I love my students...and they love me :) Feeling blessed to live the possibility of what it could be in the classroom!

I feel so blessed to work at a school where I'm appreciated by students and parents :) Yesterday a parent greeted me with a wonderful breakfast and each child brought a flower from their garden! 

Here are my 6th graders response to what mindfulness means to them, why we should be mindful and how we should be mindful :)

This morning I received an email from Ajahn Sulak, he's an outspoken Thai intellectual and leader in the engaged Buddhist movement. I first heard him speak in London in June of 2007 and he quoted Auden when I asked him a question about transforming education. For FIVE years I'd been searching for that quote to no avail but in late March (in quite a serendipitous way) I heard him speak for the second time at the Berkeley Zen Center. After his talk I shared that I had been searching for this Auden quote he shared back in London and this morning I received the passage :) 

Whenever I'm around Sharon Salzberg I feel like I'm being bathed in love! I first met Sharon in India in March of 2008...truth be told I had no idea who she was but heard some Buddhist teacher was giving a talk on "faith" so I went and her talk moved me in so many ways. Since then I've had the pleasure of experiencing her teachings at the Mind & Life Summer Research Institute and at Omega's Mindfulness in Education Conference. In fact, I was lucky enough to present right after Sharon led everyone in a beautiful loving kindness practice.

Sharon's teachings tonight were filled with heart and humor and I'm so blessed that I was able to attend. She shared that when she went to receive blessings from one of her teachers, Dipa Ma, before she returned back to the States in 1974 from India, Dipa Ma said two very profound things: 1. You really understand suffering so you should teach. 2. You can do anything you want it's only your thinking that's stopping you. 

Both of these statements hold so much in them...the first speaks to the importance of suffering in order to really get compassion and the second emphasizes how much power we really have if we recognize how/when our thinking can hinder us.

Sharon also spoke about distinctions between empathy and compassion and encouraged a deeper understanding of mindfulness. Her books have been a source of inspiration for me over the years and her presence is a gift to to universe. 

 

 

 

 

Serendipity struck again as I walked into the Brower Center this evening in Berkeley! At the reception for Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH), author of Mindful Nation, I ran into a former student! Elyna is now a sophomore at UC Berkeley and I taught her when she was in 10^th grade during my first year at the American Embassy School…no shock that my former, amazing student works at the Greater Good Science Center :) Congressman Ryan’s talk was inspiring and I’m grateful that a Congressman is pushing mindfulness…it definitely gives more “umph” to the movement :)  

 

Today was our first day back from Spring Break...I thought I'd ease my kids in with a mindful eating activity. When I was in London a few weeks ago I was led through a tangerine meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh for the first time! Inspired by his meditation I attempted to share the practice with my students. We've done mindful eating before during Halloween but this time I also adapted the MindUp approach which involves liking the activity to brain research. Below is the handout I provided my kids :) 

I traveled to the UK to speak at “An Exploration of Mindfulness in Education” led by my spiritual teacher, Vietnamese Zen Master, poet, peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, at the American School in London. Over the course of four days I watched the hearts of several teachers open up as we cultivated the collective energy of mindfulness. Thich Nhat Hanh’s essential message was, “Happy teachers will change the world.” Every day he shared beautiful, inspiring teachings that helped teachers begin to see the importance of self-care. Thich Nhat Hanh also led thousands through a guided meditation in Trafalgar Square and gave a beautiful teaching on relationships and at the retreat he also spoke about the three powers: The power to understand; the power of love; the power to let go. Central to his teachings are the importance of touching our own suffering so we can understand the suffering of others, develop compassion and grow our hearts. When teachers know how to transform their suffering they can help their students suffer less.  

 

On Friday my students Skyped with my friend Christopher in Kenya. A follow up to our Skype call was an assignment that called upon students to reflect on fifty things they are grateful for. Above are each child's top five :) Did you know that a regular gratitude practice can increase your happiness by 25%?