LESSON: 1
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Introduction: Bring focus to the topic regarding thoughts; how, when we unclutch from our thoughts we experience more peace and bliss.
Goals: To make the child aware how independent thoughts flow continuously, and how when we become aware we open up to reality and live in the present.
Click: Each thought is completely independent
About the topic: Different thoughts are continuously flowing in you. All thoughts are related to something about the past or the future. You cannot have thoughts about the present. In the present moment you can have only consciousness, no thoughts. Each thought is completely independent, completely unconnected to the previous thought. Understand that no two thoughts are logically connected. No thought is responsible for the creation of another thought. They all appear randomly, independent, and illogically. Your life is the totality of all the thoughts you have when you are aware and unaware. Make the child understand that different kinds of thoughts are continuously flowing in our mind. Question the child what thoughts are there in his mind now? Next we question them how we can 'unclutch' from this random stream of thoughts? We experience a neutral space between any two thoughts in our mind. That neutral space, that silence that exists between two thoughts is peace and bliss. When we no longer grab onto thoughts and connect them to the past or future, we remain 'unclutched'. As we remain 'unclutched' from our thoughts we become more aware of the neutral spaces between thoughts. The gap between the thoughts will automatically extend when we remain
Unclutch - The Nature of the Mind
Assessment:
- Are they aware that the thoughts are about the past and future?
- Are they able to unclutch and experience the neutral space?
- Do they know that while living in the present moment they can have only consciousness, no thoughts?
- What are thoughts?
- Why do we have thoughts? Who creates it?
- Do babies have thoughts?
- Why are we thinking constantly? When can we relax?
- When do we relax from thinking?
- Why do we ponder about some thoughts more than other?
- Are negative thoughts very catchy why?
Evaluation: Ask them to analyze the thoughts coming, whether the thoughts are connected or not. Evaluate to know their nature of thoughts, to understand about their thought flow and to experience their present moment or the neutral space or their pure consciousness
Conclusion: If you become aware continuously, you will open up to reality which ultimately will lead you to experience only joy and bliss.
Unclutch - The Nature of the Mind
Art of the Day - Drawing the sequence
Goals: Children understand about unclutching every thought by doing this activity.
Materials: Paper (1 each), Pencil (1 each).
Preparation: Have enough pencils for everyone and 1 paper each and tell them to draw the pictures.
Presentation: Ask each child to draw any picture that comes to their mind one after the other. Tell them that they can draw a theme or draw randomly. If they are drawing without a theme each picture will be unconnected like unclutched thoughts. If we have a theme and draw the pictures it will be connected to the theme in some way. Usually the picture will be unconnected.
Interpretation: This activity focuses on being in the now. There is no logic in the way thoughts form in our mind. Thoughts are just moving, drifting from one thing to another.
Unclutch - The Nature of the Mind
Activity of the day - Paper Cutting
Material required:
● Paper (one piece each)
● Safety scissors(1 per child)
Presentation and discussion: We have so many thoughts, and we don't know how to just stop thinking unless we are in deep sleep. So this is an activity to show how we can snip one thought at a time.
Activity: Take the scissors and demonstrate how we can snip one piece of paper at a time into tiny pieces. When we try to cut a thick set of papers we will find it very difficult as it becomes very hard. Like a one man army we can only cut each sheet of paper at a time making it very easy and precise.
Each child can snip the full sheet of paper into tiny pieces/ thoughts and then try snipping the whole bunch of paper. We need to un-clutch from each and every thought that arises in our mind.
© 2011 Copyright Nithya Gnanadhan Trust
[Figure: Meditation figure]