Young Meditators Make a Journey Through Time
Sarah Wood Vallely
Picture windows provide two walls of majestic light on either side of a fireplace framed with stacked stones. A healthy spider plant sits upon the mantle. Stylish yet comfortable couches rest on a large oriental rug. A perfect spot for a meditation class for children. Angela Marschall and her two children Elfe, 12 and George, 11 spent the morning preparing for their guests to arrive. Twin sisters Adriana and Vivianna, 14 and their younger sister and brother Gabriela, 10 and Leo, 5 arrive; along with Michael M., 12 and his sister Gabriella M, 9.
Before the children meditate, Angela, the teacher, explains, “We don’t have to sit up or lie down. Just get into a position that is comfortable.” She further suggests they put their hands over their eyes to block the light out. Most of the children don’t seem to need to do this. Some children collect pillows and place them under and around their bodies in a variety of ways until they achieve the comfort they are striving for. Vivianna pulls a blanket off her sister Arianna who is covered from head to foot with pillows other children have passed up. No one seems to mind all the fidgeting and other adjustments the children make. The movement subsides and children are strewn across the room – lying on the floor and resting on couches and chairs. There are just a few more giggles before the room falls into a tranquil silence.
Angela’s voice is soft. “Take a deep in-breath. When you breathe back out, feel your body relaxing. We’ll take two more breaths. Deep breathe in and relax your legs as you breathe out.” Deep into the meditation, the children take gentle breaths, so gentle one might mistake their peacefulness for sleep. One might also be surprised to learn that behind their closed eyes and inside their still bodies, these children are being swept up into a grand adventure, riding in their very own time machines. They are making touchdowns in lands many years away, yet the experience is right here in this exact moment.
This present moment is where all moments meet and these children are guided to any moment in their existence, whether it is their childhood or even before their conception. They are seeing sunshine that hit the Earth long ago, hearing voices rooted in their memories of the past and feeling emotions of grief, happiness, courage and strength. Angela guides the children through this journey, although unlike typical journey meditations, here the children choose where they are going, how they get there and what they see when they arrive.
A short 12 minutes later Angela is finished and invites the children to open their eyes whenever they are ready. Children begin to stir, shifting their limbs, pushing themselves into more upright positions. The room is still and almost completely silent. Angela gazes at the awakening children and then asks them to share what they heard, felt and saw during their meditation. Angela’s son George begins, “It was before Christ. I was in a garden with bricks on the ground. I went to this fountain. I asked where I was and I heard, ‘Wherever you want to be.’ I scooped up water from the fountain and put it in a bottle. I did this because it made me feel better. I don’t know how to explain it.” The class soaks in their classmate’s experience before shifting their attention to Adriana. Her voice is soft and humble. She says she doesn’t know where she went but she knows it was night time and she was a little girl. She sat beside a man she did not know and she asked him, “Why am I here?” He answered, “Just to get away.” Adriana adds, “It felt good.”
Adriana’s sister, Vivianna speaks up next. “I found myself in my backyard, I saw my grandmother reach out to me.” Vivianna is filled with emotion. Her voice begins to crack. “I looked down and noticed I was in water. I was in our pool I used to swim in all the time. Just talking to my grandmother and being able to see her in front of me moving and standing up straight by herself made me feel so good.” With this, Vivianna’s head falls into her hands. She holds back tears with her fingers. She takes a deep breath and opens up even more to herself and her classmates, “That was a special day. The one day I can never forget from my past. I never saw the sun shine so brightly.” Vivianna’s grandmother tells her to be strong always. This message strikes a cord with her twin sister also, who shares her sister’s emotion. Their younger sister Gabriela and her friend, who sit on the floor a few feet in front of them, turn around to take in this energy no one can quite explain.
The tone is tender as everyone in the room holds affection for the moment. Attention gradually shifts to Angela’s daughter Elfe. Elfe paints an enchanting picture of a forest leading to a waterfall. She walks barefooted to the waterfall where she meets deer and rabbits. An angel comes out from the waterfall with a message for Elfe. “The angel told me I should be really happy because I’ve done really well letting go of my great grandpa and I should keep going.” Elfe hugs her knees and drops her head. She might be crying gently. Angela reaches over to her daughter to comfort her. The class is silent for several moments.
There are still children eager to share their stories. Elfe, face still buried in her tucked knees is embraced by Angela who engages Gabriella M.’s words about butterflies with a warm smile. All is well. Gabriela speaks next. She says she saw God and heard that she needs to remember she is an amazing writer, to walk with her light and not to feel alone. Michael passes. Maybe the emotions are high and he would rather the intensity move on to someone else. Maybe he is contemplating his own inner journey and will be ready to talk about it later. Or maybe it is his story and his alone to experience. Whatever it is, no one puts any pressure on him to speak. Five-year-old Leo has a story to tell as well but he chooses to tell it through his art later.
Before moving on to the next segment of the class, Angela explains to the children that if they ever need an answer to a question they can ask their time machine to bring them wherever they need to be to get their message. She then asks the group if they would do this meditation again. The children nod yes and smile – the kind of smile a child radiates when their mother has shown them something revolutionary but are tempted not to express how truly ground-breaking they believe it to be.
Angela adds, “Meditation is a wonderful way to listen to yourself to see what comes up. Drawing and writing is a wonderful way to bring out what you just experienced.” Angela provides the children with paper and crayons and asks them to draw or write about something they felt, heard or saw during their meditation. She urges them to spend this time on something they feel the strongest about. Native American flute music plays in the background offering a soothing atmosphere for these young meditators to settle into their creative projects.
Although Leo was quiet during the sharing part of the class, he is now enthusiastic to share his drawing of his time machine and train with everyone there. Vivianna draws a picture of her grandmother, herself and her childhood swimming pool. Gabriela, who was reminded of her writing talent in her meditation, writes a story about her meditation. Elfe draws trees, a waterfall, a path, a deer, several birds and her angel emerging from the pouring water. Her brother George draws his time machine, which is a giant shoe divided into compartments. A line divides his page in two. On the other side is a six-tiered fountain and a figure of himself next to it. Above this is the bottle he filled. Each item is carefully labeled, “Fountain,” “Bottle with water,” etc.
Adriana draws a silhouette of her child-self sitting beside a man looking up into a night sky filled with stars and a crescent moon. The beauty of the drawing shines through despite her doubt about its splendor. Gabriella M. depicts herself among trees and butterflies with the words “Be Free” across the top. George reaches for Gabriela’s handwritten story and asks her if he can read it. She obliges.
Angela Created a Comfortable Space for her Students
Before Angela led these meditators through their journey, she facilitated activities and discussions that might have been the foundation for her students’ profound experiences. Angela reinvented the lighthearted song and dance we all know and love, the Hokey Pokey. Instead of putting an arm or a foot in, Angela asked her students to put in something they would like to let go of. The children danced away their worries about math teachers, final exams, fighting, anger management, and “people that died in my family.”
In an effort to help her students own their definitions of meditation, she asked them what meditation meant to them personally. One child shared that meditation is a “process when you relax and let go of anger and sadness.” Another said meditation is “a cure for everything that is bad.” And another added meditation “helps if you feel like you need to cry about someone, then you can cry.” After all the children had a chance to share their perspective, Angela shared hers. She told the children meditation helps her get in contact with her inner-self and expressed the importance of connecting with this part of themselves. She concluded, “We can listen to our heart in meditation.”
Angela also asked the children when they typically sit and relax. Angela’s daughter Elfe shared she sometimes relaxes after she has had an argument with someone. She sits quietly and asks God for a solution. Adriana shared that she unwinds sometimes sitting in front of her computer. She simply closes her eyes and relaxes. Michael shared that he relaxes when he gets home from school and sits quietly on his bed. Sometimes for 20 minutes. Vivianna mentioned that she plays her Peace CD and sits down to draw. “I usually like to draw flowers, this calms me down.”
Lastly, Angela did not make meditation out to be anything far reaching or challenging. She told the children “Meditation is very easy. You do not need to practice for a long time, just close your eyes and allow yourselves to do it.” These teens and young children accessed their inner selves so deeply, experienced their wonder, trusted the meditative process, then opened up so genuinely within a group, sharing their experiences. Angela created a loving space for children to journey within and her courageous students found strength in their vulnerability and inner wisdom.
About Angela Marschall: For several years Angela guided children ages 10 to14 through meditations in Austria. She currently guides large groups of adults through meditation at her church. Angela is a Certified Child Meditation Facilitator, receiving her training with Sarah Wood Vallely, author of Sensational Meditation for Children. Angela is also an Angel Therapy Practitioner, Medical Intuitive and Spiritual Counselor in the New York suburban area.
Picture windows provide two walls of majestic light on either side of a fireplace framed with stacked stones. A healthy spider plant sits upon the mantle. Stylish yet comfortable couches rest on a large oriental rug. A perfect spot for a meditation class for children. Angela Marschall and her two children Elfe, 12 and George, 11 spent the morning preparing for their guests to arrive. Twin sisters Adriana and Vivianna, 14 and their younger sister and brother Gabriela, 10 and Leo, 5 arrive; along with Michael M., 12 and his sister Gabriella M, 9.
Before the children meditate, Angela, the teacher, explains, “We don’t have to sit up or lie down. Just get into a position that is comfortable.” She further suggests they put their hands over their eyes to block the light out. Most of the children don’t seem to need to do this. Some children collect pillows and place them under and around their bodies in a variety of ways until they achieve the comfort they are striving for. Vivianna pulls a blanket off her sister Arianna who is covered from head to foot with pillows other children have passed up. No one seems to mind all the fidgeting and other adjustments the children make. The movement subsides and children are strewn across the room – lying on the floor and resting on couches and chairs. There are just a few more giggles before the room falls into a tranquil silence.
Angela’s voice is soft. “Take a deep in-breath. When you breathe back out, feel your body relaxing. We’ll take two more breaths. Deep breathe in and relax your legs as you breathe out.” Deep into the meditation, the children take gentle breaths, so gentle one might mistake their peacefulness for sleep. One might also be surprised to learn that behind their closed eyes and inside their still bodies, these children are being swept up into a grand adventure, riding in their very own time machines. They are making touchdowns in lands many years away, yet the experience is right here in this exact moment.
This present moment is where all moments meet and these children are guided to any moment in their existence, whether it is their childhood or even before their conception. They are seeing sunshine that hit the Earth long ago, hearing voices rooted in their memories of the past and feeling emotions of grief, happiness, courage and strength. Angela guides the children through this journey, although unlike typical journey meditations, here the children choose where they are going, how they get there and what they see when they arrive.
A short 12 minutes later Angela is finished and invites the children to open their eyes whenever they are ready. Children begin to stir, shifting their limbs, pushing themselves into more upright positions. The room is still and almost completely silent. Angela gazes at the awakening children and then asks them to share what they heard, felt and saw during their meditation. Angela’s son George begins, “It was before Christ. I was in a garden with bricks on the ground. I went to this fountain. I asked where I was and I heard, ‘Wherever you want to be.’ I scooped up water from the fountain and put it in a bottle. I did this because it made me feel better. I don’t know how to explain it.” The class soaks in their classmate’s experience before shifting their attention to Adriana. Her voice is soft and humble. She says she doesn’t know where she went but she knows it was night time and she was a little girl. She sat beside a man she did not know and she asked him, “Why am I here?” He answered, “Just to get away.” Adriana adds, “It felt good.”
Adriana’s sister, Vivianna speaks up next. “I found myself in my backyard, I saw my grandmother reach out to me.” Vivianna is filled with emotion. Her voice begins to crack. “I looked down and noticed I was in water. I was in our pool I used to swim in all the time. Just talking to my grandmother and being able to see her in front of me moving and standing up straight by herself made me feel so good.” With this, Vivianna’s head falls into her hands. She holds back tears with her fingers. She takes a deep breath and opens up even more to herself and her classmates, “That was a special day. The one day I can never forget from my past. I never saw the sun shine so brightly.” Vivianna’s grandmother tells her to be strong always. This message strikes a cord with her twin sister also, who shares her sister’s emotion. Their younger sister Gabriela and her friend, who sit on the floor a few feet in front of them, turn around to take in this energy no one can quite explain.
The tone is tender as everyone in the room holds affection for the moment. Attention gradually shifts to Angela’s daughter Elfe. Elfe paints an enchanting picture of a forest leading to a waterfall. She walks barefooted to the waterfall where she meets deer and rabbits. An angel comes out from the waterfall with a message for Elfe. “The angel told me I should be really happy because I’ve done really well letting go of my great grandpa and I should keep going.” Elfe hugs her knees and drops her head. She might be crying gently. Angela reaches over to her daughter to comfort her. The class is silent for several moments.
There are still children eager to share their stories. Elfe, face still buried in her tucked knees is embraced by Angela who engages Gabriella M.’s words about butterflies with a warm smile. All is well. Gabriela speaks next. She says she saw God and heard that she needs to remember she is an amazing writer, to walk with her light and not to feel alone. Michael passes. Maybe the emotions are high and he would rather the intensity move on to someone else. Maybe he is contemplating his own inner journey and will be ready to talk about it later. Or maybe it is his story and his alone to experience. Whatever it is, no one puts any pressure on him to speak. Five-year-old Leo has a story to tell as well but he chooses to tell it through his art later.
Before moving on to the next segment of the class, Angela explains to the children that if they ever need an answer to a question they can ask their time machine to bring them wherever they need to be to get their message. She then asks the group if they would do this meditation again. The children nod yes and smile – the kind of smile a child radiates when their mother has shown them something revolutionary but are tempted not to express how truly ground-breaking they believe it to be.
Angela adds, “Meditation is a wonderful way to listen to yourself to see what comes up. Drawing and writing is a wonderful way to bring out what you just experienced.” Angela provides the children with paper and crayons and asks them to draw or write about something they felt, heard or saw during their meditation. She urges them to spend this time on something they feel the strongest about. Native American flute music plays in the background offering a soothing atmosphere for these young meditators to settle into their creative projects.
Although Leo was quiet during the sharing part of the class, he is now enthusiastic to share his drawing of his time machine and train with everyone there. Vivianna draws a picture of her grandmother, herself and her childhood swimming pool. Gabriela, who was reminded of her writing talent in her meditation, writes a story about her meditation. Elfe draws trees, a waterfall, a path, a deer, several birds and her angel emerging from the pouring water. Her brother George draws his time machine, which is a giant shoe divided into compartments. A line divides his page in two. On the other side is a six-tiered fountain and a figure of himself next to it. Above this is the bottle he filled. Each item is carefully labeled, “Fountain,” “Bottle with water,” etc.
Adriana draws a silhouette of her child-self sitting beside a man looking up into a night sky filled with stars and a crescent moon. The beauty of the drawing shines through despite her doubt about its splendor. Gabriella M. depicts herself among trees and butterflies with the words “Be Free” across the top. George reaches for Gabriela’s handwritten story and asks her if he can read it. She obliges.
Angela Created a Comfortable Space for her Students
Before Angela led these meditators through their journey, she facilitated activities and discussions that might have been the foundation for her students’ profound experiences. Angela reinvented the lighthearted song and dance we all know and love, the Hokey Pokey. Instead of putting an arm or a foot in, Angela asked her students to put in something they would like to let go of. The children danced away their worries about math teachers, final exams, fighting, anger management, and “people that died in my family.”
In an effort to help her students own their definitions of meditation, she asked them what meditation meant to them personally. One child shared that meditation is a “process when you relax and let go of anger and sadness.” Another said meditation is “a cure for everything that is bad.” And another added meditation “helps if you feel like you need to cry about someone, then you can cry.” After all the children had a chance to share their perspective, Angela shared hers. She told the children meditation helps her get in contact with her inner-self and expressed the importance of connecting with this part of themselves. She concluded, “We can listen to our heart in meditation.”
Angela also asked the children when they typically sit and relax. Angela’s daughter Elfe shared she sometimes relaxes after she has had an argument with someone. She sits quietly and asks God for a solution. Adriana shared that she unwinds sometimes sitting in front of her computer. She simply closes her eyes and relaxes. Michael shared that he relaxes when he gets home from school and sits quietly on his bed. Sometimes for 20 minutes. Vivianna mentioned that she plays her Peace CD and sits down to draw. “I usually like to draw flowers, this calms me down.”
Lastly, Angela did not make meditation out to be anything far reaching or challenging. She told the children “Meditation is very easy. You do not need to practice for a long time, just close your eyes and allow yourselves to do it.” These teens and young children accessed their inner selves so deeply, experienced their wonder, trusted the meditative process, then opened up so genuinely within a group, sharing their experiences. Angela created a loving space for children to journey within and her courageous students found strength in their vulnerability and inner wisdom.
About Angela Marschall: For several years Angela guided children ages 10 to14 through meditations in Austria. She currently guides large groups of adults through meditation at her church. Angela is a Certified Child Meditation Facilitator, receiving her training with Sarah Wood Vallely, author of Sensational Meditation for Children. Angela is also an Angel Therapy Practitioner, Medical Intuitive and Spiritual Counselor in the New York suburban area.
