Zen Garden 5

“In every outthrust headland, in every curving beach, in every grain of sand there is the story of the earth.” 
― Rachel Carson

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It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out; it's the grain of sand in your shoe. 
--Robert W. Service

A Handful of Mindfulness: A Book Review

I recently came across a wonderful book on bringing mindfulness to children.  This book is written by one of my favorite figures in the mindfulness community, Thich Nhat Hanh.  I was lucky enough to spend time at one of his monasteries, Blue Cliff http://www.bluecliffmonastery.org/ , pictured above.  It was a wonderful experience.  Although it was in January and had freezing temperatures, the experience was peaceful and amazing.

For those of you who are familiar with Thich Nhat Hanh, you know he has many different books.  However, A Handful of Quiet is specifically geared towards giving children a beginning experience of mindfulness.  A Handful of Quiet uses natural images and simple language that children can readily understand.  It is a wonderful and easy way to introduce children to a powerful coping mechanism for feelings and thoughts.

In addition to giving children an introduction into mindfulness, it is also a great tool for families to use together.  By practicing the techniques shared in this book, families can learn to be mindful together.  For busy and over-stressed families, being mindful and meditating together can be a way of refreshing connection as well as learning to regulate emotions effectively.  This book also provides an opportunity for parents to role model for their children ways of dealing with stress and maintaining calm.  Teachers, therapists, counselors, and others who work with children can also use this book in a similar manner.

After using this mindfulness/meditation on a daily basis over time, people can carry with them pictures of the natural images used.  These pictures can become a reminder of the calmness experienced during the meditation.  Therefore, the feeling brought by using this meditation can be brought into many different environments.

Zen Garden 3

Even Castles made of sand, fall into the sea, eventually. 
--Jimi Hendrix

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To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palms of your hand and eternity in an hour. --William Blake

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Zen garden 1

"Now the Ears of My Ears are Open"

I mentioned in my last post Lend Me Your Ear that I would talk about my experience practicing mindful listening. My fiance' kindly agreed to give it a try with me. We started by facing each other. I was the listener the first time around. Being mindful while listening without interrupting the other person or saying anything at all for five minutes was a new experience. It was different than I expected and it made me feel more connected with what he was saying. When he was the listener, he also felt like it was a different sort of experience. I have found that practicing it (when I remember to) has yielded interesting results, particularly when dealing with people who are angry and stressed. I have found that mindfully listening to agitated people allows them to get it all out and they eventually lose the energy of the emotion and end the conversation either apologizing or at least being more rational. It is definitely a tool I will continue to use!  Let me know how it has worked for you.

(The title is taken from one of my favorite poets, e.e.cummings.  I highly recommend his collected works for the poet enthusiasts out there!)