I was given an amazing opportunity to present to a school on the subject of ‘Reflection’. This school was trying to address some behavioural issues and decided that delivering a fortnightly skit on ‘good’ behaviour at assembly would be part of the solution.
I saw this as an excellent opportunity to present to the whole school and to share the responsibility that we each have with the way we are, how we affect others and what we reflect to others from our choices and our way of being.
I decided that I didn’t want to speak to or at the students, but I wanted to show them with simple, practical examples in order to generate responses from them.
After I got the whole school’s attention by raising my hand and waiting patiently for everyone to stop, to look and to listen, I spoke in a low, calm voice and they tuned into my every word. There was no need for a microphone or for me to raise my voice. This was all setting the tone and feel for the presentation, as it was about reflection, so I was taking responsibility for everything I was actually reflecting to them by bringing gentleness to the way I spoke, the way I walked, the way I looked and engaged with my eyes.
I asked the whole school to just watch, explaining that I was going to do the one action three times and they had to observe very carefully.
I asked the students to pay attention to:
- what they see
- what they hear
- most importantly, what they feel.
At the back of the hall I had 3 chairs and at the front of the hall I had 3 papers, 3 pens and a whiteboard.
Firstly I stormed to the back of the hall, my heels making lots of noise and magnifying the anger I was walking in: I grabbed a chair, stormed back with it, banged it down at the front of the hall, wrote something on the board aggressively and slammed down the paper and pen on the chair.
Secondly, after taking a moment to bring myself back to being gentle, I gently walked to the back of the room, bringing presence to every step and gracefully making my way to the chair. I walked with my head up and my posture correct. I caringly picked the chair up in a way that supported my body and with presence, walked it back to the front of the room, paying attention to the way and care of how I placed it down. I wrote on the whiteboard with gentleness, allowing myself to feel my fingertips as I wrote. I then placed the pen and paper on the chair with care, making sure it was where it needed to be.
Thirdly, I walked back down to the end of the hall with my head down and shoulders slumped with each step having a dragging, given-up feel to it. I then took hold of the chair and dragged it to the front of the hall in a disregarding way; I sloppily wrote on the board and just dumped the pen and paper on the chair.
From here I asked the children one question:
“Which one out of the three chairs would you like to sit on?”
They all pointed to the middle one and from the principal sharing with me afterwards, the kindy, pre-primary and year 1’s not only pointed but were up on their knees pointing to the middle one.
From here the discussion and communication was amazing. I opened it up and asked: What did you see? What did you hear? What did you feel? What did you observe and what happened to your body during each skit?
‘When you walked angrily I felt scared and didn’t want to be near you.’
‘When you walked gently I felt cared for.’
‘When you stormed down I could feel the floor move.’
‘When you dragged the chair it felt like you didn’t care’ and so on . . .
We were then able to discuss true reflection and how we affect others with the way we speak, the way we walk and the way we look. This presentation gave me an enormous appreciation for the power of reflection: the effect of what I presented to the students was astounding.
They really got it and participated fully, feeling the power of what I shared. Another awesome confirmation happened the next day in my year 6 class – the first girl who walked in said ‘I am going to do what Ms did yesterday with my chair’ and six others followed her doing the same. The ripple effect!
Inspired by the true reflection, work and presentations of Serge Benhayon, the practitioners of Universal Medicine and the student body.
By Johanna Smith, Waikiki, Perth WA
Bachelor of Education (Major Special Needs, Minor Psychology), Graduate Certificate of Early Childhood, Practitioner of Esoteric Therapies, Wife, Mother, Teacher, Practitioner, Writer
Further Reading:
Serge Benhayon – A Real Example of Walking the Talk
Inspired by Serge Benhayon & Universal Medicine: Feeling the True Me
700 Comments
We are all masters of energy, yet as we grow up, we can choose to forget or not be aware of the energy we are constantly feeling. Amazing to give kids consistent opportunities to talk about what they feel and that it’s actually how we are designed to live – with a relationship with energy at all times.
What a beautiful sharing. It is something we ALL know so deeply and yet few live with the conscious awareness and responsibility of how our EVERY movement affects all.
I remember the first time (over 12 years ago) I observed Serge Benhayon do a similar demonstration of just walking in two different ways – it totally transformed my life. I gained a whole new level of awareness and energetic responsibility and have never looked back.
In school children pick up on our movements much more than our words. They measure whether we are safe by watching how we are and how we interact with others- this is something we need to teach in University to new teachers. If you want to support children in the classroom how you are provides the foundation to the quality of your classroom.
What an incredible opportunity to give young children permission to speak from their heart and share the magic they play in.
I agree – the more this happens the better – so children do not renounce or reject the innate quality of feeling energy.
Beautiful to be reading this again Johanna. I am inspired by the technique to show rather than tell, thank you, I’m sure there are many ways to incorporate that in my life.
Johanna, this is such a powerful example for us all. Every movement we make, either in gentleness and connected to our presence, or in emotion and disconnection to others really has an effect. When we are connected to who we truly are, our essence, the gentleness and consideration for others comes naturally, because connection to self is connection to the all.
A beautiful reminder of the power of reflection in the way I choose to be and live and the knock on effect this way of being has on my surroundings. It is this way of being, the way of the Livingness that inspires and not empty words (words spoken that are not lived) that come from my mind.
True appreciation of our own qualities allows us to embrace the power of our reflection and to feel the level of responsibility in the quality of our movements, as it is through gentleness that we inspire another to get in touch with the love we all are.
If everyone saw that example we would learn the power of energy, and the effect it has on us all. It would open up the possibility ” that every thing is energy and everything is because of energy.”SB It would introduce a conversation we rarely give voice to and the possibility of responsibility with the energy we choose.
What a lovely way to be at school and with the children, this has to become a part of schools curriculum.
An inspired and inspiring example of true education Johanna. Allowing children to feel, see an hear that how we move and live is felt others. A lesson in ‘Everything is energy’.
Thank you Johanna for a truly beautiful blog sharing with us the the power of reflection, it is so powerful every move we make and every word we speak in its reflection to others. The children received so much by your simple demonstration. Every movement spoke volumes.
Love this Johanna, your simple demonstration to the children about reflection was beautiful and also deeply powerful – how amazing to bring this to all schools for children learn so much through this level of play.
Coming back to this blog I love it just as much as when I read it the first time! One of the fundamentals of life is that everything is energy and that we are all affected by the quality generated by ourselves and others. What a beautiful lesson in this Johanna and this lesson I am sure will stay with those children for life. Beautiful.
Woah! What an ace demonstration. What an ace teacher. Genius. Love it. Now THAT should be in the national syllabus.
Thanks Otto- your comment made me laugh out loud.
Such great lesson you present here, more practical common sense, life changing lessons like this are what true education is really about.
So true. True education is about the whole person – supporting our students to be all of them and be purposeful, loving, energetically responsible and successful participants in life.
Education seems to be all about recall today and many leave the system not actually equipped for life. I don’t see the point.
Johanna, it is great to re-read your article, I can feel reading it how powerful the exercise with the chair was for the children, it feels gorgeous that the presentation was about noticing how it felt and that it wasn’t a wordy lecture to all of the children, but an exercise in observation and feeling.
I too particularly like this way of presenting as it confirms that we do all infact feel and are aware of energy and what is happening around us. It is a way of presenting that allows people to have space to express what they already do know and then it is their wisdom forsaking to which is the base for taking the conversation further and deeper together.
Love this. True confirmation that all our actions and feelings, conscious or otherwise, can be felt, consciously or otherwise, by everyone. That’s massive responsibility for our moment-by-moment reflection to others – and also a huge opportunity, once we embrace it.
Johanna, I absolutely love what you have shared here. It is so in the reflection – in the way you move in the way you speak in the way you blink – there is a quality that can be chosen and that can absolutely be felt by everyone. This is the reflection that we give all around us all of the time whether we choose to be aware of it or not, whether we choose to empower ourselves with this or not. But when we get to really feel how we move and how we are and how this affects us and every one else it does offer us an opportunity to be a support to self and all those around rather than the opposite. Thank you Johanna.
Thank you Henrietta. It is absolutely about all of what we reflect and how we are and move. Really it is all about responsibility in its true meaning. How responsible are we for how we are with our selves and how we are affecting others.
It is amazing that a practical and simple exercise like that you are able to share so much about life and philosophy, I was moved to tears and wish that you taught at my kids school, thank you, beautifully sharing.
I could not agree more Sarah – this is such a tangible example and it was offered as a reflection not just to the kids but to the entire school, teachers included. This is so powerful!
Thank you Sarah. That is such a gorgeous appreciation and I am touched. It would be wonderful if schools took this level of responsibility seriously and implemented into their professional development and student learning activities. Great aspects to explore as a whole school. Living love and integrity in education.
A great blog Johanna and shows clearly that we absolutely feel energy. Unlike the focused demonstration, we don’t stop to discern and make choices about how the energy affects us. What a subject to add to the curriculum!
A very needed addition to the curriculum and even to the standards of how teachers teach would be fabulous. The teachers would have to live this before they could implement it truly for students.
Thank you Sandra. The ripple effect is not something we always see but I definitely know the power of reflection and know in some way it works and is seen and inspires who and where it needs to.
I love reading this blog Johanna, what a gift you were able to offer these children. For them to not only see, but to feel the difference for themselves and what it means to truly feel energy and what connection is about. Fantastic demonstration.
Whenever I have come back to this blog Johanna, I am always amazed that even through your written word we can all feel the mood you were in, the way you walked and acted and had similar reactions such as fear, loving gentleness and lack of care or depression just like the children expressed! This shows also the connection that we all feel as humanity and the need to be mindful of this when teaching young children. It was a brilliant demonstration too!
Absolutely Roslyn. And it also shows that their are a gannet of choices and ways of being just their for use to go into. We can either be present and choose our gentleness consciously so or be checked out in our every move and then our movements will then be reflection of us at the mercy of how the world makes us feel.
A practical demonstration of energy… Very simple… So simple that kindergarten children can understand it… And yet most of us live in a world where this simple understanding is not acknowledged, and as a result we are moving in a minefield of energetic detritus
Yes. Kindergartens understand it more than adults because they have not strayed from their natural way and essence as far. However our heart remains pure in each one of us and we can all feel the effects of everything -perhaps we choose not to as we don’t want to face our contribution to the mess or being responsible for our actions.
What a great lesson learning by reflection Johanna. I struggled at school because I couldn’t learn from a text book I seemed to only learn when it was shown to me. I feel this was because a text book is not interactive and less personal. If I had had classes like this when I was young I would have found school enjoyable instead of struggling through lessons.
This is still the same with me now. I am a very visual hands on person and I learn and remember by doing things myself. The flatness of a book or computer screen, now matter how bright and entertaining, is nothing compared to a person and true interaction.
This is a great blog Johanna. It will be awesome if the ripple effect has gone out to many schools since first published.
As silly as it may seem at first but the same thing happens at my work place with boxes. They get dumped, thrown and kicked behind the counter in a confined area causing ripples of whatever the person is feeling at the time. The boxes are used for customers to take their purchase home in. We all have an opportunity to choose what we are rippling on to others.
Wow Johanna – Assembly was never as much fun as that when I went to school.
What a beautiful example/reflection you set for those children (and fellow teachers) It is no surprise that children from such an early age pick up on every little detail and the reflection we set as adults remain with them in their own growing up processes to then be followed through to the next generation.
It was a great reminder for me to read this again today Johanna. We are constantly being watched and we all have a responsibility for what we reflect to each other. I especially see this in the workplace, if someone is having a ‘bad’ day and is huffy and puffy and making it very known that they are frustrated, it affects the whole office. We are going to have off days but when we are honest and open with ourselves and others I find it changes how we feel a lot quicker.
Wow, what a marker for these students to now have in their bodies forever more. Thanks Johanna, this speaks more loudly than just ‘talking’ at someone. Loved it.
Yes such true power with no words. The body holds all the answers.
This is a pearler of an exercise Johanna, not only did they get to feel your grace and care in action, they also truly felt it and were confirmed as more within their own selves through this exercise. Very beautiful.
And the beautiful thing is Julie that even though I am technically having an audience look at me I know the power of reflection and that we are actually on stage every moment of every day. So I know this effect is touching others when I am not even realising it. To walk gently and presently in this world stands out and allows others to trust in something that is not seen commonly in society.
I feel this kind of lessons are the most important ones to teach. How to treat yourself and others with gentleness and the effect it has when you do something in anger or sadness.
So true Lieke – perhaps these could be the first lessons we teach children before they go onto anyhting else.
This article never gets old Johanna. I love how quickly the students got it. In fact, it feels as though they had no time to really get it, they just got it instantly. I just know this was an exercise they won’t forget. It will forever be a marker in their bodies. What an amazing contribution you were able to share with them.
So beautiful Johanna in bringing all of you to the class room to reflect your love. I am amazed how simple it was to have such an impact on the children, and to realise they see and feel everything. Every move we make is registered for good or ill, it makes me more aware, of how great then, is our responsibility in our moment to moment living.
So much is felt by us all that is often not expressed.
What you demonstrated Johanna in reflecting disconnection and connection in the simple movement of a chair and placement of papers is enough to impact a whole classroom.
What a powerful demonstration of the mark we leave behind us in all that we do.
Awesome story Johanna- the power of reflection that you witnessed proved that children not only learn from seeing actions and pictures, hearing sounds, but are also so intune to energy around them.
Yes Loretta, children are in tune with energy around them, and have just learnt to tune out for various reasons. But your exercise with the children Johanna brought in a moment of great reflection and opportunity to reconnect to their own inner knowing and feel it is okay to choose this.
Children experience the world not only with their 5 senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste but also with a 6th one, the ability to feel energy. Energy is going on all around us and children are constantly picking up on it. We as adults generally don’t confirm to them that there is energy around us to feel because as adults we have shut down our own ability to feel energy to various degrees. When children have their ability to feel energy confirmed they hold onto it for longer and give themselves permission to trust what they are feeling.
Well said Kate. Hear hear to all you have shared.
I was just thinking about what you presented to the kids here, but also what you presented to the teachers. It would be great if something like this could be shared with all the schools around as it is a great learning for everyone.
It also allows everyone to appreciate how much they actually do feel.
I agree this simple energetic presentation allows us to appreciate how much we do feel and how deeply we are aware of energy.
This is awesome and reminds me of when working as a supervisor at a cafe, I had a few staff sit down and I demonstrated what it felt like to be a customer who is met with a waitress who is present, makes eye contact and takes care when placing the cuttlery and then how different it feels if you have a waitress who doesn’t make eye contact, is busy and distracted, and dumps your cutlery in front of you in a harsh way. Every thing we do, every movement effects those around us and it is so important that we are aware and responsible for this.
Before I was aware of how I moved, walked and placed things affected others I didn’t flutter an eyelid if someone closed a door hard or put their books down with a bang. Now most of the time I am gentle with how I close a drawer or tidy the house or move around the office at work, that when someone is oblivious to what they are doing and slams something down it’s like a shock wave of energy felt in my body. Imagine if everyone saw this example that Johanna showed the school, it would then be very obvious what we are choosing.
A gold teacher Johanna. You presented a lesson in life to the children that they were able to learn for themselves, a lesson that they will never forget. The ripple effect will be felt every time each one of them lives the lesson you reflected to them.