Hi,
Kiddos.
I just want to start off by reminding you that everyone can meditate.
Meditation is a way for you to stay inside your body,
Especially when it feels like you can't sometimes,
With all the Zoom stuff you have going on.
Is that what you guys are using?
Or as a Google Classroom?
I can't keep up.
All I know is,
Sometimes my son Jack is just sick of it.
Sick of the headphones and the sitting.
Sick of listening.
Sick of trying to pay attention.
It was hard enough to do that when you were in class with a teacher.
Unless there's a video game involved,
Right?
If it's Rocket League or Minecraft,
I bet you have no problem sitting,
Huh?
And here I am not trying to get you to sit for something else.
This meditation.
Well,
What if I told you this would feel better than playing Fortnite?
What if I told you that afterward you'll be better at Rocket League than you've ever been before?
Maybe you'll be able to pay attention better to school,
So you finish the assignments faster.
Get to that popsicle sooner.
It's true.
That's what meditation does.
It helps you focus.
It helps you clear out some of the noise in your head.
And right now,
With all the Zooming and sitting,
Not even being able to look into the eyeballs of your teachers,
Not getting to see your friends or meet new ones with a new school year.
That has to be hard.
So what I want to try with you for a bit is to have you sit or lie down,
Whatever you feel like doing.
And lightly close your eyes.
I'll give you a minute to get comfortable.
First,
I want you to create your own giant laser beam.
Think of whatever bright color feels right for you.
You don't have to see it.
You can feel it or you can hear it.
The point is to imagine this big laser beam running from the base of your body into the center of the planet.
Literally imagine this cord of light running from you into the earth.
Miles and miles down.
Anchor it into the planet.
Feel it pulling on you and your body.
Set your laser beam on release so that your energy is going into the center of the planet and getting neutralized.
This is also a time you can let go of any energy that isn't yours.
You can picture dark colors leaving.
Stuff your mom or dad says.
Take a breath.
Anything that's bugging you.
Let that all go down through your laser beam.
So here you are with your eyes closed.
Now let's get into the center of your head.
This is your control tower.
You're safe here in the center of your head.
Let it be very easy for you to see yourself there.
It's behind your eyes.
Just a few inches back.
There's really no thinking that goes on in that part of your head.
I personally see a purple light in the center of my head.
But you might see a chair where you can sit in the center of your head and be in control of your body and your life.
Just breathe into that space.
Now say hello to yourself there.
This is a calm space.
Now I want you to just focus on breathing in and out.
That's all you have to do right now.
Have you ever noticed sometimes that you're holding your breath?
I know I do sometimes.
Why do people even hold their breath anyways?
Seems kind of silly when you think about it.
You're a smart kid.
You know that breathing is part of what keeps us alive.
Have you ever noticed your mom doing it?
Maybe she does it when she's upset about something.
Can you see how holding your breath doesn't really help anything?
When I notice that I'm doing something that isn't good for me,
I try my best to stop doing it.
Or to let go of it.
What I say to myself is this is no longer serving me.
I'm going to let it go.
I try to imagine whatever it is that I'm letting go of going into a bubble and going off into the sky.
You see,
You have all these thoughts rolling around in your head and it can be distracting.
Do me a favor.
Focus for a second on whatever it is that's bothering you right now.
Do you have something on your mind?
Maybe something like you're over Zoom.
Or maybe you're feeling scared that the quarantine is still going on.
Try this with me.
Put that feeling or picture in a bubble.
You can imagine a shiny bubble,
Right?
The kind that make you take at least two bottles of bubbles to get just right.
See,
Whatever it is that's bugging you inside that bubble,
You can put it in there.
I know you can.
Maybe it's fear that you put into the bubble.
Picture a fuzzy,
Silly monster.
You can pretend that the monster represents whatever it is that you're scared of or upset about.
Put your monster into a bubble.
Can you see it there?
Okay,
Now say this with me to the monster.
Fear monster,
I see you.
I see that you're actually trying to keep me safe.
I can also see how you are no longer serving me.
I'm letting you go.
Now imagine you're holding onto that bubble with your hand.
Such a strong bubble,
And you can hold it with your hand without popping it.
I know,
Pretty awesome.
See yourself letting go of the bubble.
Letting go of that fear monster.
He can't hurt you anymore.
He has no control over you.
And fear doesn't have to be a monster.
When we learn to let go of fear,
You can see that it was just a feeling.
Just like being happy is a feeling.
Feelings are not facts.
They come and go,
Just like one minute you think of a video game and the next of cookies.
Know that you are not alone in whatever you're feeling right now.
Know that you can create bubbles and let go of these feelings as many times a day as you need to.
Zoom or no zoom,
Mask or no mask.
Keep coming back to yourself.
Keep coming back to your breath.
And know that you are safe and whole and loved.
You have everything you need within you to let go of that fear monster.
Or that anger.
Or that sadness.
All that bravery lives inside of every one of you,
My sweet warriors.
Now I want to call all of that glorious energy back to you that we sent down your laser beam.
So imagine a golden sun or ball of light on the top of your head.
Let it grow bigger.
Let it call back your life force,
Your spirit.
Let it gather up your energy wherever you left it.
Watch that golden sun change and grow larger as you do this.
Notice where your attention has been.
Notice where your energy comes back from.
See your bright colors and energy returning to you into this golden sun.
See happiness and laughter coming back to you.
When that golden sun is full,
Allow it to come into the top of your head.
Feel your entire body,
Your cells,
Everything with this beautiful neutral gold energy.
Until you're in the center of a golden ball of your own light.
Take a really good breath and release.
And let yourself be replenished with all this light.
Now bend your head over like you're going to touch your toes or sit up to dump off the excess energy.
Then you can stretch out and slowly open your eyes.
Thank you for taking the time to be with me today.
My light will forever see your light.
And as always,
Don't forget to hydrate.
