In my perfect world, this is what a teacher would tell their kids at the beginning of the school year:
Dear Students,
1) Welcome! We are going to learn a lot of new, interesting things this year. Your mind is a powerful tool that can help you to accomplish great things. However, did you know that if you are not vigilant, your mind can also quickly become the #1 source of your unhappiness and suffering? This all depends on the relationship you develop with your mind and your thoughts. It's up to you.
2) Did you know that you are not your thoughts, but you are the one capable of perceiving them? Understanding this is extremely powerful! The thoughts that pop into your head are not the absolute truth. In fact, they are often lies that create stress and uncomfortable feelings in your body. You can learn to question your thoughts often, especially when you start to feel contraction or discomfort in your body, and this will positively impact your mood.
3) It's good to use your mind as a tool, but don't let it use YOU through compulsive thinking that can quickly become addictive and out of control. When you are not using your mind as a tool to accomplish a certain task, you can rest in the innate wisdom and intelligence of your body. In fact, it is recommended that you ground yourself in this space as often as possible. Here you will find true creativity, inspiration, healing and joy. The mind alone cannot give you these gifts.
4) Inhabit your body. As children, you do this naturally. You experience life through your physical senses and feelings. You allow the life-force to naturally flow through you and this results in play and spontaneous creativity. When uncomfortable feelings arise in your body, try to stay open to them like you did when you were really small. Try to feel and release them instead of contracting your body and keeping those yucky feelings trapped inside for years to come.
5) By default, you will want to follow the example set by the grown-ups and it will be really hard not to, but you must know there is a better way of living. As we grow older, most of us desert our bodies and take up residence in our minds. We disconnect ourselves from our physical sensations and our feelings because these make us feel too vulnerable and uncomfortable at times. Up in our minds, it feels much safer because we can write our own story and we don't have to feel anything if we don't want to. So we lock ourselves in a prison we believe to be safe and we wonder why we don't feel fulfilled. Our thoughts about life prevent us from directly experiencing the fullness of life. Use your mind as a tool, like a calculator, but don't live in your mind! Come back to the wisdom, the peace and the joy in your body.
Learning new things is important, it will help you to succeed in life. However, if the ultimate goal of education is that you have a happy, balanced life, shouldn't we cut to the chase and also learn how to tap into our happiness and well-being right now? Why wait? What could be more essential at this time?
We will learn all the traditional subjects this year, and we will also be learning about mindfulness and emotional literacy. You will learn important skills and tools that will help you to feel good, regardless of what you are doing. This knowledge will help you to self-regulate your moods, reduce your stressful thinking and it will even improve your academic performance.You can learn to work in a state of joy and presence each and every day, it's really up to you. In my classroom, your state of being is more important than what you are doing. I will be there to help you along the way. Let's take a deep breath and get started!
Your 2020 Teacher.
by Lise Villeneuve
Conscious Kids Mindfulness & Emotional Literacy Programs
