SRV Youth Focus
Clay Connections
Children’s Class in Winter 2014
The most recent visit to our SRV San Francisco center commenced the first in a series of classes intent on cultivating the children’s awareness on the connection between consciousness, mind, senses, and elements. This establishes a solid foundation for teachings concerning discrimination between the Self and the nonSelf, the real nature of objects, and eventually the knowledge that the universe is a manifestation of mind at individual, collective and cosmic levels. This sounds like a tremendously high goal, yet it can all start in a children’s class with a block of clay and creative conversations.
We began with our tradition of practicing the meditation posture:
• seated on the floor in “tripod” position, cross-legged with hips level
• small of the back flat, not arched, and the pelvis straight, not tilted forward
• comfortably straight backs balanced over pelvis, not leaning forward or back
• chin slightly tucked to straighten and lengthen the neck.
Growing in SRV
A Child’s first SRV Class & Meditation
This is the account of a four and a half year old’s first SRV Kid’s class written to his parents afterwards by Annapurna who teaches the children. Little M is special in his own right, but also unique because he is the sangha’s first child born to sangha parents. From the beginning he has made visits to the shrine, been rocked in loving arms during pujas, and attended satsangs with growing attention span over the years. He will reach the magic age for attending the summer retreat just in time for this summer.