Lesson for mindfulness – part 7:

Mindfulness for young People

Battaramulla
Siri Sudassanarama sadaham senasuna
Ven. Dr. Mirisse Dhammika thero

" From an early age most of us have been conditioned to regard our negative emotions as unnatural states of mind to be covered over either through suppression or distraction."

For young children, we can make them aware of their presence by the practice of counting breaths. For example, when a student breathes in, he/she should count one, and breathing out, should count two.

Thus, they can count up to ten, then count backward and forward for five to ten minutes. This type of practice on breathing helps to hold awareness in the present moment. In an awareness of the present, of how things are, it can be much easier to be one’s own image without damaging his/her social and moral identity, and manage the present situation effectively in a positive manner. Levete points outs:

From an early age most of us have been conditioned to regard our negative emotions as unnatural states of mind to be covered over either through suppression or distraction. Contrastingly, positive feelings such as peace, happiness and goodwill should always be a natural, permanent state of being. In reality, the positive image of what we should or should not be thinking, doing or feeling does not work out that way; thought is often in a crisis of conflict: confused, guilty and deeply afraid. A negative experience is often regarded as unnatural, a personal affront, or personal failure.

A consequence of this perception is that habitual thought patterns are divorced from a deeper level of intuitive understanding; an understanding which recognizes and accepts its interdependent connection with the rest of nature. By realizing that, as a self-observant and understanding human, one may be able to see his/her experience differently; the physical body and the process of thoughts are subject to natural laws, positive and negative consequences, impermanence and change. This state of mind empowers one’s awareness of the present moment, and that awareness may lead him/her to cultivate positive thoughts of love, compassion, tolerance, sharing and respect due to a mind that is undistracted, composed and natural.