LIVING IN HARMONY - Chapter One

Empowering Children to Become World Harmony Builders

  ...Imagination

Chapter Inspiration:

―Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.‖ –Albert Einstein

―Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture... do not build up obstacles in your imagination. - Norman Vincent Peale

―There is only one admirable form of the imagination: the imagination that is so intense that it creates a new reality, that it makes things happen.‖ – Sean O‘Faolain

―Imagination is the beginning of creation, you imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.‖ – George Bernard Shaw

―Imagine the beauty of an earth without tears.
Imagine a world with happy smiling faces.‖ –Sri Chinmoy

―I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the heart‘s affections and the truth of imagination. What the imagination seizes as beauty must be truth – whether it existed before or not.‖ –John Keats

―Imagination rules the world.‖ —Napoleon

―Imagination grows by exercise.‖ —Somerset Maugham

―Only when we have established peace in our entire being can there be peace all over the world.‖ –Sri Chinmoy

Chapter Story:

Once there was a young boy who grew up on a farm. The boy used to lie in his bed at night and be very still. In the peaceful silence he would see himself shooting a basketball and he would picture it swishing through the net over and over again. He imagined himself in different places on the basketball court and how he would shoot the ball from each place. Each time, he imagined the ball going smoothly and perfectly through the hoop. He used his imagination to visualize or ‗see‘ how his hands were holding the ball, how he was preparing the ball, and then how he would let go of the ball. He even imagined how his arm and fingers would stay outstretched after the ball was released.

Then he would imagine himself in different situations during a basketball game. In each situation he would use his imagination to see how he would shoot the ball in that situation. One of his favorite situations to imagine was that it was at the very end of the game and there was only time for one last shot. The boy visualized himself shooting the final shot and of course, in his imagination, the shot was a perfect swish through the basket to win the game! Thousands of times the boy would imagine playing basketball in this way.

This boy‘s name was Larry Bird and he became one of the greatest basketball players in the history of this sport. Of course the skill he was most famous for was shooting the ball. Larry Bird was one of the best basketball shooters ever.

Chapter Overview:

Imagination can be a very powerful and helpful force. People use the word ‗imagination‘ quite often, but how do we define imagination? One way to think of it is that it is to see something that doesn‘t exist yet, but that will exist or can exist. For example, you can imagine what it might be like on your summer vacation when you go to the beach. In your mind you can ‗see‘ the water, smell the salt, and feel the sand under your feet. This way of experiencing things in your mind we can call visualizing. We can also call it seeing with your ‗mind‘s eye.‘ Or we can simply call this using our imagination. In the chapter story, Larry Bird used his imagination very well to see himself shooting a basketball and being successful as a basketball player. We can use our imagination for many kinds of things. Imagination can help us accomplish whatever goals we have. Imagination can help us to reach for our dreams. Imagination can also help us solve problems.

Chapter Lessons:

Lesson #1 — The invisible heart
Imagine that you have a special place inside you, in the middle of your chest. It is a place that is very peaceful and full of love. We can call it our heart, but it is not the physical heart that is beating and pumping blood through our bodies. Let‘s call it our ‗invisible heart,‘ because when we love someone, we say that the feeling comes from our heart, even though we cannot see that heart. Your invisible heart is a magical place where you can go. It is a place where you can feel that you are connected with the whole world – people, animals, plants, even mountains. Close your eyes for a minute or two and see if you can feel your invisible heart.
Lesson #2 – Expanding and becoming light
Close your eyes and imagine you are looking up at the sky. Maybe it is a blue sky with white clouds, or maybe it is a night sky full of stars. Imagine any kind of sky you wish and that you are looking up at it. Maybe you are standing on a mountaintop or lying on your back in a meadow or at the beach. See how big the sky is. It goes on forever and ever. We can‘t know how big the sky is because nobody has seen the end of space. Now as you breathe in imagine you are expanding and becoming light and floating upward. You keep growing and expanding, becoming lighter and lighter, until you are as light as the air. Finally imagine you are as big and wide as the sky itself. How does it feel to be as large and as light as the sky? Stay as big as the sky for as long as you like, and then let yourself shrink slowly back down to your regular size. Now you are back where you were looking up at the sky. Let yourself rest for a few moments and then open your eyes.

Lesson #3 – Concentration and the breath
Just sitting and being quiet with yourself is the simplest thing in the whole world. When you sit and pay extra attention to your breathing and to the silence, this is called concentration. If you focus on your breathing, this makes you feel more relaxed. If you focus on the silence, you can get even more positive feelings, new ideas, and creative images. The way you focus is to just remember what you are concentrating on. If you start thinking about something else, just say, ―Oops, I am trying to focus on my breathing,‖ or ―Oops, I want to focus on the silence.‖ Practicing concentration like this can help you in lots of other ways. It can help you do well in your schoolwork and to be patient when things that you do not like are happening.

Lesson #4 – Personal reflection
After you have been sitting for awhile, ask yourself this question: ―What is the best thing about me?‖ Are you kind? Peaceful? Friendly? Cheerful? Funny? Helpful? Caring? What is the most special thing about who you are? Whatever that thing is, say to yourself: ―I am friendly,‖ or, ―The best thing about me is I am cheerful.‖ Say this to yourself three times. You will most likely think of several things that are the best things about you. On a piece of paper write down these things. Each time you sit quietly, you can choose a different one of these things to think about. The best things about you are called your positive qualities or your good qualities. These are the things that make you ‗you‘!

Discussion Questions:

a) What do you think Albert Einstein meant when he said, ―Imagination is more important than knowledge‖?
b) Can you think of some of the things that would not exist if someone did not imagine them first? There are quite a few. You can make a list of them!
c) What are the three best qualities about you? Make a list of them. Then draw a picture or write a poem about one of them.
d) How do you think you would feel if you were able to sit quietly for a few minutes each day?

Supplemental Activities:

• For any of the lessons you can draw a picture or write about what you saw during the imagination activities. You can share these with the rest of your class and display them on the wall or on the bulletin board.
• Your invisible heart is where you keep many happy feelings. Sometimes though you might feel sad. This happens to everyone. What do you sometimes feel sad about? Share with the class if you want to. When you are sad you can use your imagination to make yourself feel better. You can imagine your favorite things, imagine something that makes you happy, or imagine just being inside your invisible heart. You can practice any of the lessons in this chapter to help yourself to feel happy and peaceful again.
• See if you and your class can practice one of the lessons in this chapter each day for a week or even a month. If you can‘t do it at school, maybe you can try it at home with your mother or father.
• Close your eyes and pay attention to your heartbeat. You can feel it by softly putting two fingers on top of the veins on your opposite wrist; or you can touch your thumb to your pointer finger; or you can put your fingers on the large vein at the side of your neck. Just focus on your heartbeat for a while. This can be a good way to practice concentration and also to notice the difference between your physical, beating heart and your ‗invisible heart.‘