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SPIRIT
LODGE
LIBRARY
Spiritual
Development
Page
8
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(Main
Links of the site are right at the bottom of the page)
Some of the links for the 97 pages in this Spiritual Development
section are below. For the rest please go HERE
CENTERING AND GROUNDING FOR YOUNG-UNS
By Mouse
The following meditations are specifically
for young children of early school age and up. They
will be coming in as I create time to write them.
Note to the parent: You will want to read this to the child.
Initially, you might want to do this in
its entire length, and as the child grows comfortable with it,
you can leave parts out. You might
also want to check for age appropriateness for your child at
this time, and as time goes on, recheck.
Perhaps there is wording that you may want to alter too, to
suit your child's development.
Some parts of the meditation are explanations which will serve
the child initially, but may
become distracting as the child becomes more familiar with it.
Then you would probably want to
go just for the basic imagery.
While reading this to your child, you may want to have a "sign",
which could be a nod of the
head, or raising a hand slightly, when the child has a firm
image of the part of the meditation
you're at and wants to move on. That way, you will know when
to continue and when to wait.
It is also important that the child slowly comes back into the
world. If the child indicates wanting
to stop, then go straight for the last paragraph about returning
to the sounds and light levels at
home, do the physical exercises, so that the child is back in
this reality before changing activities.
Meeting Mother Earth and Father Sun:
First, see if you need to use the bathroom, so that you don't
need to go while you're doing this
meditation.
Take off your shoes, wriggle your feet and toes, and feel how
free your feet are. Stand up
straight, and "cross-walk" for a bit, sort of like
walking on the spot. When you lift your left leg,
put your right hand on the knee of your left leg. When you lift
your right leg, put your left hand
on the knee of the right leg. Do this 10 times or longer if
you like doing this. How are your
clothes feeling? Comfortable? Or a bit tight? Wanna change clothes?
Perhaps get into your pj's
already if it's already evening. They're nice and comfortable.
Find a comfortable chair, in which you can sit with your back
straight, your hands on your lap
(but not crossed), your bum into the back of the seat, your
feet touching the ground. You might
need to be creative and use something under your feet to make
the connection with the ground - a
few phonebooks, or some firm pillows perhaps. When you're sitting
comfortably, close your eyes
and feel with your feet how the ground feels. Is there soft
carpet? Hard floors? If there are
pillows to make your feet reach the ground, are they soft? Phone
books are hard, but very
slippery underneath your feet if you're wearing socks…
and they're sticky if you're not wearing
socks.
Imagine that there's a string at the very top back of your head.
It's holding your head way up
straight. Perhaps a parent wants to touch the spot so that you
can feel where the string would be
(it's the crown of the head, generally where the hair parts
into different directions naturally). That
string is now pulling your whole back straight. You're not looking
down, you're looking straight
ahead. Open your eyes for a moment to make sure that you really
are looking straight ahead, then
close them again.
Feel how your bum is sitting on the chair. Is it a soft chair?
A hard chair?
Let's meet Mother Earth. She'll be very happy to greet you.
Right where your bum is touching the chair, at the very back,
at the bottom of your back,
imagine that your backbone is growing… there's a big tube
shape growing there. It could be a
pipeline, a tube, a tree trunk, the stem of a flower. It could
be a big chain, or an anchor as if you
are a boat. The tube you are seeing is growing down, down, down
- it goes through the floor,
right down to the Earth, into the Earth, and deeper and deeper
and deeper - until it comes to the
middle of the Earth. That's where the pipe or tube or chain
or anchor stops. If you are picturing a
tree or a flower, then under the ground it changes into roots.
The roots grow deeper and deeper,
until they reach the center of the Earth.
At the bottom of your feet are two more little pipes/tubes/trees,
they don't go so deep though,
they go through the floor and to the ground, then they go a
little bit down and into the Earth, just
to make sure that you are feeling very safe. The pipe/tube/tree
at the bottom of your back and
those on your feet will help you feel that you have a place
on the Earth, that you are a part of the
Earth, and that you are welcome on Earth. You are important
in this world, and Mother Earth
loves that you are taking up your rightful space on Her. In
your imagination, greet her. "Hi Earth,
I am [fill in first name and last name]." You can always
remember this connection with the
Earth. Nobody can see it, but you know it's there. You can always
remember that you have a
very special place with Mother Earth, wherever you are. You
can still move your feet and your
bum, the pipes/tubes/trees go with you wherever you go. It doesn't
matter whether you are
standing, sitting or lying down, whether you are on the grass
or in an apartment building on the
top floor. The connection with Mother Earth always is long enough,
Mother Earth ALWAYS
loves you and you are ALWAYS welcome to connect with her. Maybe
you want to give Mother
Earth a huge big smile!
At the top of the string by your head, is Father Sun. It's a
nice warm sun, but not too hot. It's
shining brightly. Picture the sun, and say your name to the
sun. In your imagination, greet the
Sun. "Hi Sun, I am [fill in first name and last name]".
The sun is shining, and the sunshine goes
down the string to your head, into your head, down your neck,
into your arms, down your back,
down the tube or pipe or tree, and also down your legs and down
into the pipes/tubes/trees at the
bottom of your feet. The sun is making you feel lovely and warm,
and there is so much light
inside you now! Father Sun will always shine light in you and
on you, and will always want to
keep you warm. All you need to do is connect with Father Sun,
and the light will be there.
Maybe you want to give the Sun a huge big smile too!
You are now feeling connected with Mother Earth and Father Sun.
You can do this every day, at
every moment, even if the room is full of people. Just imagine
the string with the Sun, and the
pipe/tubes with the Earth, and you are immediately connected.
Now put your hand on the center front of your chest. Feel your
heart inside your chest. Perhaps
you need to move your hand around a little bit to find where
you can feel your heart beating
inside you.
When you feel your heart, perhaps see if you can hear it inside
you too. Your heart is where
Father Sun and Mother Earth meet each other best. In your heart
is where you have lots of light,
and lots of place to be who you really are.
Slowly start to think of the room in which you are. What kind
of room is it? Is it a living room?
A bedroom? This is a room in your home. You are a part of this
home. What sounds are you
hearing in the room? In the other rooms? Listen to them for
a little while. Then slowly open your
eyes. Is the room light or dark? Is it day or is it evening?
How is your body feeling? Is your bum
still feeling comfortable on the chair? Slowly get up, put your
feet on the ground, spread them a
little bit apart but not too far so that you aren't feeling
wobbly, and shake your hands. Then shake
your arms. Then shake one leg, then another. Maybe you want
to lean forward and touch your
toes without bending your knees. Doesn't it feel good to move
again after sitting still for a while?
Have a drink of water now too.
Note to parents:
It is advisable to talk with your child after the meditation.
For instance, regarding feelings that
come up, or parts they liked or didn't like. With regard to
the grounding, you may want to find
out what kind of grounding they chose so that you can use their
preferred imagery again next
time instead of offering the various options. Perhaps you have
a preferred imagery as a family,
then you might want to use that instead of the options that
I used in this meditation.
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Libraries
are on this row
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INDEX
Page 3
(Main Section, Medicine Wheel, Native Languages &
Nations, Symbology)
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INDEX
Page 5
(Sacred Feminine & Masculine, Stones & Minerals)
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Text:
© Copyright: Cinnamon Moon & River WildFire Moon
(Founders.) 2000-date
All rights reserved.
Site
constructed by Dragonfly
Dezignz 1998-date
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