Service Is Joy!
We started the FNT first meeting with Super Conscious Living Exercises followed by chanting Joy, Joy Ever New Joy. Nitai led the meeting. He explained that we can feel joy in the heart by picturing joy as a balloon that becomes bigger and bigger. Then he led a short meditation. Opening Activity: (~20 minutes)
We played the game “I love my Neighbor.” Everyone stands in a big circle in front of chairs. One person in the middle says “I love my Neighbor because …” for example they have brown shoes. Everyone with brown shoes stands up and has to go to a different seat. The last person who doesn’t get a seat has to stand in the middle. This was a fun game to play and was perfect for all ages.
Service Project: ( for the whole family) (~30 minutes)
Indoor Service Project
We meet at the Living Wisdom School in Seattle. Nivritti, the head of our school, provided three different service activities. The younger children stuffed paper bags with a flyer. They loved doing this activity and were able to finish it in the 20 minutes provided for the project. Older children and adults assembled folders with information about the school. Those who wanted to work outside cleared the driveway of debris and mud with shovels. Many of the kids and parents chose to work outside.
Separate Activities: (for kids/parents)
Kids: Snack time for everyone (~10 minutes) – Each week a different parent volunteers to bring a light healthy snack. This week a parent brought hummus and chips, popcorn, and apples and almond butter.
After snack, the kids went to a classroom to play and were supervised by a parent as well as several older children who were ages 10 and 11.
Parents: Engaged in a discussion. Nitai led a brief guided meditation. He made some suggestions about possible topics to discuss such as:
- How to deal with temper tantrums
- How to get kids to help with chores
- How to get kids involved in the spiritual life
We talked about how to get kids to help with chores. Parents shared some interesting tips that have worked for them. Before the next meeting, one parent will gather topic ideas by email and see what everyone wants to talk about. Children returned to the group.
Nitai ended the gathering by telling everyone an inspirational story. The children asked questions about the story. We assigned a Snack volunteer and a Childcare volunteer for the next meeting.
Closing Circle: We ended by sending out our positive energy to the world.
