Mindfulness Isn't a Crystal Ball, But Clarity Can Be Magical (VIDEO)

Snow globes are not only some of my favorite knick-knacks, but they're also a perfect tool to illustrate the clear perspective that we can developed with mindfulness meditation. When you shake a snow globe, the snow falls on a tiny New York City, a miniature Eiffel Tower, or a little Santa's Village. First, there's a blizzard that obscures all; and then, when the snow settles on the bottom of the globe, all is clear again.

I like to use snow-globes to illustrate how mindfulness can help kids and teens see their inner and outer life experience clearly because they really enjoy them. Unfortunately, they have a way of breaking. This is why I have become partial to the glitter ball. While glitter balls might lack the internal landscape of the snow globe, I can just stuff one in my pocket, my purse or my glove compartment and know that, not only will it be handy and ready-to-go, but it won't leak all over everything. A glitter ball sometimes lacks the poetry of a snow globe, but on a positive note, it can bounce!

 

 

 

Follow Susan Kaiser Greenland on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sKAISERg

Comments

[aliceproject]

02:39 PM on 05/26/2010

Hi, I forgot one thing. If you do not like to answer here, please, could you send your answer to my mail address? I do not mind the place...
Thanks
Valentino

[Susan Kaiser Greenland]

05:46 PM on 05/26/2010

Hi Valentino great to see you here! I've heard wonderful things about your school since our first meeting in Garrison about 5 years back now.

I've found when working with young kids there's a question as to how much they can understand the rather abstract concept of 'mind' from a developmental perspective. Given this issue of developmental readiness, and the overall practical applications for the work, it doesn't matter to me whether they think of mindfulness activities (like the snow globes) in the context of 'mind' or simply as a concrete way to help them navigate through life's challenging situations. In this way of working it's all just activity of the mind. All the emotions, thoughts, physical sensations - they simply come and they go - and there are ways that we can train ourselves to recognize activity in the mind - without having it cloud our perspective - even activity that has a strong emotional charge. And for kids not yet developmentally ready, even if they don't yet quite understand the concepts, the breath awareness activity itself - the shifting focus from thought/emotion to the physical sensation of breathing -- tends to help kids calm and focus too.

[aliceproject]

02:38 PM on 05/26/2010

Do you mean that negative emotions are different from the mind? Is there the clarity of the mind and the dirty of the negative emotions? Could you clarify? From your example it seems that pollution of mind has different nature than mind. Is it correct?
If yes, I'd like to add something more...
Valentino - Alice Project - India

[khanti]

02:30 PM on 05/26/2010

Excellent tool for explaining clarity.

[Bernadette Noll]

01:18 PM on 05/26/2010

I love this metaphor for finding clarity in our thinking. The key to finding the clarity is the pause. If we are moving and shaking and going, going, going, the dust, or glitter, never settles. It is in the pause that we allow our minds, bodies and spirits to settle down and truly see ourselves and each other. In Slow Family Living we talk about slowing down, connecting and enjoying family life. We just might use this metaphor in some of our classes. Thanks so much.
http://www.slowfamilyliving.com

[DynamicMentalFitness]

01:02 PM on 05/26/2010

A magnificent explanation on video by Susan Kaiser Greenland of how Mindfulness meditative practices help settle a chaotic mind and foster an increasingly clear mental perception.

[HidingintheDeepSouth]

12:48 PM on 05/26/2010

I am stealing this!!!!! I work with severely emotionally disturbed kids. I am always looking for visual and simple ( and cheap) tools to introduce complex ideas. This one works. Thanks.

[DynamicMentalFitness]

12:55 PM on 05/26/2010

YOU'RE stealin' it? Heck, I've already started using her example to convey the concept to a couple of my more advanced clients. The way she explains it is far less complicated than my usual, and so I've found a good teacher here.