘authentic happiness’, as opposed to ‘learned helplessness’ that is believed to be a major cause of depression. (Martin E. P. Seligman, currently the Robert A. Fox Leadership Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania has developed programmes for teaching these skills to children, essentially they are forms of behaviour management and metacognition). Jon Kabat-Zinn, a buddhist and a psychologist, who is Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, affirms the value of stillness in treating depression. Since 1979 he has been teaching mindfulness meditation as a technique to help people cope with stress, anxiety, pain and illness. He has carried out studies to show that positive changes occur in brain activity, emotional functioning under stress and even in immune function. (References are from Wikipedia). Meditations that focus on the body encourage the person to be aware of their own body as a whole, working for their benefit. They are helped to value their body and to want to look after it. Pupils learn how to relax their body, and hence their mind, whenever they want. The feelings associated with the exercises are ones of security, acceptance and reassurance. These feelings can be recreated in their own meditations at home. If a pupil enjoys stilling exercises, which most do in my experience, they value setting aside time for their own practise. John Hammond (2005) has explained that the ‘four Ss of spirituality’ involved in AT2 (learning from religion), i.e. symbols, stories, silence and (s)elebration, are not exclusively religious activities, they are ‘essentially and deeply human. Used in school they can encourage in pupils the reflective, involved, and receptive attitude that is the precondition of spiritual development and learning from religion.’ Stilling exercises aid full relaxation of the mind by teaching how to cut out all the extraneous thoughts and habitual preoccupations that tend to overload us. Instead the meditation encourages full body relaxation and full focus on one thought, or in the case of a guided meditation on experiencing one scenario. Many people nowadays believe that watching television is relaxing yet the constant projected images can just add to the overflowing mental images and prevent the mind from dealing with worries. On the other hand, meditation, which has been practised for centuries, is known to aid relaxation. It was investigated in the West in the 1970s. Herbert Benson (1975) with fellow researcher Robert Keith Wallace studied the positive physiological changes that meditation and prayer produce in the individual. 13 They published results that showed that during meditation an individual’s metabolic rate and oxygen consumption will both fall. They showed that people who meditate become calmer and less anxious than people who don’t. Similar studies have shown similar benefits. More recently Polly McLean (2001) has published a paper which concluded that ‘meditation can appropriately be incorporated in schools as part of provision for Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural development, and/or as a process-based practice for enhancing effective learning.’ Some sports’ coaches claim that stilling techniques help improve performance and enhance achievement through the mental rehearsal of skills and through visualising themselves succeeding in their chosen activity. Stilling and meditation are considered to involve the right brain, balancing the more usual left-brain activities of education such as language and rational thinking. Electroencephalograph (EEG) readings have shown that the dominant left hemisphere – associated with verbal, rational and analytic thought -becomes less active during meditation. The right hemisphere, which relates to intuition, emotion and creativity, becomes more active. Music also brings us into the right hand side of the brain and helps us be less cerebral. This rebalancing seems to reduce the demands being processed by the brain; some claim that this improves health and immune function. There are two hemispheres of the brain and each one is involved with certain activities. The left hemisphere is involved in logic, calculation, language and convergent thought. The right hemisphere is involved in divergent thought and creativity; it appears to control functions such as intuition, pattern recognition, relaxation and feelings. Hall (1990) stated that ‘almost all students and adults who have experienced a scripted fantasy (a guided meditation) report a sense of physical well-being and relaxation as well as a whole host of feelings. They also report having intuitive insights and creative solutions to personal problems. It seems a reasonable assumption that there is an underlying physiological basis to these linked processes. The right brain accessed through the use of fantasy appears to have a vast potential that for most of us remains untapped.’ As Hall (1990) explains: being emotionally upset may interfere with your ability to think rationally; alternatively being overly rational may inhibit your ability to get in touch with feelings. There is therefore a great need to engage in relaxation and meditation exercises. They help pupils make sense of the world and discover their place in it. Pearson (1998) states that these exercises are especially beneficial for the 13 to 15 year age group ‘where negative self-images seem to abound.’ On a religious level, some say that such activities allow you to contact God. Mother Teresa said, ‘We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.’ 14 Christianity’s past is rich in meditation, from the early Christian monastic practice of Lectio divina, the 14th century ‘Cloud of Unknowing’ treatise, in the 16th century Ignatian meditation and St Teresa of Avila’s meditation, to various 20th century traditions, including Quakerism. All these Christian teachings regard meditation as a form of worship. Others say these activities allow you to contact yourself, and yet others say that there is no difference between contacting God and contacting yourself. Rosemary Rivett (2004) suggests that these exercises help develop a student’s ability to: interpret, reflect, gain empathy, synthesize ideas, apply ideas and make associations, express oneself, respect others and understand oneself. In School Many pupils nowadays seem to find it difficult to relax properly; some constantly fidget, their gaze never settles, they often seem tired. Stilling exercises helps with physical relaxation as well as allowing a young person the opportunity to feel more mentally and emotionally calm. It is only when you are more fully at peace that you are in a position to reflect and develop insight and to deal with your problems or worries. Pupils’ feedback The feedback was requested so that I could monitor how students felt and act on any suggestions. It was given anonymously on paper, unless they wanted to give their name. Obviously I didn’t ask students to share any personal thoughts unless they wanted to. I asked whether they thought the experience was worth doing again and say why, whether or not they enjoyed it, how it could be improved and then to add any other comments they wished to make. They put a tick if they gave permission for me to use or show their comments to others. I include a representative selection, nearly all comments were positive; improvements requested were usually to be given more time to reflect whilst listening to the music, with less teacher talk! The few who didn’t like the exercises commented that they found it too difficult to concentrate or they didn’t want to let themselves think about upsetting things. (Although some students have welcomed this opportunity, even when they found themselves crying). Some mentioned it would be better with more space than a classroom allows or with more comfortable chairs. Some said they were tired afterwards but I think, on asking how much sleep they were getting, that they merely became aware of how tired they actually were beforehand. 15 Teachers doing stilling exercises in other schools have had similar results. I include a selection of their feedback comments in the appendix. From mixed ability year 9 classes doing the ‘My Special Place’ guided visualisation: I was very relaxed. I felt as though I was asleep but still conscious. I really enjoyed the experience because it was really helpful and made me forget about all of my problems. I relaxed loads even though the chair was quite hard. I really enjoyed the experience. It was the first time I’d ever done it. It was different. I’d love to do it again. I wish I had been left longer, I have forgotten some of my worries. I completely relaxed throughout the whole thing. I did enjoy it. I went to a field full of tents with my friends all around me. I think it’s very helpful to me because I can’t get to sleep at night because I’m still stressed from the day. The box idea was good, but maybe you could bury the box so it will never be seen again. I enjoyed the experience because it gave you a brief time to concentrate on what you were worrying about, and throw away all you didn’t want or need. I was conscious, yet I felt like I was dreaming or actually being there when I was asked to go to a place. I went to various happy places, holidays, etc. I felt safe and I had no worries. I went to a brook that is near my house. I go there when I need to have some time to myself. I felt that I could unwind, and now I’m ready for a busy day of school. I don’t think it needs to be improved. I enjoyed all of it and would like to do it again. From the following year’s mixed ability year 9 classes doing the ‘Prayer Beads’ guided visualisation: I enjoyed it because it relaxed me and helped me concentrate on something that usually I wouldn’t have time to think about. I think we should do more of these exercises in RE because it does help me understand more about what people go through in their religion more than anything like a textbook could give us. I think we should have more lessons on the prayer exercise because you could relax and let your worries out. I feel much better now! Yes I did enjoy the prayer beads experience very much it moved me. It was like weight lifting off my shoulders, I was in my own little world with the people I wanted in it. Nothing could go wrong or hurt me. (She had cried whilst doing the exercise). 16 I really prefer doing a ‘prayer experience’, it gives some time to reflect on our lives, something we don’t get to do often. Yes, it was a good experience. I was thinking about my non-identical twin who died and I never knew him. And I lost a friend who was my first friend in my life. (3 ticks given as permission to use this feedback) I did enjoy the experience, though because it was non-religious I tried to adopt it to my beliefs, … to be thanking, apologising and requesting to God. This exercise was very good. Having the beads in my hand helped me focus on the one thing. It made me look deep into my soul. It made me more appreciative of my loved ones. I really enjoyed the exercise and I wouldn’t change anything, except to make it a few minutes longer. I felt it easy to relax, I felt calm and collected and the music was very helpful. I found thanking for the things we had, quite emotional. But when we moved onto the next bead, I felt better for thanking. It was a calming experience and I feel better that I have done it. I did enjoy the prayer experience because it was a chance to get in touch with your real feelings. I want more time to be added. I found it very relaxing and gave me time to think. It made you think about just one thing not lots of different things. It made me feel spiritual. Nothing should be changed. I like focusing my mind on one thing at a time. 17 Safeguards for Stilling Exercises and Guided Meditations Exercises in schools should be religion-neutral. If not, this must be stated and the reasons for it explained. Sometimes it may be advisable to discuss with the Head whether parental permission should be requested. The Head should also approve of the exercises used. If these exercises are new to you then try them out first with a class with whom you have a good, trusting relationship. Always make positive suggestions that make the student feel safe, secure, relaxed and comfortable, do not use any negative terms. The theme of the exercise should focus on positive and enjoyable experiences over which the pupil has full control. Ensure that students know that no one will enter the room once the exercise starts. Put a large ‘Do Not Disturb’ notice on the door; let other staff know this also applies to them! Stand by the door initially and as much as possible throughout the exercise. Ensure that all phones are switched off or disconnected. Get pupils to clear their desks. Check that any music you are using is set to the correct level and is at the right track. Explain the aims of the stilling and/or meditation, answer any questions beforehand. Students are invited to join in with the activities but should not be forced to. If they do not feel able to join in they must understand that they should not interfere with the rest of the group’s participation; they must remain silent and not look around at anyone else. They may perhaps just rest quietly with their eyes closed. I have found that usually these pupils do join in once the activity has begun. If you are worried about potentially disruptive behaviour, a preliminary ‘try-out’ session for a few minutes, just observing the breath, would give students a chance to prove themselves capable of cooperation. If not, these pupils may then agree that they need to leave the room until they feel able to participate without disturbing others. However I have found that pupils who usually find it difficult to work quietly in class can sit quietly in these exercises and really enjoy them and find them worthwhile. Have pupils sitting comfortably, preferably with their spine supported by the back of the chair, feet flat on the floor, shoulders and hands relaxed. Suggest that they close their eyes or let their gaze fall to the desk, assure them that no one is looking at them. The aim is to maintain ‘alert restfulness’, being physically relaxed yet alert. You could experiment with them lying on the floor but this is maybe more suitable for groups used to this work and keen to develop it! 18 Students with a blocked nose or a breathing problem can be asked to concentrate on thinking about their body relaxing into the chair, rather than concentrating on the breath if they prefer. Tell students not to worry if they find themselves thinking of other things during an exercise. Tell them to not pursue the thought, just to be aware of it and to let it go, as if it were a cloud floating across the sky. Ensure the pupils are able to relax and be comfortable with stilling before going on to guided meditations. David Fontana suggests that the teacher centres themselves before leading a meditation by briefly turning their mind inwards, relaxing their bodies and taking three or four calming breaths. Write scripts in the present tense. With a guided fantasy it is important that students have adequate background knowledge of the setting of the story in order for it to be meaningful to them. This may require that they have seen pictures or photographs of the environment concerned, or an opportunity to handle relevant artefacts, listen to typical music, etc. In guided meditations appeal to the five senses: maybe have music/sounds of waves, water, birdsong, or suggest the sounds that can be heard – e.g. the waves lapping on the shore, water trickling over stones; possibly even use a vaporiser to introduce suitable aromas or suggest the smells in the air, e.g. the smell of flowers, the ocean, the woods; note the visual details and colours of the image and include suggestions for touch – e.g. the warmth of sun on your skin, the gentle warm breeze, your hands feeling the warm soft sand, resting on the soft earth. Keep the meditation as simple as possible; do not allow the teacher’s input to be too wordy. Ensure that you remain silent, maybe with music playing, for some minutes to allow time for students to become absorbed in their experience. Ensure a clear ritual for beginning and ending these exercises, as suggested in the scripts. End a guided meditation slowly and carefully. Use reassuring words to encourage the students to wake up feeling refreshed, relaxed and alert, ready for the rest of the day. If students feel that they have fallen asleep it could be suggested that this is probably because they are already tired and need to get more sleep! If a pupil still has their eyes shut after a few minutes, Eric Hall suggests that a gentle squeeze on the wrist will quickly bring them back to the room. After a meditation has finished try to maintain a moment of silent reflection. Provide an opportunity for pupils to express their responses to these activities, with respect to their right to privacy; let them know that all responses are accepted as being valid. There may be a need for the teacher to be available to talk to pupils who request a private chat about issues raised. 19 ‘The right to privacy and the sanctity of personal thought must be respected at all times, but many pupils value a few moments after an exercise in which to share reactions with a trusted partner, to communicate opinions about the exercise with the whole class or to express responses in writing or other media.’ Michael Beesley (2003) Do not overuse guided meditation exercises, as used properly they require pupils to make a personal investment in them and it can be an intense experience. However with regular disciplined practice these skills will become more effective. Students could perhaps write their own short scripts for a guided meditation, or write a continuation for one they have experienced. 20 General Follow Up Work Students need to assess what methods of stilling they find most effective and discover why they think this is. Hopefully with each exercise they will feel more rested and peaceful; they will feel their ability to retreat to a safe personal space grows. The teacher should ask for anonymous written feedback from students about their experiences, how they felt then and now, what they liked or disliked, and how they think the exercises can be improved. Students can be helped to articulate their experiences to any meditation by creating a picture using paints, collage, computers, etc or by writing a poem or short story. A class picture or poem could be created by initially drawing a small image or writing a few phrases to express their own personal ideas, then going into pairs to share this work and seeing how the two contributions can be amalgamated, using the main images or key phrases. Groups of four are then formed, again the ideas are shared and the group discusses how they can be amalgamated. The class teacher can then use the groups’ work to craft a final picture or poem for display with the help of suggestions from the class. Students can be asked what new knowledge and understanding they have gained or whether their thoughts or feelings about the topic studied have changed. Each student can keep a Reflection book; this is a record of his or her private thoughts and experiences, written notes and drawings that they share with the teacher with their permission. Pupils can bring in music which they think is suitable for a future class stilling, or even compose some! Likewise pupils could have a go at creating a future class guided meditation, developing a theme being studied, working in groups they could trial it with each other, under teacher supervision. 21 Stilling the Restless Mind An Introduction for Pupils When first explaining the aims of stilling and/or guided meditations to pupils the teacher needs to explain that our conscious mind tends to be full of constant chatter -the many varied thoughts of everyday life. We get so used to this that we tend not to realise that we listen to this noise most of the time and that these thoughts tend to influence what we do and how we feel. Our restless minds leap from one thought to another in a haphazard way. We find it difficult to block unwanted and unhelpful thoughts. Our minds have been compared to being like chattering, screeching monkeys leaping wildly around the trees. Or it could be said that ‘we are like riders on wild horses’, (Hughes, 1996). Our minds are anything but peaceful, yet they dominate our lives. Yet our thoughts form our inner world and it is this that influences the way we see the world and react to it. They dictate how we see our place in the world and how we decide on our own value and worth. Scientists have studied the effects of meditation on the brain and they have found that it is a unique state, different from relaxation (Dunn, Hartigan and Mikulas). Its benefits are therefore unique. Religions have been concerned with ways to help people achieve peace and harmony in their minds. Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism are well known to teach ways to gain control over the chattering mind. However Christianity has also been concerned with this, the Orthodox church has a tradition of religious icons (pictures) for the worshipper to focus on as a means of blocking out all other thoughts; the Roman Catholic church has statues and crucifixes; there are also retreats, the Jesus prayer and times of silence in worship. Prayer beads are used to focus the worshipper’s mind in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. The suggested stilling exercises need not take up much time at all and as pupils become more used to them they will find that they can stay relaxed and focused for longer. If they practise at home it would initially mean spending only a few minutes at a time, perhaps using an exercise such as watching, then counting, the breath (see ‘Meditation at Home’). The teacher needs to remind pupils that when they are doing a stilling or a guided meditation they may find that their minds wander off and they find themselves thinking about other things, often about silly trivial things, such as what they’re going to have for tea. All the student needs to do is to let the thought go without pursuing it and return to the focus of the exercise. It may help to think of the unwanted thoughts as clouds crossing the sky, or as leaves floating away on a river. 22 We become still by merely acknowledging our thoughts, not by trying to stop them, because then we would still be doing something. You watch your mind. Stilling and guided meditations are probably new experiences for most pupils, which has value in itself. Apart from their intrinsic value they provide empathetic experiences by which the pupils can learn in a meaningful and memorable way. 23 Stilling: Relaxing Your Body This exercise aims to provide a script, which a teacher could use for stilling, it can be adapted as the teacher thinks best. The exercise is primarily concerned with helping the students learn to relax their bodies, necessary before being able to relax their minds. It would take about 20 to 25 minutes if the script is read slowly, with appropriate pauses. Once students are more used to relaxing, this exercise can be shortened to allow more time for a guided meditation. (See ‘A Simple Stilling’ and ‘A Guided Meditation: My Special Place’ and ‘Variations on ‘My Special Place’ Guided Meditations’). *Remember to put a Do Not Disturb notice on the door and check that all phones are turned off/disconnected. ‘Sit comfortably, with your bottom into the corner of the chair, allowing the back of your chair to fully support your own back. Place your feet flat on the floor to ground your body. Rest your hands on your lap, palms up, gently curled open. I’d like you to feel completely safe in this room, no one is going to come in, no one will be looking at you. Perhaps you can shut your eyes or look down now. Feel the chair supporting you, feel the floor under your feet, enjoy just sitting there comfortably. Without changing your breathing at all, for a few moments notice your breath gently entering your body and effortlessly leaving it. This is the breath of life that keeps you alive. Air filling your lungs and leaving, without you ever having to think about it. It is almost as if the air is breathing you. Now take a slightly longer breath in and out, through your nose if you can. Perhaps you notice how the air is cooler as it passes your nostrils and is warmer on the exhale. Breathe in a little deeper if you want, without forcing yourself. Feel the air going into your lungs, filling your body with healing oxygen. Be aware of slowly exhaling, breathing out all that your body doesn’t need. Enjoy the feeling of breathing. As you start to feel more focused I’d like you to scan your body and be aware of how it feels. In your mind’s eye visit each part of your body, starting with your head. How does it feel? Is there any tightness, maybe around the temples or not? Is your head balanced onto the top of your spine or are you jutting out your chin? Don’t necessarily do anything to change your posture unless you want to. Just be aware of how these things are. Travel down to your neck and throat, to your shoulders and the top of your back. Is there tightness anywhere? Are your shoulders hunched up towards your ears? Go down your spine, does it feel free and easy or is it tight? Notice any niggles. Are you aware of your heart beating in your chest? Does your tummy feel settled or are you hungry? Are there any cramps? Continue your body scan down through your hips to your thighs, knees, calves, ankles and feet. Register how they feel. 24 This is how you are now. You may be carrying the tension from worries in various places in your body. It is valuable to be aware of this. You can now move on to release these tensions. Quietly take a slightly deeper breath in and slowly exhale. ....... Be aware of the air filling a little more of your lungs than usual, as you draw it slightly deeper down into your lungs. Let your breathing feel like the rhythm of the waves, breaking on the shore, then going back out to sea before coming back again. Breathing (this section isn’t necessary but students may enjoy trying it, with the obvious warnings to those who may have problems with breathing). If you feel ready you could try to count your breath. Without straining, breathe in, through your nose if possible, for a count to suit your breathing, maybe you can slowly count to 3 as you breathe in, 1, 2, 3, and count the same, 1, 2, 3, as you breathe out. (Continue with this for a few breaths). You will find that you have a natural pause between the in breath and the out breath. Be aware of that pause and try to slowly count in your breath for 3, then hold your breath for a count of 1, and breath out slowly for a count of 3, holding the breath out for a count of 1. Continue this counting for a few breaths if it feels right. Only if the previous exercise was easy for you, you could try to a further exercise. Remembering to never strain, try to make your breath out a little bit longer than your breath in. Perhaps you could slowly count in your head, 1, 2, 3, as you breathe in, hold, 1, and then 1, 2, 3, 4, as you breathe out, hold, 1. Adjust your breathing to suit what feels best for you. (Do this for a few breaths). Slowly let your breathing return to normal..... Visualisation for Relaxation Imagine that a gentle, pleasant warmth is now entering your feet from the ground. As you feel this gentle warmth you find that your feet become more relaxed and heavy, you don’t really want to move them. Be aware of the ground supporting them. The warmth slowly travels up your ankles, into your calves, to your knees and to your thighs, making your legs feel heavy and pleasantly relaxed. You don’t really want to move them. Be aware of the chair supporting them. Breathe in a little more deeply, without straining try to take the air down to the bottom of your lungs. Let your ribcage expand as your lungs fill, then fall back as you breathe out slowly. Feel the warmth moving up your spine, easing each vertebra and helping your spine rest more comfortably. The relaxing warmth spreads around to your tummy and chest, easing out any tensions. Feel your shoulders soften and relax further down your back, dropping a little away from your ears. The warmth gently moves down your arms and into your hands and your fingers. 25 Your arms and hands are heavier now, your fingers may curl naturally around your palm. You don’t want to move them. The warmth travels up into your neck softening and releasing any tightness. Up into your head and slowly over your scalp, a lovely pleasant warmth. You can feel it ease your temples and release your scalp. Your lower jaw can fall free a little. Your head can settle, perfectly balanced and weightless on the top of your spine. Finally the warmth travels gently across your face, smoothing out any worry lines. Feel the muscles of the face soften and relax. Be aware of the whole of your body as one being, working in total harmony for you. This is your wonderful body. It cares for you as you care for it. You are completely relaxed, there is no need to do anything. If you find yourself thinking about anything then acknowledge the thought and let it go, as if you are watching clouds float across a blue sky. You are completely safe and secure. Enjoy every minute of this meditation. Be at peace. ( Gentle music could now be played, gradually increase the volume and after several minutes (5?) start to decrease the volume as the first sign for the group to know that the meditation is beginning to finish.) Without moving, or opening your eyes, bring your minds back to this room and back to your bodies. Be aware of your body resting in your chair. In a moment you will be waking up feeling relaxed and refreshed, ready for the rest of the day. Keeping your eyes shut, take in a deeper breath. Breathe it out with a big sigh if you want. Start to move your fingers and your toes. Lift up your arms above your head and stretch out. Yawn if you want. Feel relaxed and restored. Smile and open your eyes.’ 2627 A Simple Stilling This exercise is for teachers who want a shortened exercise. Instead of, or before, listening to music the teacher could introduce his/her own guided meditation on the subject being studied by the class. For example an English class studying animals used this exercise after researching facts about their animal. They were invited to imagine safely seeing the animal before them, observing its features, looking into its eyes. Then it was suggested that for a few minutes they (again, safely) became the animal and looked at the world from behind its eyes. What do they see, how do they feel? This is also useful for discussions on empathy. ‘Sit in a comfortable position as usual. Without changing your breathing at all, notice your breath gently entering your body and effortlessly leaving it. In your mind’s eye scan your body and notice how it feels, don’t do anything unless you want to, just be aware of how you feel. Now take a slightly longer breath in and out, through your nose if you can. Enjoy the feeling of breathing. Feel more relaxed and at peace with yourself. *As you breathe in imagine that you are breathing in all the good things you want in your life. As you breathe out imagine that you are breathing out all you don’t want in your life. Breathe in the energy to accept yourself as you are. Breathe out any doubts and fears. Feel your confidence growing inside you. Imagine yourself successfully doing the things that you want to do. Feel happy and stronger. Continue to concentrate on this breathing whilst you listen to some music (and/or the guided meditation) for a few minutes… It is time to return to this room. Wriggle your fingers and toes. Take a deep breath in and out. Wake up feeling refreshed and confident to be yourself.’ * An alternative suggestion could be to imagine the breath entering the nose as a pure white light, which of course contains all the colours of the rainbow. Suggest that they imagine this light filling their body, filling them with joy and a sense of peace. As they breathe out they can imagine all the negativity of their lives being carried away. 28 A Guided Meditation: My Special Place This exercise may be useful for a teacher trying a guided meditation for the first time who wants a full script to follow. It may possibly be more effective if the students have already tried the ‘Relaxing your Body’ exercise on a previous occasion. It would take about 15 to 20 minutes if the script is read slowly, with appropriate pauses. Obviously it can be adapted as the teacher thinks best. It can be used as an introduction to work on the special places of religions. *Remember to put a Do Not Disturb notice on the door and check all phones are turned off/disconnected. Check the music is set at correct (low) volume. ‘If you want to, I would like you to give yourself permission to take a few minutes rest and allow yourself the chance to relax. It would be best if you sat with your bottom into the corner of the chair, with the back of the chair fully supporting your own back. But if you preferred you could rest your arms and head on the desk. Place your feet flat on the floor. Check that your shoulders aren’t hunched up, let your shoulder blades fall down your back. Your arms hang relaxed, resting your hands on your lap, palms up, you will find that your fingers naturally curl a little around your palm. Gently close your eyes or let your gaze fall to the desk. I’d like you to feel completely safe in this room, no one is going to come in, no one will be looking at you. Perhaps you can shut your eyes now. Feel the chair supporting you, feel the floor under your feet, enjoy just sitting there comfortably, you have nothing to do. In your mind’s eye scan your body and notice how it feels, don’t do anything unless you want to, just be aware of how you feel. Without changing your breathing at all, notice your breath gently entering your body and effortlessly leaving it. Where are you breathing most – in the upper parts of your chest or are you breathing deeper into your lungs? Now take a slightly longer breath in and out, through your nose if you can. Perhaps you notice how the air is cooler as it passes your nostrils and is warmer on the exhale. Breathe in a little deeper if you want, without forcing yourself. Feel the air going into your lungs, filling your body with healing oxygen. Be aware of slowly exhaling, breathing out all that your body doesn’t need. Enjoy the feeling of breathing, .... Now imagine a gentle pleasant warmth entering your feet from the ground. As you feel this gentle warmth you find that your feet are more relaxed and heavy, you don’t really want to move them. The warmth slowly travels up your legs, making them feel pleasantly relaxed. Breathe in a little more deeply, taking the air down to the bottom of your lungs. Breathe out slowly and feel the warmth moving up your back, down your arms and into your hands. Your arms and hands are heavier now, your shoulders can relax more. The floor and your chair are supporting your body, you need do 29 nothing. Your head rests lightly on the top of your spine. You feel comfortable and safe and relaxed. As you take your next breath in, imagine that this breath is bringing in a healing ray of light entering your body from the top of your head and moving down your body and out through your feet into the ground as you breathe out. Do this a few times if you want. As you breathe in you are breathing in all the good things you need. As you breathe out, you are breathing out all you don’t want in your life, any worries or problems.......’ Give the students a few minutes to concentrate on this breathing meditation. Once the students are relaxed the guided visualisation/meditation can begin, for example: ‘Now allow yourself to leave this room in your mind’s eye. Go to a special place where you want to be, where you are very happy and safe. Perhaps it is somewhere that you have been to on holiday, or somewhere you go to when you need peace and quiet. Perhaps it is somewhere that you have yet to go to. Listen to the sounds in your special place. Maybe you can hear the waves softly breaking on a beautiful seashore or maybe a gently babbling brook. Are there birds singing or is the wind blowing through trees? Feel the ground soft under you, perhaps you can feel the gentle warmth of the sun on your face. Near you, there is a beautiful gold box with a carved lid. Open the lid and put into the box all of your worries and concerns. Now shut the lid down and leave your worries there. We’ll be coming back to the box, but for a few minutes you can enjoy relaxing without any worries at all. Stay in your special place for a few minutes, feeling happiness spreading through your body, and just enjoy resting there while I play you some music........... (Play music, eg. ‘Pure Peace’ by Llewellyn & Kendle, for some minutes (5?), then reduce the volume again slowly, start talking when the music is just fading.) Now go back to the golden box by you and, only if you want, open the lid and then decide what things you might want to take out of it. You could leave all your worries there or perhaps you might want to choose one or two things that you feel you can deal with. You decide and then close the lid again. It’s time to leave your special place, it will always be there for you, you can go to it whenever you want. Without opening your eyes, bring your mind back into this room, be aware of the feeling of the chair under you and the others in the room. You are feeling relaxed, energised and refreshed, ready for the rest of the day. Wriggle your toes and fingers. Now enjoy taking in a deeper breath, yawn if you want, stretch out, smile and slowly open your eyes.’ 30 Variations on ‘My Special Place’ Guided Meditation These ideas follow on from a typical stilling exercise as described below. It may possibly be more effective if the students have already tried the ‘Relaxing your Body’ exercise on a previous occasion. It would take about 15 to 20 minutes if the script were read slowly, with appropriate pauses. Obviously it can be adapted as the teacher thinks best. *Remember to put a Do Not Disturb notice on the door and check all phones are turned off/disconnected. Check the music is set at correct (low) volume. ‘If you want to, I would like you to give yourself permission to take a few minutes rest and allow yourself the chance to relax. It would be best if you sat with your bottom into the corner of the chair, with the back of the chair fully supporting your own back. But if you preferred you could rest your arms and head on the desk. Place your feet flat on the floor. Check that your shoulders aren’t hunched up, let your shoulder blades fall down your back. Your arms hang relaxed, resting your hands on your lap, palms up, you will find that your fingers naturally curl a little around your palm. Gently close your eyes or let your gaze fall to the desk. I’d like you to feel completely safe in this room, no one is going to come in, no one will be looking at you. Perhaps you can shut your eyes now. Feel the chair supporting you, feel the floor under your feet, enjoy just sitting there comfortably, you have nothing to do. In your mind’s eye scan your body and notice how it feels, don’t do anything unless you want to, just be aware of how you feel. Without changing your breathing at all, notice your breath gently entering your body and effortlessly leaving it. Where are you breathing most – in the upper parts of your chest or are you breathing deeper into your lungs? Now take a slightly longer breath in and out, through your nose if you can. Perhaps you notice how the air is cooler as it passes your nostrils and is warmer on the exhale. Breathe in a little deeper if you want, without forcing yourself. Feel the air going into your lungs, filling your body with healing oxygen. Be aware of slowly exhaling, breathing out all that your body doesn’t need. Enjoy the feeling of breathing, .... Now imagine a gentle pleasant warmth entering your feet from the ground. As you feel this gentle warmth you find that your feet are more relaxed and heavy, you don’t really want to move them. The warmth slowly travels up your legs, making them feel pleasantly relaxed. Breathe in a little more deeply, taking the air down to the bottom of your lungs. Breathe out slowly and feel the warmth moving up your back, down your arms and into your hands. Your arms and hands are heavier now, your shoulders can relax more. The floor and your chair are supporting your body, you need do nothing. Your head rests lightly on the top of your spine. You feel comfortable and safe and relaxed. 31 As you take your next breath in, imagine that this breath is bringing in a healing ray of light entering your body from the top of your head and moving down your body and out through your feet into the ground as you breathe out. Do this a few times if you want. As you breathe in you are breathing in all the good things you need. As you breathe out, you are breathing out all you don’t want in your life, any worries or problems.......’ Give the students a few minutes to concentrate on this breathing meditation. Once the students are relaxed the guided visualisation/meditation can begin, for example: ‘Now allow yourself to leave this room in your mind’s eye. Go to a special place where you want to be, where you are very happy and safe. Perhaps it is somewhere that you have been to on holiday, or somewhere you go to when you need peace and quiet. Perhaps it is somewhere that you have yet to go to. Listen to the sounds in your special place. Maybe you can hear the waves softly breaking on a beautiful seashore or maybe a gently babbling brook. Are there birds singing or is the wind blowing through trees? Feel the ground soft under you, perhaps you can feel the gentle warmth of the sun on your face. Variations (1) As you enjoy being in your safe place you can invite someone special to join you here… Walk up to them to say hello, take their hand in yours. You are going to tell them one thing that you want to say. Look into their eyes and say this message. They are going to reply to you. Listen to what they say and be glad that you have the chance to be together… (Perhaps play some music now) It is time to say goodbye to your friend now, walk away, remembering their message, knowing that you can both return if you want to. Without opening your eyes, bring your mind back into this room, be aware of the feeling of the chair under you and the others in the room. You are feeling relaxed, energised and refreshed, ready for the rest of the day. Wriggle your toes and fingers. Now enjoy taking in a deeper breath, yawn if you want, stretch out, smile and slowly open your eyes.’ (2) As you enjoy being in your safe place you look around to find something special to take away with you. Maybe you see an unusual pebble or a small shell. Maybe you find a beautiful flower or leaf. Pick up this thing and put it into your pocket or bag. It will stay with you when you leave, you will have it with you to remind you of the safe feeling of your special place. (Perhaps play some music now). 32 It is time to turn away from your place and return back to the classroom, knowing that you can return whenever you want to. Without opening your eyes, bring your mind back into this room, be aware of the feeling of the chair under you and the others in the room. You are feeling relaxed, energised and refreshed, ready for the rest of the day. Wriggle your toes and fingers. Now enjoy taking in a deeper breath, yawn if you want, stretch out, smile and slowly open your eyes.’ (3) As you enjoy spending time feeling happy and safe in your special place you become aware of a feeling of gratitude warming your heart. You say ‘thank you’ as you count all your blessings in life. The warm feeling spreads out from your centre down your arms and legs and up into your head as your whole body offers thanks for your existence. (4) Instead of putting your worries in a box during a guided visualisation the students could be encouraged to focus on a pebble and imagine that all their worries are transferred to it as they hold it in their hands, then the pebble can be thrown away, maybe even taking a contemplative walk outside to find a suitable place to do this. (5) Or worries/grudges/confessions could be written on a piece of paper and then the teacher could burn or shred them, unread of course. (This sometimes happens in churches on Ash Wednesday.) 33 Guided Meditation on Prayer Beads Many religions, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism, use beads to help focus the mind. This exercise is adapted from the one in Sue Phillips’ ‘Theatre of Learning’. It is necessary to make or buy a class set of small strings of beads. Before pupils enter the room the teacher needs to put one on each desk. As the pupils enter the room ask that they do not pick up the beads until requested. Tell them that in this exercise they are going to consider how people use beads in order to focus their mind on one thing at a time in order to pray. Emphasize that they will not be praying, as their thoughts will not be directed towards God, unless they want to do this. (Pupils do adapt this exercise if they have a belief, see ‘Pupils’ Feedback’) They are going to be asked to think of some special people in their lives. First to think of the things that they are grateful for and then visualise who they would want to thank, to think of whom they would like to sorry to and finally to make a request for something that they need, as opposed to want, in their life. Take the class through a stilling exercise to settle and focus them. Ask the students to quietly pick up their string of beads and to hold one bead between the finger and thumb. ‘As you hold this one bead decide on one thing for which you are grateful, just one from among the many you could choose. Imagine this one thing, see it clearly in your mind’s eye, and feel a sense of gratitude for it. Let this feeling fill your body, breathe in gratitude and breathe out your silent thanks. (Wait a moment or two). Now take the next bead between your finger and thumb, think of the special person or persons who gave you this gift. Imagine that they are in front of you now. Tell them ‘thank you’, share with them your feeling of gratitude, let it go from you to them… Take the next bead on your string and think about something that you are sorry for. Maybe it is something that you have done or said, or maybe something that you have not done or said. Imagine that the person you need to say sorry to is before you now. They are smiling and looking at you. Take your gaze to their face and look into their eyes, open your heart to them and say ‘sorry’. As you do you feel lighter and happier as you know that they forgive you completely… Take the next bead and think of the one thing that you need most in your life. Imagine how happy you would be if you had it. Now ask for it. Imagine that you now have what you need, it is yours… Hold your beads in your palm and close your fingers over them. Hold in your hand your thanks, your apology and your wish… Now open your hand and put the beads down. Take a deeper breath in and out, stretch and slowly open your eyes, feeling refreshed and alert. 34 Rainbow Meditation Students may focus on the rainbow after a study of the meanings to be found in the Old Testament story of the rainbow and of God’s promise. They can discuss folklore about rainbows. They may have actually created or drawn one before the meditation. The meditation can invite students to imagine a rainbow, or focus on one given as a picture or photo, and imagine themselves moving through it. At each colour they can reflect on how that colour makes them feel, starting with red. Then the teacher can invite the students to imagine all the colours mingling together to become a pure white light filling their bodies with its renewing energy and give them a few minutes in peace to listen to some music before slowly ending the session. As a follow up the pupils could write about or draw what is in their pot of gold, i.e. what their aspiration is. They could decide what else the rainbow could signify as an ideal for the human race. 35 Candle Meditation Sit the pupils in a circle and place a candle in the centre or a small tea light by each student. The students are taken through the initial stages of settling them into a stilling exercise and then are asked to merely gaze at the lit candle. They could use the candle solely as a focus for their personal meditation or they could use the image of the flame as below. After a few minutes of gazing at the flame the students could be asked to shut their eyes and ‘see’ the flame in their mind’s eye for as long as possible. If they lose the image they can look at the real flame again for a while. Or they can continue to ‘look’ at the flame in their imagination and follow how the image and colours change. In itself this activity provides a meditation in that it occupies the students’ attention and discourages other thoughts. (After a while the teacher could introduce the idea of looking at the flame without blinking until the eyes water. This exercise will require a supply of tissues! But is apparently good for clearing tear ducts and its novelty may interest reluctant students.) Have students reflect on what they enjoyed about the experience and how the image and colours changed. The value of this meditation is that it encourages the student to solely concern himself/herself with the candle flame excluding all other thoughts. It also helps improve their skills of visualisation by keeping the image of the burning flame going once they close their eyes. The flame could be used as a focal point for a guided meditation spoken by the teacher. This is an alternative to pupils shutting their eyes. A local teacher has used a large church type candle with a little barbed wire around it, as in the Amnesty International logo, when reflecting on questions to ask God. Follow up work included writing up the one question which they would most like to ask God and considering what some of the answers may be. The meditation could be written around the Christian theme of Jesus as the light of the world. 36 On Silence A Meditation on Silence 1 ‘Silence itself… has no magic. It may be just sheer emptiness, absence of words or noise or music. It may be an occasion for slumber, or it may be a dead form. But it may be an intensified pause, a vitalised hush, a creative quiet, an actual moment of mutual and reciprocal correspondence with God.’ Rufus Jones, Paths of the Spirit. For a class studying Quakerism or Christian reflection, e.g. as during ‘The Watch’ on Good Friday, or silent monastic orders, it may be useful to give them a stilling exercise which focuses on silence. It is also relevant to classes looking at Jesus’ time spent in solitude, or the revelation to Muhammad (pbuh) of the Qur’an in the silence of the cave. Other classes may like to explore silence for other reasons, even if it’s the novelty value! A guided meditation can use music whilst pupils explore the theme of the exercise given to them, but once the class gets more used to such work they may be able to enjoy having silence instead. I have found that pupils respond well to music and like to listen to it for a few moments. But there are obvious pitfalls with silence, in that it may be broken by embarrassed giggles, etc. Pupils tend not to naturally like silence -perhaps because it is sometimes imposed on a class as a punishment? But if the class agrees to give it a go, using the usual rule to not spoil the experience for others, it may bring a new dimension to their meditations. John Hammond (2005) agrees that ‘silence isn’t easy. Noise and other people don’t seem to want to leave us alone. Being present to just oneself might be scary. So it is important to carve out a silent space and use exercises to structure the experience.’ Silence can then be a source of freedom and self-understanding. Given time most pupils relish it, though for some the approach needs to be gradual. Valid follow up work may result in discussing why the students feel more comfortable with music than with silence, at least initially. Perhaps today’s society encourages us to fill up all spaces, with possessions, activities, communicating and with noise? Perhaps it’s the case that we prefer to talk than to listen? Maybe we are afraid of what we may hear? 37 A more structured meditation could be given by using the DVD obtainable from the Salvation Army, below. A Meditation on Silence 2 Play the Nooma DVD ‘Noise’ by Rob Bell, running time 10 minutes, for a Christian introduction to hearing to God’s voice in silence. This may be considered useful for those studying Christianity and communication with God Students could consider the questions raised in the film by using the following ‘thinking sheet’, which asks more general questions applicable to believer and nonbeliever. NOISE What does Bernie Krause, the man who records nature sounds for film and television, say about how our world has changed? What kind of noise do you have in your life? Do you ever surround yourself with noise intentionally? If so, why do you think we do this? When was the last time you spent some time in silence? Do you sometimes avoid silence because you’re afraid of what thoughts may come into your head? 38 What are some of the things in your daily life you could change to eliminate some of the noise? A Meditation on Silence 3 ‘Drop thy still dews of quietness, Till all our strivings cease; Take from our souls the strain and stress, And let our ordered lives confess The beauty of thy peace.’ John Greenleaf Whittier, Paths of the Spirit. Pupils could consider this quote and then listen to the hymn, followed by silence, in a meditation. General Follow Up Work Students could express their experiences to any meditation by creating a picture using paints, collage, computers, etc or by writing a poem or short story. A class picture or poem could be created by initially drawing a small image or writing a few phrases to express their own personal ideas, then going into pairs to share this work and seeing how the two contributions can be amalgamated, using the main images or key phrases. Groups of four are then formed, again the ideas are shared and the group discusses how they can be amalgamated. The class teacher can then use the groups’ work to craft a final picture or poem for display with the help of suggestions from the class. 39 A Few Other Ideas for using Stilling/Guided Meditations *Photos or posters could be displayed in the classroom to help pupils visualise a certain scene. I enclose some photos of a rural Shropshire Spring morning which may provide a start. Pupils could be encouraged to build up their own picture bank of special places, perhaps finding pictures from holiday brochures, magazines and the Internet. *In order to provide a special environment for stilling and guided meditations the teacher could try rearranging the classroom furniture if possible. Once the pupils get used to the arrangements it can be done quite quickly. Candles, flowers, incense, pictures may also be added as appropriate. Tracks of the class’s favourite music could be played, one track for the entrance of the class and possible room preparation, another for stilling, and another for the guided meditation. Pupils will find that if the same music is played it will help them settle more quickly into the activity. *Guided Fantasies can be written as a story about whatever aspect of religion you are studying. For example pupils could imagine that they are part of the crowd who wonder what all the fuss is about as a man on a donkey approaches the gates of Jerusalem one Passover. Don’t forget to refer to as many of the senses as possible, for example the cheers of the crowd, the jostling past you, being caught up in the crowd and carried along with it towards the towering gates of Jerusalem, the swishing of the palm branches, being near enough to touch the donkey as it passes you by. *Personal reflections could be recorded in a private journal, maybe shared in confidence with the teacher. Pupils could record their feelings about experiential learning and note down any inspirational thoughts that occur to them or are discussed in class. Pupils who have done this have said that the journal was one of their most treasured schoolbooks. *Using clear parameters in a visualisation can make it easier for younger children, for example talk of a lying on a red towel on the golden beach or by a round blue pool under a yellow sun, walk down cool white marble steps onto green wet grass. *‘You are there’ guided meditations can be written about any time or incident providing the guidelines are followed, i.e. pupils become involved if they want, they are in control of their experience, all language should be positive and as nonthreatening as possible, the teacher has written and rehearsed the script, music is set ready, ground rules are explained – silence throughout, don’t rush the finish, maintain a moment’s silence afterwards, debrief with respect for privacy and with positive affirmations from the teacher, explain the aims of the exercise. *The guided story, ‘Wondering about a message from God’, from the article written in the RE Today Services publication ‘Developing Secondary Re: Questions about God’ 2004, p26, has turned up in articles on the web and in lesson plans at schools I have visited. It involves an angel bringing a message from God to the pupil; the message tells that ‘You are loved’. 40 Variations have been developed such as: *A Message from God: ‘You are in a chair and watching TV and then you see the countryside/city around you appear on the TV. You realise that you’re flying over your village/town/city – there is a breeze and a piece of paper floats on the breeze to you in your chair. It’s a message from God, you read it carefully and as your chair floats back to your room you realise what your reply must be. Give the students a piece of paper, on one side write what God’s message was and on the other they can write their reply.’ The adapted version is more open-ended in that the pupils choose what God’s message is. The responses could be used (anonymously) for discussion, maybe grouping responses according to similarities, finding subtitles for the theme of each group. How do these groups reflect the traditional teachings of Christianity, or other religions? Are they basically variations on the ‘You are loved’ message or not? The poem ‘The Interview With God’ could follow on from this work (see second section on general ideas for a copy of the poem and some suggestions for personal reflection). This poem considers what God’s message to humanity is. There is also a website www.theinterviewwithgod.co.uk with beautiful pictures for this poem. ‘HockeyNut’ on the TES virtual staffroom suggested a stilling exercise for year 8 Buddhism, which the class enjoyed. *The Pathway to a Special Place: ‘Get them to clear their desks, sit comfortably – feet firmly on the floor and hands on the desk. Ask them to close their eyes and play some soft meditative music. Firstly get them to concentrate on their breathing and then get them to breathe in to the count of two and out to the count of two. When they seem settled take them on a guided walk in their imagination. I usually ask them to imagine they are at the beginning of a path. They need to look at the path – what colour it is, what it is made of, etc. They walk slowly down the path looking at everything around them. At each stage encourage them to look in detail at everything around them. They arrive at a door in a wall, go through the door and then they are in a place that is special to them. Once you have spent a couple of minutes exploring the place they are in, lead them back through the door and back down the path still taking in everything around them. Usually takes about five minutes. They can open their eyes. I then give them time to discuss their experiences with a partner, share it with the class if they want and then write it up in their books. You have to insist that they all take part and if anyone feels they cannot or will not take part sensibly remove them from the class.’ *‘SerenMai29’ on the web suggested that the teacher does a stilling exercise on any random object, pupils observe it and note all its details. Then get the pupils to suggest what the object reminds them of or makes them feel like. Afterwards the class can discuss how just like the object has different interpretations so too does the Bible. 41 Meditation on the Parable of the Prodigal Son After a first reading of this parable, Luke, 15 v. 11 – 32, the pupils can be led in a guided visualisation to help them understand the intrinsic teaching of this story. Lead a stilling exercise to settle the pupils first. ‘Imagine that you are the younger child of a wealthy family, go up to your father, whom you know loves you very much, and ask him for your inheritance. You tell him that you need this as you plan to travel to new exciting places and to meet new interesting people. Your father gives you your inheritance, you feel so happy as you leave, making lots of plans to enjoy yourself and have fun. You throw wonderful parties; you have lots of friends who care about you. But now your money is starting to run out. Still you’ve no need to worry, you’ve got lots of good friends. You ask them for help but they go and leave you alone. You have no home and no food, so you have to find a job. You are sent to feed the pigs but you are so hungry you find yourself thinking that you would gladly eat the pigs’ food. Realising that your father’s servants have good food to eat you decide that you must go home and ask to be a servant there, it would be better than this. You return home full of sorrow at your past mistakes. You hope that your father will hire you. You wonder what everyone will think. Suddenly you see your father in the distance, he’s running towards you. Is he cross? But no, you can see him smiling at you; he puts his arms around you and kisses you in welcome! You are puzzled by this warmth and apologise to your father for all your selfishness. He doesn’t seem to bother about this, he is just happy to have you home. Joy fills your heart as you realise that he has completely forgiven you and wants to give a big party to celebrate your homecoming. You are home, safe and happy and loved. Reflect on how the younger child felt for a few moments… now we turn our attention to the elder one. Imagine that you are the elder child of a wealthy family. Your younger brother has just returned home after squandering all his inheritance on enjoying himself. You stayed at home and worked hard for your father, loyally looking after the family’s lands. You are walking home after working in the fields and you are puzzled to hear the sounds of music and partying. A servant tells you that your father is throwing a party to celebrate your younger brother’s homecoming. Anger fills your heart, why does your father welcome him when you have worked so hard and never let him down? You refuse to go into the house. Your father begs you to come in, he tells you how important you are to him, he tells you that all he has is yours. Your brother had been lost to the family; now that he is back it is right to celebrate it. You realise that your father loves you. Reflect on how the elder child felt for a few moments.’ Pupils can then show how the father of the parable is like the God of Jesus’ teaching. 42 Meditation at Home If pupils are interested to carry on their practice at home and to improve their ability to relax and meditate then a good way to start would be to concentrate on their breathing, in a similar way as class exercises begin. It is best to breathe through the nose if possible. Watching the breath Breathe normally and turn your awareness to your breath. Without changing your breathing observe your breath entering your body and then leaving it. Where are you breathing to? Do you feel the breath going to the bottom of your lungs or are you only using the top of your lungs? Do your ribs expand sideways as you breathe? Is your chest rising and falling with each breath? Return your attention to your nostrils. Be aware of the air as it enters your nostrils, are you aware of it feeling slightly cooler as you breathe in and warmer on the exhale as it is warmed by your body? Become aware of the rhythm of your breathing. Perhaps it reminds you of waves washing on the shore and then going back out to sea again. After a few minutes of watching your breath you may be feeling more relaxed and settled. Observe any thoughts or feelings but do not pursue them. The above exercise is all that is necessary to practise at home. The following exercise is a development of the breathing exercise but it is important that you only do what feels comfortable and natural. Counting the Breath As you breathe in slowly count to three, then hold the breath in your lungs, without any straining whatsoever, for a count of one, then breathe out for a slow count of three and hold out for one as before. Continue to count your breathing, starting to increase the count, as you feel able, perhaps counts of 4 in, hold 2, 4 out, hold 2. You should never push yourself, do what feels natural, you will improve in your own time. Do this for a few minutes. Let your breathing slowly return to normal and open your eyes. (You can see how you feel when you breathe out for one count more than you breathe in. As a general rule do not allow your exhale to be shorter than your inhale.) 43 Christian Meditations In common with other religions Christianity has a long tradition of meditation. The Bible mentions ‘meditate’ or ‘meditation’ twenty times. Perhaps the following quote could be considered to be appropriate: ‘I’ve heard it said that prayer is the act of talking to God, while meditation is the act of listening. Take a wild guess as to which comes easier for me. I can prattle away to God about all my feelings and my problems all the livelong day, but when it comes time to descend into silence and listen . . . well, that’s a different story.’ Elizabeth Gilbert As has already been mentioned, Mother Teresa said, ‘We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.’ Madame Guyon (1648 – 1717) asked a Franciscan priest, who had just emerged from a five year retreat, why she had difficulty with prayer. He answered: ‘It is because you seek without what you have within.Accustom yourself to seek God in your heart, and there you will find Him’. Christianity’s past is rich in meditation, from the early Christian monastic practice of Lectio divina; the 14th century ‘Cloud of Unknowing’ treatise; in the 16th century Ignatian meditation and St Teresa of Avila’s meditation; the work of John of the Cross; the writings of Julian of Norwich; to various 20th century traditions, including the silence of worship which is so central to the Society of Friends. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Jesuit order, encourage the practitioner to visualise scenes from the life of Christ. The Roman Catholic Church has the tradition of using prayer beads. Some Christians use the Jesus Prayer, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner’, which is repeated continually in order to focus the mind and still all other thoughts. Gregorian chants and the hymns of the Taize Community have a stilling and centring effect on some worshippers. All these Christian teachings regard meditation as a form of worship. Anthony de Mello tells the story of an old man who often visited a church. A priest noticed that he liked to just sit in the church. The priest finally went up to him and asked what God said to him. The man replied: ‘Oh, God doesn’t talk, God listens.’ So he asked what the man said to God, he replied: ‘I don’t talk either, I listen too.’ 44 Meditation in Christianity -Lectio Divina The activity involved in the following Lectio Divina meditation is a specifically Christian one, although the principles could be used for other religious scripture, it therefore becomes a prayer and should only be carried out in school, if at all, with informed consent. Lectio Divina means ‘sacred readings’. It involves reading a passage of scripture, meditating upon it and using the resulting insight to guide prayer. The basic principle is that Bible reading is a personal encounter with God. The principles of this were expressed around the year 220CE by Origen. In September 2005, Pope Benedict XVI stated: ‘I would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of Lectio divina… If it is effectively promoted, this practice will bring to the Church -I am convinced of it -a new spiritual springtime.’ He said that Lectio Divina speaks to our imagination, we can get caught up in it and recognise it in our lives. There are four stages to the activity. 1st Reading Read a passage from scripture slowly allowing the words to sink into your consciousness. 2nd Meditation You allow the passage to stir up memories within you, so that you recognise in it your own experience or that of people who have touched your life. 3rd. Prayer You allow the meditation to lead you to prayer – thanksgiving, humility and petition. 4th. Contemplation Free yourself from your thoughts and listen to God. (It may be interesting to note that originally ‘meditation’ -‘meditatio’-meant focused thought, and ‘contemplation’ -‘contemplatio’ -meant a state of quiet unfocused awareness, as such they are the opposite meanings to today’s understanding of these terms.) 45 General ideas/resources The following ideas/resources are not necessarily stilling exercises, although they could be the focus of one that the teacher (or a pupil?) writes, but they may be useful resources for Religious Education or Personal, Social and Health Education lessons concerned with the notion of the meaning of life, and what we choose to do with our lives. They are probably best used with years 9 and above. Words Just by being aware of our feelings and our thoughts we can begin to make changes because we begin to free ourselves from our old habitual ways of thinking. We can make new choices. We can recognise words that limit our achievements. We can teach our unconscious to believe in ourselves and thus change our behaviour. ‘Words provide an extraordinary means for us to communicate with each other (and with ourselves): they have the power to create or destroy, bring peace or suffering, love or hate.’ Perry Wood 46 THE INTERVIEW WITH GOD I dreamed I had an interview with God. “So you would like to interview me?” God asked. “If you have the time” I said. God smiled. “My time is eternity.” “What questions do you have in mind for me?” “What surprises you most about humankind?” God answered... “That they get bored with childhood, they rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.” “That they lose their health to make money... and then lose their money to restore their health.” “That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future.” "That they live as if they will never die, and die as though they had never lived.” God’s hand took mine and we were silent for a while. And then I asked... “As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons you want your children to learn?” “To learn they cannot make anyone love them. All they can do is let themselves be loved.” “To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others.” “To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.” 47 “To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those they love, and it can take many years to heal them.” “To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.” “To learn that there are people who love them dearly, but simply have not yet learned how to express or show their feelings.” “To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently.” “To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves.” "Thank you for your time," I said humbly. "Is there anything else you would like your children to know?" God smiled and said, “Just know that I am here... always.” -author unknown www.theinterviewwithgod.com Personal Reflections What would you say is the main message of this poem? Do you agree with it? Why? Explain which point you feel is the most important. Please add anything which you believe God has forgotten to say. Find some pictures which you like that could be used to illustrate aspects or even feelings of this poem. Perhaps you could make a full-page collage from all sorts of different pictures from various sources. 48 A Simple Story This story from India can help us to understand what some people feel is most important in life. It may be of use if studying Hinduism at KS3/4 or if considering general questions about spirituality and the meaning of life. Once on the outskirts of a village, a holy man slept against a gnarled tree. As the sun rose over the forest, a man from the village ran to the sleeping man and shook him awake. “The gem, the gem, where is the gem? I had a dream in which Lord Shiva told me to find a holy man at the edge of the forest who had a gem that would keep me wealthy for the rest of my days.” The holy man reached into his bag and produced a diamond the size of a coconut. “I suppose you mean this?” he said. “I found it on the path.” The villager took the diamond and ran back to his home. There he paced and paced through the day and all that night. Early the next morning the villager was back at the gnarled tree. “Please,” he asked the holy man, placing the gem at his feet, “share with me the wealth that allows you to give away this gem so easily.” In our own ways we are all searching for the wealth described in the tale above: to experience what is sacred, timeless and mysterious, which some people would call God. Adapted from ‘Healing the Heart for Families’. 49 The 23rd Psalm Today? This exercise focuses on how we spend our precious leisure time by comparing the 23rd Psalm with a poem about television. It may be useful for PSHE or RS. After reading the 23rd Psalm its meaning can be discussed bearing in mind that this psalm is sometimes used to comfort those dying and mourning, perhaps this is most suitable for years 9 and above. The 23rd Psalm The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff – they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long. The students can now read ‘The 23rd Channel’ and compare this with the 23rd Psalm to reflect on the part television plays in their life. Could they use their time in other ways? Just how relaxing is TV? Why do they watch TV programmes? 50 THE 23rd CHANNEL The Lord is my TV, I shall lack nothing. It maketh me to lie down upon the sofa. It leads me into endless entertainment. It makes me laugh. It guides me in the path of violence and obscenities for its own sake. Even though it keeps me from doing other important things, I will not worry. For my TV is with me. Its remote control and its constant noise, they comfort me. You prepare a commercial break before me, in the presence of my materialism, you anoint my head with chat shows, while the milk pan overflows. Surely soap operas and comedies will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house with my TV on forever. Bill Penny ‘Today we watch ‘Neighbours’ rather than talk to those living next door, and we watch ‘Play Your Cards Right’ rather than engage with our family!’ Martin Wallace What do you think of the above statement? 51 Just for Fun -The Rules Do you agree with these? Think of your reasons for this and discuss them. 1. You will receive One Body. You may like it or hate it, but it is yours. You are expected to make alterations, improvements and maintenance on a regular basis. 2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time school called Life. Each day lessons will be taught. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant or stupid. 3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and error along with experimentation. The ‘failed’ experiments are just as important to our lives as the successful ones. 4. A lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. Only then can you go on to another lesson. 5. Learning never ends. There is no part of life that does not contain significant lessons. Every day, every waking hour we are confronted with thoughts, situations and experiences from which we can learn. 6. ‘Over there’ is never better than ‘right here’. Whenever we arrive ‘over there’ we will always find another ‘over there’ that appears better. There is a great lesson to be in the ‘here and now’. 7. Other people’s mannerisms, quirks or personalities, which we love or dislike, are merely mirror images of us, of what we love or dislike within ourselves. 8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have been given all the tools and resources you need, what you do with them is your choice. 9. A question, challenge or situation is never posed to us unless we are prepared and ready to answer the question, accept the challenge or right the situation. 10. What you see in the Universe sees you. Trust in yourself and the Universe will become trusting. Love yourself and the Universe will become a loving place. 52 Labyrinths – The Journey of Life This exercise is concerned with students considering a little of the religious importance of labyrinths and exploring whether this is a useful way of understanding their own lives. People have walked down labyrinths in nearly every culture throughout every era of history. They have used them because they believed they reflected their experience of life as a special journey. The labyrinth can provide a physical presence with which people can engage. They can walk it, create ritual in it, alone or with others; or it can be traced in a finger labyrinth. The labyrinths show that there is a continuous movement forward (progression), which is always followed by a movement backward (regression), which is always followed by a movement forward, and so on. This is the movement of life. It is the flow between any two opposites, whether between darkness and light, introversion and extroversion, or joy and sorrow. This message is important to explore in our world of today where some say that we have lost touch with what it means to live in what they call ‘the mystery of existence’. Do students agree with the following quote? ‘Most of us get caught up in the ebb and flow of daily life, following paths laid out for us by social structures we have come to accept as the norm. We forget that life is not lived in a straight line. We forget that death is always sitting on our left shoulder. We forget that constant change is the truth for all life forms on this planet.’ Students could reflect on this as they follow these labyrinths (over) and make up their own. Students could discuss whether they agree that life can be like the twisting path of a labyrinth or do they experience it more as a straight line? They can draw their own labyrinths and/or timelines with labels to show their own life/significant events in their life. 5354 A Meditation on Time and Change Following on from ‘Labyrinths’ the idea of change could be further developed. This is obviously a key teaching in Buddhism and Hinduism, and in Christianity there is the idea of life as a purposeful pilgrimage. Jesus never said he was the destination, he said ‘I am the way’. From the Old Testament there is the poetry of Ecclesiastes 3 v1-11, pupils could reflect on these words as they are read to them, once they have been stilled: ‘For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. What gain have the workers from their toil? I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.’ Students could design a collage or PowerPoint presentation of images of current events that reflect this teaching. 55 A Meditation on Time and Change Herman Hesse takes this idea further in his poem, which again could be read to the students after a stilling exercise to get them centred: Lament No permanence is ours; we are a wave That flows to fit whatever form it finds: Through day or night, cathedral or the cave We pass forever, craving form that binds. Mould after mould we fill and never rest, We find no home where joy or grief runs deep. We move, we are the everlasting guest. No field nor plough is ours; we do not reap. What God would make of us remains unknown: He plays; we are the clay to his desire. Plastic and mute, we neither laugh nor groan; He kneads, but never gives us to the fire. To stiffen into stone, to persevere! We long forever for the right to stay. But all that ever stays with us is fear, And we shall never rest upon our way.’ Do the pupils agree with Hesse’s poem on rereading it? How does the theme of the poem reflect the beliefs of the religion(s) being studied? What are the differences between them? What images do they find most effective? 56 Perception ‘It is very easy for us to be blinkered, believing that our picture of reality is so obvious that it is the only possible view. It doesn’t always occur to us that what we see is an interpretation of the world around us.’ Hammond et al (1990, p.116) How we interpret the world is influenced by all that we have seen and done. As children we were taught how to make sense of our world. If a blind person suddenly regained their sight they would not be able to ‘see’ immediately, at first they would not be able to interpret the images sent by their eyes to their brain, they would have to learn to do this. It is interesting for students to reflect on this and to understand ‘that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently.’ (The Interview With God) This can first be shown literally by looking at visual illusions. There are many to be found but I enclose a few examples. Looking at the cube is an interesting exercise: imagine that you are above the cube looking down, now imagine that you are below the cube looking up, see how it changes. We can do this as we are used to cubes. How would this look to a person who has never seen a cube before, who could only see the picture in 2D? 57 Students can discover other examples to illustrate this point, for example accounts of events taken from different viewpoints, literally and morally, maybe stories taken from media reports. Students can probably suggest advertisements that have used this principle, for example by implying that the youth running towards a person is going to attack them whereas in fact they are running to push them out of harm’s way. 58 Perception Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes The Native American Indians had a saying that you could not judge another until you had walked a month in their moccasins. Discuss what this means. Putting yourself ‘in someone else’s shoes’ and seeing the world from behind their eyes is a strange experience. Imagine first how it must be to be someone whom you know well, perhaps a friend or close neighbour. For a moment try hard to imagine that you are no longer you, but them. What would it feel like to have their body? Would you be taller or smaller? Heavier or lighter? How would your hair feel? Imagine that you are looking at your new self in a mirror and really believe that the face reflected is you. What would it be like to go to their house, now your house, and live there? What would you eat? How would you spend your free time and who would it be with? What clothes would you be wearing? What would you have to do? As you go to sleep in your new bed, what worries do you have? What are you looking forward to? What will happen tomorrow? You may have found this task difficult, yet it was with someone you know well. Perhaps it shows you how much your view of the world is influenced by your personal perspectives and experiences of life. Everyone else’s is too. 59 Mandalas Mandalas are used as objects for focussing attention during meditation in Hinduism and Buddhism. They draw the mediator’s attention towards the centre. Students can find examples of them on the Internet, create their own, even colour some in from a template (e.g. below). These could then be used in part of a stilling as a point of focus for a few moments, the aim being to just gaze at the patterns and follow them, not pursuing any other thoughts. If other thoughts do arise then allow them to drift away, as if they were clouds crossing the sky. The mandalas created and used by religious worshippers contain a deep meaning through the use of symbolism. They are usually circular as this represents wholeness, unity and oneness. The mandala can be said to be a diagram of the enlightened mind or they can represent the universe. ‘As part of a traditional ceremony, Tibetan Buddhists kneel over a period of several weeks to create, with meticulous care, a giant sand mandala. This they do using their mouths to gently lay intricate, jewel-coloured designs with the aid of straws. There is absolute mindfulness in the work because the joy is in its creation. The process requires complete detachment, however, as once it is complete, it is swept away with a broom. The lesson: the impermanence of life.’ Marielle Renssen (The monks don’t always use straws; sometimes they use small tubes and rub another metal object against the tube’s notched surface to create a tiny flow of grains. The swept sand is usually placed in running water to spread the blessings of the mandala.) I remember when I was fortunate enough to meet the Dalai Llama the Tibetan monks got up very early and spent all day brushing the long driveway of stones and leaves and then created beautiful patterns in salt all along it. As the car drew up all the patterns disappeared under the tyres. The psychiatrist Carl Jung saw the mandala as ‘a representation of the unconscious self’. He believed his paintings of mandalas enabled him to identify emotional disorders and work towards wholeness in personality. 60 Listening Tasks As stilling exercises and guided meditations work best when there is an atmosphere of trust in the classroom. The class teacher may wish to encourage this with exercises that help students to listen to each other, as well as to listen to themselves! *For example: the exercise whereby the pupils have to listen to their partner state some information about themselves, e.g. about their hobbies, favourite foods, pets, or a general introduction to themselves, and then the listening partner repeats back what was said. They may find that the impression they have conveyed is not exactly the one that they originally wished to give. They may find that their partner has reinterpreted what they said. Between them they can decide why this has happened. *Or pupils could record themselves talking for a few minutes, without prior preparation, about a certain aspect of their lives or about their views on a topic. When they later listen to the recording of their own voice they can pay attention to the words that they used to talk about themselves or their views and list the main keywords that they used. These keywords could be compared with those of a trusted partner. Are they similar? Are they the words they would have chosen to use if they had been given time beforehand to prepare a short speech on the subject? *A ‘word wall’ could be used to encourage listening. The teacher reads out a piece about the subject being studied, or a story associated with the religion studied, etc. The pupils each have a copy of the word wall and have to listen carefully to the teacher to identify the words on the wall. When they hear one they highlight/tick it/number it in order spoken. At the end of the piece the pupils write about the subject or story using the words from the word wall. Pictures could be included to help.’ 61 Conclusion Stilling and Guided Meditations can help people relax and explore their inner world that affects so much of their everyday life. The exercises can encourage empathy and develop understanding of self, others and their belief systems. Many researchers offer evidence of the benefits of these exercises, for example Hall et al (1990) provide evidence of learning gains for all age groups, especially for special needs students. They also found that teachers could use these techniques as a form of stress management! They suggest that the use of imagery in the mental rehearsal of skills or in the imagined encounter of threatening situations is effective. Ruth Ward in her TES article stated that at a summer environmental education workshop the children’s favourite activity involved them sitting in silence in their own ‘magic spot’. At the beginning of the week they found it difficult to do for 10 minutes, but by the end of the week 25 minutes was not long enough. Stilling and meditation can aid the healing of mind, body and spirit. The emphasis is on encouraging pupils to concentrate on the pursuit of their potential rather than on the acceptance of their perceived limitations. But most importantly, pupils enjoy and value these sessions and ask for them to be repeated. I hope that you’ll discover this too. 62 My grateful thanks: To the Farmington Trust, a splendid organization, who made this little project possible. My special thanks g to Dr Ralph Waller and Suzanne Tetsell for their care and understanding. To Marie Wilkes for being a smashing, understanding and generous Farmington Tutor. For inviting me to visit them: Michael Beesley, Poole High School, Poole, Dorset Sue Davies, Woodhouse Middle School, Biddulph, Staffordshire Sue Marsh, St Nicholas CE Primary School, Blandford, Dorset Judy Payne, Oldbury Wells School, Bridgnorth, Shropshire Woodbrooke Quaker Centre, Selly Oak, Birmingham For talking with me: Heather Farr, RE Advisor for Staffordshire and Shropshire Professor David Fontana, visiting Professor, University College, Cardiff Eric Hall, School of Education, Nottingham University Joyce Mackley, RE Today Chris O’Neill, Farmington Fellow Geoff Teece, School of Education, Birmingham University Dr Ian Terry, Diocesan Director of Education, Hereford Colleagues who talked to me on the Internet via the TES Virtual Staffroom, especially ‘Leviosa’. 63 Appendix Comments regarding the value of stilling exercises with students in schools. From the Times Educational Supplement Virtual Staffroom (www.tes.co.uk/section/staffroom) Some replies in response to my request as to whether anyone has used stilling or guided meditation techniques in secondary schools: Yep found it very worthwhile. My lowest ability, hardest to manage pupils benefited behaviourally lots as well as the RE and spiritual gains. I have used it with some classes as a means of ‘experiencing’ Buddhism. The safe place meditation was the one I chose too. Most of my classes always ask for it again. I have begun to use guided fantasies for telling stories when I can… most students really like the experience, and terrific work has come out of it… even after PE on a wet or hot Friday afternoon. In my school we use guided meditations/stillings, they work really well to calm classes down. A few of the sillier kids feel a bit insecure letting themselves get involved and try to put others off but in general they all love it and ask to do more! 64 A Guided Meditation: My Special Place This exercise may be useful for a teacher trying a guided meditation for the first time who wants a full script to follow. It may possibly be more effective if the students have already tried the ‘Relaxing your Body’ exercise on a previous occasion. It would take about 15 to 20 minutes if the script is read slowly, with appropriate pauses. Obviously it can be adapted as the teacher thinks best. It can be used as an introduction to work on the special places of religions. *Remember to put a Do Not Disturb notice on the door and check all phones are turned off/disconnected. Check the music is set at correct (low) volume. ‘If you want to, I would like you to give yourself permission to take a few minutes rest and allow yourself the chance to relax. It would be best if you sat with your bottom into the corner of the chair, with the back of the chair fully supporting your own back. But if you preferred you could rest your arms and head on the desk. Place your feet flat on the floor. Check that your shoulders aren’t hunched up, let your shoulder blades fall down your back. Your arms hang relaxed, resting your hands on your lap, palms up, you will find that your fingers naturally curl a little around your palm. Gently close your eyes or let your gaze fall to the desk. I’d like you to feel completely safe in this room, no one is going to come in, no one will be looking at you. Perhaps you can shut your eyes now. Feel the chair supporting you, feel the floor under your feet, enjoy just sitting there comfortably, you have nothing to do. In your mind’s eye scan your body and notice how it feels, don’t do anything unless you want to, just be aware of how you feel. Without changing your breathing at all, notice your breath gently entering your body and effortlessly leaving it. Where are you breathing most – in the upper parts of your chest or are you breathing deeper into your lungs? Now take a slightly longer breath in and out, through your nose if you can. Perhaps you notice how the air is cooler as it passes your nostrils and is warmer on the exhale. Breathe in a little deeper if you want, without forcing yourself. Feel the air going into your lungs, filling your body with healing oxygen. Be aware of slowly exhaling, breathing out all that your body doesn’t need. Enjoy the feeling of breathing, .... Now imagine a gentle pleasant warmth entering your feet from the ground. As you feel this gentle warmth you find that your feet are more relaxed and heavy, you don’t really want to move them. The warmth slowly travels up your legs, making them feel pleasantly relaxed. Breathe in a little more deeply, taking the air down to the bottom of your lungs. Breathe out slowly and feel the warmth moving up your back, down your arms and into your hands. Your arms and hands are heavier now, your shoulders can relax more. The floor and your chair are supporting your body, you need do 65 nothing. Your head rests lightly on the top of your spine. You feel comfortable and safe and relaxed. As you take your next breath in, imagine that this breath is bringing in a healing ray of light entering your body from the top of your head and moving down your body and out through your feet into the ground as you breath out. Do this a few times if you want. As you breathe in you are breathing in all the good things you need. As you breathe out, you are breathing out all you don’t want in your life, any worries or problems.......’ Give the students a few minutes to concentrate on this breathing meditation. Once the students are relaxed the guided visualisation/meditation can begin, for example: ‘Now allow yourself to leave this room in your mind’s eye. Go to a special place where you want to be, where you are very happy and safe. Perhaps it is somewhere that you have been to on holiday, or somewhere you go to when you need peace and quiet. Perhaps it is somewhere that you have yet to go to. Listen to the sounds in your special place. Maybe you can hear the waves softly breaking on a beautiful seashore or maybe a gently babbling brook. Are there birds singing or is the wind blowing through trees? Feel the ground soft under you, perhaps you can feel the gentle warmth of the sun on your face. Near you, there is a beautiful gold box with a carved lid. Open the lid and put into the box all of your worries and concerns. Now shut the lid down and leave your worries there. We’ll be coming back to the box, but for a few minutes you can enjoy relaxing without any worries at all. Stay in your special place for a few minutes, feeling happiness spreading through your body, and just enjoy resting there while I play you some music........... (Play music, eg. ‘Pure Peace’ by Llewellyn & Kendle, for some minutes (5?), then reduce the volume again slowly, start talking when the music is just fading.) Now go back to the golden box by you and, only if you want, open the lid and then decide what things you might want to take out of it. You could leave all your worries there or perhaps you might want to choose one or two things that you feel you can deal with. You decide and then close the lid again. It’s time to leave your special place, it will always be there for you, you can go to it whenever you want. Without opening your eyes, bring your mind back into this room, be aware of the feeling of the chair under you and the others in the room. You are feeling relaxed, energised and refreshed, ready for the rest of the day. Wriggle your toes and fingers. Now enjoy taking in a deeper breath, yawn if you want, stretch out, smile and slowly open your eyes.’ 66 Stilling: Relaxing Your Body This exercise is primarily concerned with helping the students learn to relax their bodies, necessary before being able to relax their minds. It can be adapted as the teacher thinks best and shortened as classes become more used to it. Warn those with breathing problems not to do anything which strains them. *Remember to put a ‘Do Not Disturb’ notice on the door and check that all phones are off. Have your music set ready. Explain that no one is to disturb anyone else. ‘Sit comfortably, with your bottom into the corner of the chair, allowing the back of your chair to fully support your own back. Place your feet flat on the floor. Rest your hands on your lap, palms up, fingers gently curled open. I’d like you to feel completely safe in this room, no one is going to come in, no one will be looking at you. Perhaps you can shut your eyes or let your gaze fall to the desk or floor now. Feel the chair supporting you, feel the floor under your feet, enjoy just sitting there comfortably. Without changing your breathing at all, for a few moments notice your breath gently entering your body and effortlessly leaving it. This is the breath of life that keeps you alive. Air filling your lungs and leaving, without you ever having to think about it. It is almost as if the air is breathing you. Now quietly take a slightly longer breath in and out, through your nose if you can. Perhaps you notice how the air is cooler as it passes your nostrils and is warmer on the exhale. Without forcing yourself, breathe in a little deeper if you want. Feel the air going into your lungs, filling your body with healing oxygen. Be aware of slowly exhaling, breathing out all that your body doesn’t need. Enjoy breathing. As you start to feel more focused I’d like you to scan your body and be aware of how it feels. In your mind’s eye visit each part of your body, starting with your head. How does it feel? Is there any tightness, maybe around the temples or not? Is your head balanced onto the top of your spine or are you jutting out your chin? Don’t necessarily do anything to change your posture unless you want to. Just be aware of how you are. Travel down to your neck and throat, to your shoulders and the top of your back. Is there tightness anywhere? Are your shoulders hunched up towards your ears? Go down your spine, does it feel free and easy or is it tight? Notice any niggles. Are you aware of your heart beating in your chest? Does your tummy feel settled or are you hungry? Are there any cramps? Continue your body scan down through your hips to your thighs, knees, calves, ankles and feet. Register how they feel. This is how you are now. You may be carrying the tension from worries in various places in your body. It is valuable to be aware of this. You can now move on to release these tensions. Quietly take a slightly deeper breath in and slowly exhale. ....... Be aware of the air filling a little more of your lungs than usual, as you draw it slightly deeper down into your lungs. Let your breathing feel like the rhythm of the waves, breaking on the shore, then going back out to sea before coming back again. 67 Visualisation for Relaxation Breathe in a little more deeply, without straining try to take the air further down into your lungs. Let your ribcage expand as your lungs fill, then fall back as you breathe out slowly and fully... Let your breathing return to normal. Imagine that a gentle, pleasant warmth is now entering your feet from the ground. As you feel this gentle warmth you find that your feet become more relaxed and heavy. Be aware of the ground supporting them. The warmth slowly travels up your ankles, into your calves, to your knees and thighs, making your legs feel heavier and pleasantly relaxed. You don’t really want to move them. Be aware of the chair supporting you. Feel the warmth moving up your spine, easing each vertebrae and helping your spine rest more comfortably. The relaxing warmth spreads around to your tummy and chest, easing out any tensions. Feel your shoulders soften and relax, falling further down your back, dropping a little away from your ears. The warmth gently moves down your arms and into your hands and your fingers. Your arms and hands are heavier now. You don’t want to move them. The warmth travels up into your neck softening and releasing any tightness. Up into your head and slowly over your scalp, a lovely pleasant warmth. You can feel it ease your temples and release your scalp. Your lower jaw can fall free a little. Your head can settle, perfectly balanced and weightless on the top of your spine. Finally the warmth travels gently across your face, smoothing out any worry lines. Feel the muscles of the face soften and relax. Be aware of the whole of your body as one being, working in total harmony for you.This is your wonderful body. It cares for you as you care for it. You are completely relaxed, there is no need to do anything. If you find yourself thinking about anything then acknowledge the thought and let it go, as if you are watching clouds float across a blue sky. You are completely safe and secure. Enjoy every minute of this meditation. Be at peace. ( Gentle music could now be played, gradually increase the volume and after several minutes start to decrease the volume as the first sign for the group to know that the meditation is beginning to finish. Always end an exercise slowly.) Without moving, or opening your eyes, bring your minds back to this room and back to your bodies. Be aware of your body resting in your chair. In a moment you will be waking up feeling relaxed and refreshed, ready for the rest of the day. Keeping your eyes shut, take in a deeper breath. Breathe it out with a big sigh if you want. Start to move your fingers and your toes. Lift up your arms above your head and stretch out. Yawn if you want. Feel relaxed and restored. Smile and open your eyes.’ Keep silence for a minute and then allow time for debriefing, accepting all responses. If pupils complain about feeling tired, then they probably were! 68 Safeguards for Stilling Exercises and Guided Meditations If these exercises are new to you then try them out first with a class with whom you have a good, trusting relationship. Rehearse the script beforehand. Always make positive suggestions that make the student feel safe, secure, relaxed and comfortable, do not use any negative terms. The theme of the exercise should focus on positive and enjoyable experiences over which the pupil has full control. Ensure that students know that no one will enter the room once the exercise starts. Put a large ‘Do Not Disturb’ notice on the door; let other staff know this also applies to them! Stand by the door initially and as much as possible throughout the exercise. Ensure that all phones are switched. Get pupils to clear their desks. Check that any music you are using is set to the correct level and is at the right track. Explain the aims of the stilling and/or meditation, answer any questions beforehand. Students are invited to join in with the activities but should not be forced to. If they do not feel able to join in they must understand that they should not interfere with the rest of the group’s participation; they must remain silent and not look around at anyone else. They may perhaps just rest quietly with their eyes closed. I have found that usually these pupils do join in once the activity has begun. If you are worried about potentially disruptive behaviour, a preliminary ‘try-out’ session for a few minutes, just observing the breath, would give students a chance to prove themselves capable of cooperation. If not, these pupils may then agree that they need to leave the room until they feel able to participate without disturbing others. However I have found that pupils who usually find it difficult to work quietly in class can sit quietly in these exercises and really enjoy them and find them worthwhile. Have pupils sitting comfortably, preferably with their spine supported by the back of the chair, feet flat on the floor, shoulders and hands relaxed. Suggest that they close their eyes or let their gaze fall to the desk, assure them that no one is looking at them. The aim is to maintain ‘alert restfulness’, being physically relaxed yet alert. You could experiment with them lying on the floor but this is maybe more suitable for groups used to this work and keen to develop it! Students with a blocked nose or a breathing problem can be asked to concentrate on thinking about their body relaxing into the chair, rather than concentrating on the breath if they prefer. Tell students not to worry if they find themselves thinking of other things during an exercise. Tell them to not pursue the thought, just to be aware of it and to let it go, as if it were a cloud floating across the sky. Ensure the pupils are able to relax and be comfortable with stilling before going on to guided meditations. 69 Write scripts in the present tense. Exercises in school should be religion-neutral. With a guided fantasy it is important that students have adequate background knowledge of the setting of the story in order for it to be meaningful to them. This may require that they have seen pictures or photographs of the environment concerned, or an opportunity to handle relevant artefacts, listen to typical music, etc. In guided meditations appeal to the five senses: maybe have music/sounds of waves, water, birdsong, or suggest the sounds that can be heard – e.g. the waves lapping on the shore, water trickling over stones; possibly even use a vaporiser to introduce suitable aromas or suggest the smells in the air, e.g. the smell of flowers, the ocean, the woods; note the visual details and colours of the image and include suggestions for touch – e.g. the warmth of sun on your skin, the gentle warm breeze, your hands feeling the warm soft sand, resting on the soft earth. Keep the meditation as simple as possible; do not allow the teacher’s input to be too wordy. Ensure that you remain silent, maybe with music playing, for some minutes to allow time for students to become absorbed in their experience. Ensure a clear ritual for beginning and ending these exercises, as suggested in the scripts. End a guided meditation slowly and carefully. Use reassuring words to encourage the students to wake up feeling refreshed, relaxed and alert, ready for the rest of the day. If students feel that they have fallen asleep it could be suggested that this is probably because they are already tired and need to get more sleep! If a pupil still has their eyes shut after a few minutes, Eric Hall suggests that a gentle squeeze on the wrist will quickly bring them back to the room. After a meditation has finished try to maintain a moment of silent reflection. Provide an opportunity for pupils to express their responses to these activities, with respect to their right to privacy; let them know that all responses are accepted as being valid. There may be a need for the teacher to be available to talk to pupils who request a private chat about issues raised. Ask for anonymous written feedback from students about their experiences, how they felt, what they liked and disliked, and how they think the exercises can be improved. Do not overuse guided meditation exercises, as used properly they require pupils to make a personal investment in them and it can be an intense experience. However with regular disciplined practice their skills will become more effective. Students could perhaps write their own short scripts for a guided meditation, or write a continuation for one they have experienced. They could bring in suitable music. Students could keep a ‘Reflections’ diary to record their thoughts and experiences. Or they could articulate their experiences by creating a picture or collage or by writing a poem or story. A class picture or poem could be compiled using individual’s responses. 70 BIBLIOGRAPHY BAUMFIELD, Vivienne Thinking through Religious Education Chris Kington Publisher BEESLEY, Michael, 2003 Stilling: A Path for Spiritual Learning Salisbury Diocesan Board of Education BEESLEY, Michael, Spring 2007 Encouraging reflection and Expression for Spiritual Development, Retoday BELL, Rob, 2003 Nooma Noise DVD 26027, Salvationist Publishing Supplies Ltd., London BENSON, Herbert, 1975 The Relaxation Response, William Morrow & Co BREWER, Dr Sarah, 2003 Relaxation, Duncan Baird BUTLER-BOWDEN, Tom, 2005 50 Spiritual Classics, Nicholas Brealey Publishing COX, Allison M. and ALBERT, David H (eds), 2003 Healing the Heart for Families, New Society Publishers DUNN, Bruce R., HARTIGAN, Judith A., MIKULAS, William L., 1999 p147 – 165, Concentration and Mindfulness Meditations: Unique forms of Consciousness? Applied Psychology and Biofeedback. Vol 24 No3 EWENS, Anthony, Teaching about God, Worship and Spirituality, Religious and Moral Education Press FONTANA, David and SLACK, Ingrid, 1997 Teaching Meditation to Children, Element Books GILBERT, Elizabeth, 2006 Eat, Pray, Love, Penguin Books GILL, Louis, 1999 Getting to Know Me, Nash Pollock Publishing GILLMAN, Harvey, Paths of the Spirit, Quaker Home Service HALL, Eric, HALL, Carol, LEECH, Alison, 1990, Scripted Fantasy in the Classroom Routledge HALL, Eric, HALL, Carol et al, 2006, Guided Imagery, Sage Publications HAMMOND, John, 2005, Children use their imagination for spirituality, REtoday Spring 05 HAMMOND, John, HAY, David, MOXON, Jo et al, 1990, New Methods in RE Teaching An Experiential Approach, Oliver and Boyd 71 HESSE, Hermann, 1972, The Glass Bead Game, Penguin Books HENDRICKSE, G. and ROBERTS, T., The Second Centering Book, Prentice Hall HUGGETT, Joyce, 2005, Listening to God, Hodder and Stoughton HUGHES, Gerard W., 1996, 2nd ed., God of Surprises, Darton, Longman and Todd McLEAN, Polly, 2001, Perceptions of the Impact of Meditation on Learning, Pastoral Care in Education 2001, vol. 19, issue 1, p.31, Blackwell Publishing OSHO, Pharmacy for the Soul, Griffin PEARSON, Mark, 1998, Emotional Healing and Self-Esteem, Jessica Kingsley Publishers PHILLIPS, Sue, 2003, Theatre of Learning, Stands for Education RENSSEN, Marielle, 2003, Meditation and Relaxation, New Holland Publishers RIVETT, Rosemary, 2007, A Teacher’s Handbook of Religious Education 3rd ed. RE Today Services, Christian Education Publications RIVETT, Rosemary, 2004, Developing Secondary RE: Questions About God, RE Today Services Christian Education Publications RIVETT, Rosemary, 2004, Reflections, 2nd ed., RE Today Services Christian Education Publications STONE, Mary, 1995, Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There, Shambala Publishers VARDY, Peter, Religion and Values, Chris Kington Publisher WALLACE, Martin, Celtic Reflections, Tim Tiley Ltd, Bristol WARD, Ruth, 28 July 2006, Beat Stress by nurturing the silence within, Times Educational Supplement WRIGHT, Chris, 1997, Buddhism for Today, Oxford University Press WOOD, Perry, 2004, Secrets of the People Whisperer, Rider Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org Recommended reading DE MELLO, Anthony, 2003, The Prayer of the Frog, S.J. Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, India 72 Photographs for Meditation73747576