I've been working with my students on money skills, and found this lovely little book at our local library! The author, Dr. Wayne Dyer write books on peace and spiritual topics, and this book shares 10 lessons on money from this perspective. However, it is not religious or spiritually "out there," so it could be used in many schools. The concepts presented include: Money does not define who you are; it doesn't matter what others have, and abundance comes in many forms. Each day of our unit on money, I read one of the 10 lessons and use the corresponding discussion question found in the back of the book with my students. If you're teaching your children about money, or your children are learning about money in their school or other educational program, you may want to add this book to your collection.
I really try not to watch too much Criminal Minds because it terrifies me. :) But, I love that show (especially Spencer). They begin each episode with a quote, and I heard this one. It really stuck with me and made absolute sense to me with some things that are going on in my life right now. I know that it may mean something completely different to you, so I'll just share the quote and hope that it helps you on your journey as it helped me.
When I heard that the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to its youngest recipient, I thought my students would be interested to read about a young person receiving this award. I wrote a (free) story that tells a little about the prize and one of this year's recipients, Malala Yousafzai. I tried to make the story as non-political as possible, focusing instead on the idea of peace and what we can do to make our world more peaceful. You can download the book for free at this link, and preview it below. I am also using the WONDERFUL curriculum, Stress Free Kids, for teaching my students to use relaxation techniques and breathing to help them remain calm in situations where they feel frustrated or angry. We are on the lesson about using these techniques to manage angry feelings, and I plan on using the book to lead into this lesson. The book opens a discussion about things that we can do to help make the world more peaceful, and I plan to discuss the idea with students that "peace begins with you" and learning to manage your feelings in a peaceful way (finding peace within yourself) is the first step toward making your community and the world more peaceful.
From a new study:
Nearly 250 mothers of children with autism or other disabilities were randomized into one of two programs: 1) Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a more physical program that emphasizes breathing exercises, deep belly breathing, meditation, and gentle movement; or 2) Positive Adult Development (PAD), a more cognitive approach that uses exercises such as practicing gratitude....Both treatment programs resulted in significant reductions in stress, depression, anxiety, improved sleep, and life satisfaction among participants. Read more: http://psychcentral.com/news/2014/08/31/mothers-of-autistic-kids-benefit-from-peer-led-intervention/74303.html Here's a link to a video from Boston.com that shares some information about new research into the benefits of mindfulness and relaxation for caregivers of children with autism.
http://www.boston.com/health/2014/07/22/meditation-could-help-mothers-who-care-for-child-the-autism-spectrum/X3ttlSU8kUEnKt6pIuCNKK/video.html Here are some tips on using a progressive muscle relaxation with children and adolescents on the spectrum. https://www.midwayisd.org/cms/lib/TX01000662/Centricity/Domain/16/Progressive%20Muscle%20Relaxation%20Handout.pdf I particularly like the focus on learning the difference between tense and relaxed muscles. When we teach people to recognize when they are getting tense, it can help them reduce episodes of aggression or problem behavior. When they recognize that they are tense, they can take some action to calm down before their behavior "explodes." A technique that goes along well with this is The Incredible 5-Point Scale. With this technique, you can divide a behavior into different levels (such as a "5" being a meltdown, a "3" being tense, and a "1" being relaxed). The 5-point scale chart also lists strategies the student can use to calm down or remain calm at each level. The first step to using a 5-point scale is the self-awareness to know how you are feeling, so the progressive muscle relaxation techniques may be a helpful starting point for this intervention. I also like how the progressive muscle relaxation handout characterized stress as "the feeling of being out of control." I think that people with autism can relate to this, because the world does often feel like it is chaotic or out of control. I believe that giving them tools to deal with this feeling is very helpful.
To paraphrase Louise Hay, affirmations are like seeds in the ground. They aren't a flower now, but they will grow into one. So, when you say an affirmation to yourself, it may not feel true at first, but if you persist, it will start to feel more true with time. Tell yourself an affirmation that feels good to you many times per day, and you will begin to shift your mental energy to a more positive place.
Here are other ideas for of affirmations from Louise Hay that you can choose:
These ideas are a part of cognitive behavior therapy, which we will be exploring on our blog in the future. Today is the last day of the Hay House World Summit, a collection of online lectures from well-known names in health and spirituality. There are a few lectures on meditation if you are interested. Although today is the last official day, they are replaying all of the lectures on-demand until Thursday this week. There are two levels of registration, one free and one for seven dollars. More information is available here: http://www.hayhouseworldsummit.com/
Guided meditation videos created by other people were a great help to me when starting to use meditation as a relaxation tool. I really had no idea what I was doing and often found my mind wandering when trying to meditate. Using guided meditation helped me to keep my thoughts more on track, even though it was still difficult. It does get easier with practice. Here is one of my favorite guided meditation videos for just taking a break out to relax during the day. I'm a huge Lord of the Rings fan, so this one was particularly enjoyable. If you like it, check out "The Honest Guys" channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheHonestGuys/ |