An article in The New York Times earlier this week caught my eye: Zen for High Schoolers: ‘Notice the Anxiety. Notice the Fear’ chronicled the efforts of a teacher from the Brooklyn Zen Center to bring meditation techniques to a group of Level I offenders “students who are frequently put in detention or suspended because they start fights or cause trouble—at Bushwick High School.”
Students who get into trouble are now being given a choice between traditional punishments or participating in the meditation program where they will learn how to meditate, understand volatile emotions and curb impulsive behavior.
What an enlightened approach. Indeed, all of us can benefit from meditation. And once we learn the techniques we are always then just one breath away from the practice.
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Rabbi Mark Sameth is the spiritual leader of Joyful Judaism: Pleasantville Community Synagogue an inclusive, progressive synagogue – with members from twenty towns, villages and cities all across Westchester and “A Hebrew School Your Kids Can Love.” Read The New York Times article. Follow Rabbi Mark on Twitter. Weekly meditation at the synagogue every Saturday morning at 9 am is open to the public; everyone – without exception - is welcome and warmly invited. The next SYNAGOGUE OPEN HOUSE WEEKEND – with activities for children and adults alike – will be Friday April 27 through Sunday April 29.
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