CHILDRENS' FEEDBACK
In November 2009 I was invited to speak with 9 girls who were members of the Wakefield, MA Junior Troop of Girl Scouts #71439. There were in Middle School. I knew one of the troop leaders and her daughter. The girls were working to earn their "Stress Less" Badge! I was amazed and delighted to learn about this badge!
I was asked to spend some time with these precious children to explain how they could easily relax themselves into a positive frame of thinking of how they thought about interactions with parents, siblings, socializing and school commitments. I was so honored to speak with them! As a pro-active grandmother, my heart went out to them as it does to my own grandchildren. I first explained how our mind works, how we can easily relax our mind and get ourselves into a very positive frame of mind, no matter what appears to be a dilema, a challenge, or a hurt.
I talked to them about how each of us, no matter what age, goes into the relaxed state of mind, called the Alpha state, so easily. I told them how easy it is to go there "on purpose".
For the half-hour I spent explaining this to them and guiding them into a relaxed meditational state of mind, the rewards were superlative!
Some time after my having talked with their group, these sweet children made "STRESS LESS BOXES" out of a box covered with gift wrap. They placed various items into the box, such as a photo of their pet, a special rock they picked up some where, a spiritual symbol, whatever brought them into a place in their mind of gratitude and reflection, of happiness and joy.
The two women in charge of this troup sent me a thank you letter with a photo of all of the girls seated on a staircase each holding their Stress Less Box. The letter included each child's comments about their experience with me and learning how to calm down their minds.
The Children's Comments:
"Thank you oh so very much Dorothea. My troop and I really enjoyed it. The techniques you taught us are really helping me in school. I don't freak out on tests any more and so my grades are improving".
"You are a very nice hypnotist. I will definitely try to relax myself if I get stressed out. I liked learning about the Alpha and Beta stuff."
"Now I am able to fall asleep more easily. It was fun meeting you and I am glad I saw you at the Woodville Halloween party."
"Thanks for relaxing our troop. I think you are awesome and pretty."
"I enjoyed your session."
"Sorry I was sick but my friends told me all about how great you were."
"Sorry I missed it, too. I had the swine flu. I hope I can meet you someday."
"Thank you for teaching us how to relax ourselves."
"Thank you because now I can be unstressed when I do my homework."
The Troop Leaders' Comments:
"So you can see how your visit had a positive effect on the girls.....It was wonderful of you to help jump start us on this project. (the stress less badge).....The middle school years can be a challenging time for kids, maybe especially girls, with lots to learn about emotions and stress and we think this will be a big help to them in many aspects of their young lives. Thanks again for being such a big part of it".
S.J. and E.L. Wakefield Junior Troop 71439 Leaders
And My Comments.....I am so thankful and grateful for this pristine opportunity to help these precious children! I am forever grateful that they invited me to speak with and teach the girls about easy ways they can reduce and manage stress!
