Della
4.1. Ascending: text & idea
TEXT
- day and night, summer and winter, rain and dry weather high and low tide succeed each other;
- joy and sorrow, encouragement and discouragement alternate;
- in relationships we meet and separate;
- we change work and rest, sleeping and waking;
- biological processes are cyclical: hunger and satiation, the heart beats and rests, lungs breathe in and breathe out
QUESTIONS
1.Text: Give synonyms to “thrill” and “peal”. Following the Sun, the stars and Moon “ascend” in the sky. Write in your own beautiful words a picture of the night sky.
2.Drawing: Draw a picture of night and day alternating. Draw two pictures of joy and of sorrow: with images or colours or shapes. Draw an illustration to the exercise.
3.Questions: How do you cope with change? How many times a day do your emotions change?
4.Experience:Tell us of situations and experiences when you have changed your sorrow to joy? What is the feeling?
5.Imagination: Imagine while you play the exercise that the right hand is the Sun/joy, while the left hand is the Moon/sorrow and they change.
6.Affirmation: Write your own positive affirmation for ascending. For example: I can live through changes. Joy comes after sorrow.
7.Quote: Nothing endures but change (Heraclitus). Find your favourite quote.
2.1. Reconciliation: text & idea
TEXT
Reconciliation is a process of coping with contradictions and finding peace. Examples of processes and states in nature, in the person (thoughts, feelings, deeds) and relations:
- a tree bends under the wind (but remains in its place);
- I want to play/rest but I have to study/work (so they follow one another);
- we overcome obstacles on the way to our purpose;
- we have contrary viewpoints but look for compromise (and we reach it);
- we have quarrelled but we need to reconcile (and I apologize);
- two countries at war reconcile (and sign peace treaty).
“The fluid soft lines which the hands make in front, to the sides and back again are magnetic. These are lines of softness and reconciliation. They are helping us to resolve all the contradictions of life through gentleness and reconciliation.” [Beinsa Douno, Paneurhythmy, p.44]
QUESTIONS
1. Text: Give a synonym to “rejoice”. A flower welcomes springtime: what does it have to reconcile with? Write in your own beautiful words a sentence/essay/poem about reconciliation.
2. Drawing: Draw two friends who reconcile. Draw two pictures of war and of peace: with images or colours or shapes. Draw an illustration to the exercise.
3. Questions: What is it that you have to put up with (to reconcile with) in everyday life?
4. Experience: Tell us of situations and experiences when you have overcome some contradiction and found peace. What is the feeling?
5. Imagination: Imagine while you play that your hands are two parties at war which go to the house of peace when hands touch.
6. Affirmations: Write your own positive affirmation for reconciliation. For example: I can cope with difficulties. I can manage my tasks.
7. Quotes: The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the most vital and artistic of human actions (Nhat Hanh). Find your favourite quote.
3.1. Giving: text & idea
TEXT
- nature gives conditions for life: air, light, water, warmth;
- trees give us fruit;
- a flower gives fragrance, colors, pollen;
- we give and receive gifts and attitude (smile, embrace, kiss, respect, understanding, support, gratitude, love);
- school gives us skills, knowledge and attitudes;
“In this exercise, the hands move forwards and are then brought back to the chest. This shows how one can make the proper exchange between the inner and the outer world, between the human being and nature. Everything that one has received from nature, one must process and then give forth… The more that one gives, the more one will receive. If a person is like a full vessel whose content is not emptied, he can accept nothing more from the outside. As soon as the vessel is emptied, it may be filled anew… This is a process of invigoration, renewal, growth, joy and strength. If the wellspring does not continuously give what it receives, it will not be able to receive fresh new streams. It would be like a stagnant swamp. What a difference between a wellspring of fresh water and a swamp. In the swamp we find decay. In the pure spring we find movement and life.” [Beinsa Douno, Paneurhythmy,2004, p.45]
QUESTIONS
1. Text: Paraphrase “love that will endure”. What examples of giving can be found in the text of the exercise? Write a letter to a poor and discouraged person with which you show generosity.
2. Drawing: Draw a wellspring giving water. Draw two pictures of giving and of taking: with images or colours or shapes. Draw an illustration to the exercise.
3. Questions: What is generosity? Who takes only? What have you given and taken today? Why is the Sun is called Dazhbog (GivingGod) in Bulgarian mythology?
4. Experience:Tell us of situations and experience when you have given/taken something. What is the feeling?
5. Imagination: Imagine while you play the exercise that there is a tray on your hands. What would you like to have on it to give to others?
6. Affirmation: Write your own positive affirmation on giving. For example: I am happy to give, I grateful to receive.
7.Quote: We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give (Sir Winston Churchil). A giving hand is never left empty (proverb). Find your favourite quote.
