Students participated in a short meditation and breathing exercise. I read I Close My Eyes by David Ignatow. After the meditation, they were asked to write whatever came to mind. Classwork was conducted in silence. Daydreaming and even boredom were encouraged!
Lesson Note: “Boredom heightens daydreaming because moments of boredom resemble sleep. Each inhale and exhale become part of the experience. When the mind finds itself in an interlude of rest, synapses connect in different ways, and new thoughts are formed. The listener creates his or her own harmony in the space, just as our minds [might] fill boredom with a story or observation or memories-to escape the boredom. Mysteries abound in the time we’re not ‘entertained.’ “–Pep Talks for Writers (2017) by Grant Faulkner: Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month.
Ms. Ruan, 7th and 8th Grades
When I Close My Eyes
by
Junjie C.
I close my eyes and
put my head down
I felt my soul getting
pulled into a never
ending void
When I close my eyes
I heard my future self
tell me to be myself
I asked him, “If you could
go back in time, what will
you change?
When I Close My Eyes
by Haining L.
When I close my eyes and put my head down
I feel relaxed and I see darkness.
When I close my eyes and put my head down
I feel peaceful and I see the seaside.
When I close my eyes and put my head down
I feel nervous and I see the bad things.
When I close my eyes and put my head down
I feel tranquil and I see grassland.
Ms. Wright, 8th Grade
Meditation
by De’Miyah J.
I close my eyes, drifting away exhausted.
I can see my mind drifting away in my thoughts and my eyes relaxing.
The thought of food and games started to take over my mind.
I yawned out of exhaustment thinking what I would do if I were home.
I focused on my breathing pattern and slowly started to drift away in darkness.
Untitled
by
Zilin S.
As I sit there
Head on my arms
Pondering about the weather tomorrow.
Whether it’s going to be cold or decently warm.
Water would be nice
Although I’m craving tea at the moment.
As shows and movies go through my head
I also think about all the books I want.
As I sit here, my mind running 100 miles per hour
Spitting out the most random and uninteresting things.
Is it over yet?
Feels like it’s been an hour.
Finally,
The bell dings.
The end of my thoughts.
Ms. Wright, 8th Grade
Attempt to Meditation
by Andrea W.
I lay my head on the table
Closed my eyes
Tried to focus on my breathing
But I could not stand still
The discomfort of the table
The random song that starts to play in my head
The small noises coming from the fan
Everything kept my mind off of meditating
Trying again
But then hearing the sound of metal
The chair and the table were banging against each other
One more time..
My arms fell asleep
But why can’t I?
The Process of the Longest Meditation I’ve Ever Had
by Chunxi F.
As I put my head down, I remembered one time when
I tried to hide my tears and cry quietly but tears got on my mask.
As I tried to put m focus on my breath, my mind put up a scene of
a woman getting attacked by a man who tried to stop her breath.
Suddenly, a person who damaged me mentally popped up.
I tried to focus on my breath again as I breathe in and out.
It feels like I’m in a dream with all the past memories
playing like a video on my mind.
It’s also peace and quiet, something so addictive
that I can’t get off my mind.
Trying not to judge anything happening, a scene of me
almost falling asleep during recess popped on my mind,
as if it’s telling me that I’m about to fall asleep.
I tried to focus on my breath again,
the next thing I remembered
was hearing a sound of “ding ding ding!”
The meditation ended.
