Chapter One
Silence and Concentration
Chapter Inspiration:
“Silence is more musical than any song.” –Christina Rossetti
“My personal hobbies are reading, listening to music, and silence.” –Edith Sitwell
“By not setting foot outside the door one knows the whole world; By not looking out of the window one knows the way of heaven.” –Lao Tzu
“Only when we have established peace in our entire being can there be peace all over the world.” –Sri Chinmoy
Chapter Story:
Once upon a time in France a man named Marcel Proust liked to sit quietly and be still. This used to make him feel peaceful and happy. Sometimes when he was sitting like this, he would remember things from his childhood. One day when he was sitting quietly, he suddenly smelled the sweet fragrance of a tea that he used to drink when he was young. It was the same smell that he used to smell every day when his grandmother would make bergamot tea and give him a madeleine cookie. With his eyes closed, he started to remember those long-ago times. He could almost taste the tea and see his grandmother again. It was almost as if he were going back in time. This made him feel very joyful.
When he opened his eyes again, he decided to write about his happy times as a child. He began his story by telling about the tea, the cookies and his grand mother. He started to get excited about his story, so he kept writing. He didn’t stop for many years! His story stretched into a book and his book stretched into many books. His books became very famous and they are still in libraries all over the world. This series of books is called Remembrance of Things Past
Chapter Overview:
Deep inside each of us is the place where the real ‘me’ lives. It is the place we point to when we say ‘me.’ We can learn, with a little practice, how to go to that special place and just be with ourselves when we want to or need to. Being there can make us feel peaceful and happy. This place can become like a friend to us. In it we can find our ‘sparkler mind’ (see Chapter 3). Our sparkler mind is at work when we feel good about ourselves, and get new and exciting ideas
Chapter Lessons:
Lesson #1 – Breathing
Practice sitting cross-legged (‘Indian style’) on the floor. Or you can just try to sit up straight in a chair. Close your eyes and just breathe. Feel your breath go in and out. Your breath is bringing you new energy and it cleans and enriches your blood every time it goes in and out. Breathing is natural and breathing is good for you. Remember to enjoy your breath. And let’s be thankful for it too! Once in awhile we can say, “Thank you, breath!”
Lesson #2 – Silence
As you sit with your eyes closed, pay attention to the silence in the room. Is it totally silent? What sounds can you still hear? How does it make you feel to be without noise for a few moments? Sometimes the best ideas or the most inter esting images come to us in the silence. Are you getting any special thoughts or seeing any special images? Take a piece of paper and write down your special thoughts or draw your special images, if you wish.
Lesson #3 – Concentration and the breath
Just sitting and being quiet with yourself is the simplest thing in the whole world. When you sit and pay extra attention to your breathing and to the silence, this is called concentration. If you focus on your breathing, this makes you feel more relaxed. If you focus on the silence, you can get even more positive feel ings, new ideas, and creative images.
The way you focus is to just remember what you are concentrating on. If you start thinking about something else, just say, “Oops, I am trying to focus on my breathing,” or “Oops, I want to focus on the silence.” Practicing concentration like this can help you in lots of other ways. It can help you do well in your schoolwork and to be patient when things that you do not like are happening.
Lesson #4 – Concentration on a flower
Today, when you sit quietly, first enjoy your breathing and pay attention to the silence for a few moments with your eyes closed. Then gently open your eyes, but not all the way. Just open your eyes a little bit, so that they are half-open and half-closed. Now hold a flower in your hands and look at it for a minute or so. If your mind starts to think of something else, just remember, “I am looking at my flower for a minute,” and bring your attention back to the flower. What is special about your flower? How does it look? What does it feel like? Does it have a fragrance? Does the flower give you any special feelings? Make a drawing of the flower if you wish, or write a few words or even a poem about your experi ence of looking at the flower. You can also do this lesson with a stone, a crystal, a shell, or even a stick from the woods!
Lesson #5 – Personal reflection
After you have been sitting for awhile, ask yourself this question: “What is the best thing about me?” Are you kind? Peaceful? Friendly? Cheerful? Funny? Helpful? Caring? What is the most special thing about who you are? Whatever that thing is, say to yourself: “I am friendly,” or, “The best thing about me is I am cheerful.” Say this to yourself three times. You will most likely think of several things that are the best things about you. On a piece of paper write down these things. Each time you sit quietly, you can choose a different one of these things to think about. The best things about you are called your positive qualities or your good qualities. These are the things that make you ‘you’!
Discussion Questions:
a) What was your favorite lesson? Why? How do you feel after doing the lessons in this chapter?
b) How do you think you would feel if you were able to sit quietly for a few min utes each day?
c) What is most special about you? Write a poem or draw a picture about what is special about you. Share your poem or drawing with the class.
d) What kind of job or occupation do you think it would be extra helpful for, if you were able to stay peaceful or concentrated?
Supplemental Activities:
See if you and your class can practice one of the lessons in this chapter each day for a week or even a month. If you can’t do it at school, maybe you can try it at home with your mother or father.
Teach one of the lessons to your mother or father or your grandma or grandpa. How do they like it? Report back to the class about how your family member enjoyed your lesson.
Close your eyes and pay attention to your heartbeat. You can feel it by softly putting two fingers on top of the veins on your opposite wrist; or you can touch your thumb to your pointer finger; or you can put your fingers on the large vein at the side of your neck. Just focus on your heartbeat for a while. This can be a good way to practice concentration and also to notice the difference between your physical, beating heart and your ‘invisible heart.’
Can you create your own lesson like the ones in this chapter?