meditation programs held at schools in mumbai after mumbai terror attacks.

 http://timesofindia .indiatimes. com/Cities/ Thane/Meditation _classes_ at_schools/ articleshow/ 3848877.cmsTHANE: Calm and gentle breathing replaces the usual cacophony in classrooms. The sound of the morning bell at Lokpuram Public School, Pokhran-II in Thane, is greeted by students sitting still in their seats with eyes shut. The students chant in a co-ordinated manner for ten minutes. As if in a trance, they train at discovering inner peace.

The 15 minutes of meditation prior to mathematics or English lessons with experts, appears to have had a healing effect on the children dealing with heightened anxiety and anger in the wake of terror strikes.

“These children are constantly asking questions. They have seen the gun battle, sitting in their living rooms and are angry and confused. Adding to this, is the stress of coping with a difficult curriculum,’ ‘ says Jyoti Thakkar, a meditation guru. “All this has had a colossal negative impact on young minds with mood swings and anxiety common among all.”

Thakkar and eight of her colleagues who have mastered the Art of Living programme have taken it upon themselves to inculcate the practice of meditation among students and are conducting a 15-minute session in all the classrooms from Monday. The initiative seems to have been well-appreciated. “Its a rejuvenating experience,’ ‘ said Lipika Chandra, a Std X teacher at Lokpuram.

“I am seeing the change in my students. Earlier, they were very restless in class. They have been discussing the terror attacks and there was a certain amount of anger, a strange fear in their sub-conscious that it could happen here too.” According to her, the meditation programme has helped ease tensions and the students feel calm throughout the day, Chandra told TOI.

Thakkar and her team have designed a short programme for stress relief and peace meditation, having witnessed the teenagers’ condition post 26/11. “It occurred to me that there is an immediate need to focus on this group after I saw children from the residential complex where I stay, assembling and chanting patriotic slogans during the terror strike. The anger was visible. More importantly, they were not led by any elder but had marched on to the streets on their own,” Thakkar said.

She added that the programme of short duration at Lokpuram, appreciated for the academic performance of its students in the CBSE curriculum, will be experimented with by other schools in the vicinity including the Arunodaya school and also select municipal schools in Thane city.

“It aims at relieving children of all tensions. I always tell them that when the mind is calm, there is more dynamism and clarity in their thinking. The school children who practice with us have given excellent feedback,” Thakkar said. “They said they feel rejuvenated, as if they have woken up after a long nap. They are able to respond better to situations and focus more as the 15 minutes in trance help them to rise above anger and ego,” she said.

 Three Yogis

Last week, I was all set to start off ‘Yoga Dhyaan Shibirs’ for my neighbors. Yoga Dhyaan Shibirs, conceptualized organized by the Art of Living Foundation, are free health and happiness workshops which are conducted by senior volunteers and teacher trainees of the Foundation.

Not too long ago I was given an orientation course and was duly presented with a manual which had the list of yoga asanas that I could teach.

Armed with the manual and some 10 by 10 square foot of apartment real estate, I mustered up enough courage to invite people to the workshop.

I was ready to take the world. After much campaigning, the world presented itself in the form of three sprightly boys who were around 5 foot height, give or take a few inches.

Right. I decided to bow to the Will of the Universe and welcomed my students into my apartment.

On the first day, they sauntered in, bringing with them more skepticism and some enthusiasm. Perhaps they worried that the time for yoga would ‘eat’ into their play time.

“Aunty, we have lots of homework so we need to finish fast’, their self-appointed spokesperson suggested. The others nodded vigorously. I told them not to worry and that I would be packing them off in just half an hour. On hearing that, they relaxed.

With each asana being demonstrated, they questioned each move and gave suggestions as to how the asana can be modified in accordance with what they saw, mostly on TV. They obviously excelled in theory, but none of them ventured to make a move!

“Aunty, in our school they taught us to lift the right leg and wrap the left hand around the head and then turn fully around”, one of them suggested, going into merry convolutions even as he was saying it.

I patiently reassured him that there were different schools of Yoga which taught asanas with slight variations. The boy relaxed a bit and tentatively tried to follow what I was demonstrating.

The Bhastrika Pranayaam proved to be a nose, er, sorry, mind-blowing experience for them. One of them started sneezing non-stop. Perhaps he had an instant allergic response to the pranayaam, I wondered.

Some moments of dancing and prancing followed after which they lay down blissfully and prepared for Yoga Nidra (Yogic sleep). At this point, I thought I heard a gentle snore emanate from one sleeping figure. I had to instruct them more than once to wake up. The boys had had a long day of studies and play. So they must have fallen into (cosmic) sleep!

All in all, it was great fun. I can’t quite decide who had more fun, me or them. I like to believe that I was a winner here. Just watching their enthusiasm, fun, smiles, giggles and a whole lot of attempts at stretching tickled the funny bone endlessly.

There’s something about being with children, which makes the spirit soar. Maybe that is because they look upon life with so much joy. As Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar once put it: “…in the eyes of children, there is nothing dead in the world; animals, trees, the sun and the moon all are alive, and have emotions and feelings. But in the eyes of a stressed and ignorant person, even human beings are like robots or objects! “

By the end of the 5-day sessions, the yogis had pestered their parents to buy yoga mats for them. Now I hear that the mats are safely rolled into a corner in their rooms. Hopefully, they will air them every now and then with a bend here and a stretch there…

呼出我天地　Non-Aggression Program

免費中小學消壓課程 Free De-Stress Workshop for Primary and Secondary School

25-27/2 2009

  (天水圍／元朗／屯門區) (TinShuiWai/Yuen Long/ Tuen Mun Districts)

生活的藝術 基金會主辦  卓新力量，唐氏綜合症協會，香港保達小學，社區組織協會協辦

Organized by THE ART OF LIVING FOUNDATION in association with

Chosen Power, Down Syndrome Association, Poinsettia School, Society for Community Organization

免費學校消壓課程

【呼出我天地】這個免費課程是【生活的藝術基金會】香港中心的服務方案之一。主要為學校學生及教師族群而提供的減壓及平衡身心的工作坊。生活的藝術的主要宗旨是提升及培養社會的人文價值，只有當同情心，歸屬感，友愛，輕鬆，歡笑，樂於助人及關懷他人等人文價值在社會及課堂中瀰漫彰顯時，轉變才會發生。所有以上的素質，亦是兒童與生俱來的特質，這些既有的特質，只是有待發掘和栽培。

針對日趨嚴重的青少年暴力，提升和培養青少年的友愛，是當務之急。『呼出我天地』是雙層次的課程：

¨        【呼出我天地】(青少年組)

針對兒童及青少年，讓他們能體驗人性價值的意義及力量。特別在非暴力的時候；他們會更能接納自己及他人，這種由內而外的接納和同情心，更是他個人成長的支柱。作為一個學生，生活是充滿無限的可能性。能夠作出正確的決定，清晰的思想，專注及自信是必須的。如果這些特質都不能發揮時怎辦？這個課程以簡單而有效的呼吸及放鬆技巧；配合對話，遊戲及故事，讓學生能減除其壓力，憤怒，懊惱及害羞。在輕鬆玩耍的過程中，達到頭腦清晰，更有自信的效果，課程連續3天進行，每天1.5-2小時。跟進課在一星期後舉行，為時2小時。

¨        【呼出我天地】(教師組)

這個課程是為老師而設的特別訓練─兒童的學習來源，一半來自父母，另一半則是老師。老師的責任崇高而遠大，社會下一代的福祉，很大部分繫於老師。年青一代在成長過程中，不斷尋找模範來塑造自我和界定人生的定位。老師面對數以百計的學生，有時會感到一籌莫展，朿手無策。這個課程主要教導放鬆及呼吸技巧，舒解壓力。課程亦為老師提供重要法門，讓學生能體驗及發展在朋輩及師生間的歸屬感，為眾人及自己負起責任，相助互愛；從相互競爭對立的局面而蛻變為互愛相扶持。這課程連續3天進行，每次1.5-2小時。跟進課在一星期後舉行，為時2小時。

這個課程已在各個國家包括俄國、丹麥、克羅地亞、意大利，澳洲，希臘及德國等推行，獲得極佳迴響。

以上課程完全免費。歡迎學校舉辦及籌劃。青少年組課程四十人開上班，上限二百人。教師組課程十五人開上班，不設上限。時間表可就學校的需要而訂定。

查詢及聯絡：Sandra Yu  余素蘭  6221 2803    /  Graice Chiang蔣春梅 94008843 (生活的藝術 義工隊)

陸錦儀Sylvia Luk 6103 2227 / 黃仲明Timothy Wong 9107 6649 (導師)

電郵: sylvialukj77@gmail.com 

 【生活的藝術基金會】(The Art of Living Foundation) 為一國際性非營利的教育、慈善與人文組織，於1982年首先在美國創立，目前在全球逾146個國家設有4,000多個中心，整個機構完全由義工推動運作，為全球最大的義工組織。  基金會在印度、德國、加拿大及波蘭設有國際中心及靜心所。  其主要的教育工作在教導解除壓力﹑提昇身﹑心﹑靈整體健康的實用技術和知識，以提昇大眾的生活品質，進而活出生命的智慧和喜悅。

此基金會深獲聯合國的肯定，亦是聯合國非政府組織(NGO)、世界衛生組織(WHO)的項目成員、世界衛生組織制定全球二十一世紀健康策略的與會諮詢顧問，且是聯合國經濟社會組織（ECOSOC）的特別諮詢顧問會員。

aol_form_nap_tsw_feb09

============

NON AGGRESSION PROGRAM

Free De-Stress Workshop for School Students and Teachers

 “By nature, children are friendly.  If they are not, it’s because of stress.”

 Nurturing Little Minds

The Art of Living Foundation’s Non-Aggression Program (NAP) is a community-service school program designed especially for children and teachers.

The Art of Living Foundation is an international Non Government Organization, which is working in over 130 countries offering programs and aid projects in the health, social and educational sector on voluntary basis.  It holds a special counseling status in the committee of Economics and social Affairs (ECOSOC) of the United Nations and takes part in UN conferences in New York, Geneva and Vienna.

The main goal of the Art of Living Foundation is to nourish Human Values in society.  Change can be brought about when Human Values like compassion, feeling of belongingness, friendliness, lightness, laughter, wanting to help and care for each other are supported in society and the classroom.  All these qualities are inborn in every child; they only need to be cultivated.

With the rise of the age of information the increasing complexity of life and society have an impact on our children.  Peer-group pressure rivalry amongst siblings the influence of media and pressure of performance are a massive burden on our children’s’ shoulders and cause them to lose their light-heartedness, enthusiasm and joy at a very young age.

To respond to increasing violence in schools and to enhance friendliness in children and teenagers we are offering a twofold program:

One part of the program is aiming to give children and teenagers the chance to experience the meaning and power of human values—especially of non-violence—to have more acceptance for themselves and others and to support their personal development.  The life of students is full of possibilities, for example selection of school, career, profession and relationship.  To be able to make the right decisions, clarity of mind, concentration and self-confidence are necessary.  But what to do if exactly these qualities are lacking?  This program is offering students the opportunity to reduce stress, anger, rage and shyness by simple and yet effective breathing and relaxation techniques, dialogues, games and stories and to gain more clarity of mind and confidence in a light and playful manner.  This program consists of three consecutive sessions of 90 minutes per day plus a 90-min follow-up session.

The complementary part of the program is a special training for teachers.  Children are learning from their parents and teachers.  A big responsibility for the development of our society is on the shoulders of our teachers’.  The new generation is looking to them for orientation.  Teachers have the difficulty to deal with dozens of students in the classroom.  This program therefore teaches mainly relaxation and breathing techniques to alleviate stress.  Additionally various examples are offered on how students are able to experience and/or develop the sense of belongingness with classmates and teachers, to take responsibility for each other and to help each other rather than being rivals.  This program also consists of three consecutive sessions of 90 minutes per day.

Projects of this program have been launched in various countries like Croatia, Denmark, Russia, Italy and Germany receiving a positive response.

Enquiry     :  Sandra Yu  6221 2803    /  Graice Chiang 94008843  - (AOLF volunteers) / Sylvia Luk 6103 2227 / Timothy Wong 9107 6649 – (AOLF teachers) /

Email:      @gmail.comsylvialuk77

aol_form_nap_tsw_feb09

天水圍 六天 服務 活動 ─ 2009 年2 月24 日- 3 月1日：

針對天水圍，元朗及屯門的社會福利機構的會員及社工
日期： 2009 年2 月24 日- 3 月1日
地點： 天水圍 天耀 社區會堂

活動內容：
呼出我天地 ─ 免費學校消壓課程(分 學生組 及 教師組）
2 月24日 – 27 日 2pm-4pm (英語）
2 月24日 – 27 日 4pm-6pm (廣東話）

生活的藝術 Ｉ 階課程 (只限 社會福利機構 的 會員 及 社工)
2月 24日 – 3月 1日: 星期二至五6.45pm – 9.45pm; 星期六及日 4pm – 7.30pm

查詢： 余素蘭 6221 2803 蔣春梅 9400 8843 (義工）
陸錦儀 6103 2227 黃仲明 9107 6649 (導師）

6-day seva program to Tin Shui Wai, Yuen Long, Tun Mun community, servicing NGO users and social workers:

Date: Feb 24-March 1
Venue: Tin Yiu Community Hall

Contents:
Non Aggression Program (NAP) – Free school de-stress workshop for students and teachers:
Feb 25-27, 2-4pm (English class)
Feb 25-27, 4-6pm (Chinese class)

Art of Living Course (AOLC) for NGO users / social workers in TSW, Yuen Long and Tuen Mun
Feb 24- March 1, weekdays 6.45pm-9.45pm, Sat-Sun 4-7.30pm

Enquiry:  Sandra 6221 2803, Graice 94008843 (volunteer) 
                    Sylvia 6103 2227, Tim 9107 6649 (facilitator)

聖 母 聖 衣 堂 及 生 活 藝 術 合 辦

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church & The Art of Living

drop-in meditation

免費 靜心

Relax and refresh your mind through a simple guided meditation, let go of all tension and stress,
center yourself into the present moment.

透過呼吸靜心練習，鬆弛緊繃的神經與釋放壓力，使頭腦獲得深度休息與充電，由波動的負面情緒中回復平靜。

2009年1月8日起 逢星期四

中午11:45 – 12:35及1:05 – 1:50

8th January 2009, every Thursday

11:45 – 12:35 and 13:05 – 13:50

address: 1 Star Street, Wanchai

http://www.ourladyofmc-church.org.hk/home/eng/contact.php

地址： 灣仔 星街 1 號

http://www.ourladyofmc-church.org.hk/home/chi/contact.php

Enquiry: Sylvia Luk 6103 2227
查詢: 陸錦儀 6103 2227    

http://www.organdonation.gov.hk/eng/knowmore.html

Centralised Organ Donation Register

The Department of Health (DH) has set up the Centralised Organ Donation Register (CODR) to make it more convenient for prospective donors to voluntarily register their wish to donate organs after death, and for such wish to be more reliably recorded. The Register will enable medical personnel responsible for organ donation to know upon the patients’ death about their wish to donate organs, and the bereaved family to acknowledge the deceased’s wish to rekindle lives of other people.

<!–

Before submitting information for registration, please remember to tell your family members about your wish.

Upon receiving your organ donation form, DH will contact you by telephone or by e-mail to verify your personal particulars. Should DH fail to establish a contact with you, the organ donation form received will be destroyed to ensure the authenticity of information. DH will then send you a new form by post / via e-mail to the address you provided for re-registration.

–>

To sign up

1. Register online; or
2. Collect or download the registration form in the organ donation promotional leaflet and send it after completing the details
   • by post to:CODR System Administrator, Department of Health, 21/F, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong； or

      

   • by fax to 2127 4926

<!– –>Organ Donation Card

http://www.organdonation.gov.hk/tc/knowmore.html

中 央 器 官 捐 贈 登 記 名 冊

衞 生 署 設 立 了 一 個 中 央 器 官 捐 贈 登 記 名 冊 ， 方 便 有 意 捐 贈 器 官 者 自 願 登 記 ， 使 他 們 在 身 故 後 捐 贈 器 官 的 意 願 得 以 妥 為 記 錄 。 該 名 冊 可 以 讓 與 器 官 捐 贈 有 關 的 醫 護 人 員 在 病 人 身 故 後 得 悉 其 捐 贈 器 官 的 意 願 ， 亦 可 以 讓 捐 贈 者 家 人 知 道 去 世 親 人 遺 愛 人 間 的 心 願。

<!–

遞交資料登記前，請 緊 記 告 知 家 人，讓 你 造 福 他 人 的 意 願 獲 得 家 人 的 尊 重 及 支 持 。

衞 生 署 會 在 收 到 器 官 捐 贈 登 記 表 格 後 ，以 電 話 與 捐 贈 者 核 實 個 人 資 料 。 為 確 保 資 料 無 誤 ，如 衞 生 署 未 能 成 功 與 當 事 人 聯 絡 ， 有 關 的 器 官 捐 贈 登 記 表 格 將 會 被 銷 毀 。 該 署 會 重 新 寄 出 或 電 郵 一 份 新 的 登 記 表 格 至 填 報 的 地 址 ，以 方 便 重 新 登 記。

–>

登 記 方 法

1. 進 行 網 上 登 記 ；或
2. 填 妥 經 下 載 或 索 取 的 器 官 捐 贈 宣 傳 單 張 內 的 登 記 表 格 後
   • 請 寄 回：香 港 灣 仔 皇 后 大 道 東 213 號 胡 忠 大 廈 21 樓 衞 生 署

     中 央 器 官 捐 贈 登 記 名 冊 管 理 主 任；或

   • 傳 真 至 2127 4926

<!– –>器 官 捐 贈 証

Strenghtening the the Spirit of Mumbai (Online Counselling)
Posted by: “manubhaiofpuri” manojofpuri@yahoo.co.in   manubhaiofpuri
Wed Dec 3, 2008 4:47 am (PST)

As we all unite to restore peace in Mumbai and bring life to normalcy again, we have to deal with the emotions born out of the terror attack on November 26. To rebuild our society and make it safer, we all have to be peaceful and focussed from inside. The Art of Living has started trauma relief sessions in Mumbai to help people cope with the emotions of loss, fear, anxiety and depression. Numerous inquiries about ways of dealing with the current situation have also come to us through e-mails.

Senior faculty members from the Art of Living, Swami Pragyapadji and Sangeeta Jani, will guide you on eliminating the trauma.

Online Counselling. ..
Unburden yourself and share your trauma with us:
artofliving.traumacare@gmail.com

Is it a waste of time to think that all religions are preaching one and the same thing?…

Sangeetaji: Though religions may have different customs and symbols, the values taught in every religion are the same. His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji likens religion to a banana peel and says that the fruit of the banana is spirituality, so at some point you have to go beyond the skin towards the fruit. It is this spiritual knowledge that gives you an experience of the oneness, compassion, love, faith, trust, caring, sharing, all the values that religions teach….

My children are scared and are asking me about the blasts. I am scared myself. What do I tell them?…

Sangeetaji: Unfortunately, all the children in Mumbai are experiencing trauma after having watched the terror attack live for four full days.  The terrorists appear to be so powerful.  Explain to them that it is not the negative that is powerful.  See what a wonderful job the army and the police did.  Put an emphasis on the positive.

They are unable to derive security from their parents right now because their parents themselves are afraid. At a time like this, it is important that they derive their security from divinity. Instil their faith in that power which is higher than everything, the power of divinity. Instil in them the trust and faith that they’re loved, protected and being taken care of.

It is important along with the understanding, children practice meditation and breath techniques which will give them immediate relief. We’re conducting trauma relief camps across all schools and colleges in the city.  Please contact the helpline numbers and we will be happy to help you.

Online Counselling. ..
Unburden yourself and share your trauma with us:
artofliving.traumacare@gmail.com

慷慨是種精神特質 Generosity is a Quality of Spirit 

每周知識 160                             1998/07/01 加拿大 溫哥華

在生命中，當你感覺受困──沒有成長、受到慾望的轟炸、枯燥無味、興趣索然、沒有樂趣時，你怎麼辦呢？

這兒有個解決的辦法：

感覺慷慨大方……現在，而不是明天

慷慨是精神的一種特質。王子和乞丐都可以有慷慨的感覺。當你感到慷慨大方時，你的生命即變得豐盛，充滿了慈悲與愛。

問：慷慨與感恩是一樣的嗎？

古儒吉：不一樣，感恩總是帶著自我的顧慮。你為何感恩呢？那是因為你擁有某樣東西，或你將獲得某樣東西。

慷慨是不受制於外在的情況。沒有可以讓你感覺慷慨。那是某種你自己必須做的事情。慷慨是一種意識狀態。慷慨並非一種行動，但卻總是以行動來表達。　

問：那麼激情又如何？

古儒吉：激情顯示匱乏；不動心則是豐盛。然而有不動心，卻沒有慷慨使你以自己為核心，造成枯燥。

不要想那些你過去所做過的事，那只會帶給你作為者的心態。只要感覺慷慨即可。

GENEROSITY IS THE QUALITY OF THE SPIRIT

Weekly Knowledge 160         Vancouver,British Columbia, 1 Jul 1998, Canada

When You Feel Stuck In Life And Not Growing, Bombarded By Desires, When There Is Dryness, Lack Of enthusiasm, no juice, what do you do?

Here is the solution….FEEL GENEROUS….right away, not tomorrow.

Either a princess or a pauper can feel generous. Generosity is the quality of the spirit. When you feel generous your life becomes abundant, full of compassion and love.

Question: Is generosity the same as being grateful?

Answer: No. Gratefulness always has self concern. You are grateful because you have something or you get something. Generosity is an expression independent of external circumstances. No one can make you feel generous. That is something that you have to do yourself. Essentially, generosity is not an act. It is a state of consciousness, but it cannot but find its expression in an act.

Question: What about passion?

Answer: Passion indicates scarcity. Dispassion is abundance. Dispassion without generosity makes you self-centered, causes more dryness.

You dont´ have to think about what you have done in the past. That only brings doership.

Just feel generous.

NEWS FLASH Following Guruj’s visit to South Africa, there is now a very successful prison program going on.

The North American tour started to heat up as Guruji came to Chicago for more inspiring talks and intimate Satsangs. The knowledge flowed as each devotee felt Guruji was speaking only to them. There is no independent consciousness. In Jackson Hole, Wyoming the weather cooled but the volunteers were still hot arranging standing room only talks and quiet walks by pristine lakes. Then on to Vancouver where Guruji was again met by sunshine in the skies and on the faces of devotees.