Anneke and Hans are school age twins living in a small village crisscrossed with
little wooded parks and canals near the North Sea coast of North
Holland.
While having adventures, they find that nature is also teaching them easy meditations.
Won't you come along for awhile on their discoveries!
Note: The characters in this story are fictional.
Details:
Ebook; 28 pages; 4,000 words
SusanKramer.com Publishing
Illustrated with photos of North Holland
Link to Buy
While having adventures, they find that nature is also teaching them easy meditations.
Won't you come along for awhile on their discoveries!
Note: The characters in this story are fictional.
Details:
Ebook; 28 pages; 4,000 words
SusanKramer.com Publishing
Illustrated with photos of North Holland
Link to Buy
These
eight short meditation stories set near the sea in North Holland show
that even without lessons in the classroom we can learn how to function
well amongst our fellow humans and the environment. Nature teaches us
how to live in harmony when we are quiet and observant.
Hans, Anneke, Max and cousin Johnny are the characters in the meditation stories and teach us while they are learning meditation techniques that come in handy in the moment and in later times; a few virtues make their appearance also.
Look for how to sit, relax, walk and dance in meditation, and how an instant meditation, prayer, reflection and song bring a feeling of happiness and enthusiasm to living.
Most of all enjoy these little stories that are easy to remember and will stick with you like mother's pancakes and syrup on Sunday morning.
Stories in Book
1. Sitting Meditation by the Sea
2. Dance Meditation in the Park
3. Relaxation Meditation in a Meadow
4. Walking Meditation by a Canal
5. Instant Meditation and Lesson on Kindness
6. Thankfulness in Prayer and Meditation
7. Christmas Joys
8. Reflecting While Sitting on a Pier
First story: "Sitting Meditation by the Sea"
To begin, it is a Saturday morning and the twins are climbing onto their bikes, to start heading out along the 2 mile herringbone patterned brick bike trail rolling through the dunes leading to the North Sea on the western coast of Holland.
Along the path to their right and left they pass woodlands of oak and open grasslands, interspersed with lower pond areas surrounded by grasses, reeds and cattails. Many birds and ducks make these dune parklands their home year round or temporarily while migrating.
Anneke spots a new family of colorful male mallards with their tan and brown mates, and Hans spies a group of coots with the white foreheads and black bodies of both sexes.
Then the twins see a cormorant flying across in front of them about 20 feet high over the meadow, carrying a long thin branch back to his nest site in the middle of a large pond.
Hans and Anneke do not pause long on the ride today, as they are anxious to reach the open stretch of yellow sandy beach rising gently from the sea in their quest to collect small shells for craft projects.
Nearing their destination they race each other for the final stretch down the slope of the last tall grassy dune, coming to a quick halt as the brick trail breaks off abruptly into soft sand.
Their eyes momentarily adjust to the far horizon of sea, barely discernible from the gray-blue sky above. Eighty miles directly to their west is England.
And, looking in a north-westerly direction, hundreds of miles away just south of the arctic circle is Iceland, the direction from which many winter storms assault Holland after first whipping their winds against the shores of northern and eastern Scotland.
Out of breath, Hans and Anneke lock up their bikes on convenient rail fences at the end of the bike path, and go sit for a few minutes at the foot of a dune facing the sea.
Since they are quiet and unmoving, a seagull comes quite near them at the water's edge. Two foot waves wash in and flow back by gravity and still their seagull friend, 'Sammy Seagull' as they call him, stands rooted on the wash of beach.
The twins take this time to sit up straight pretending to be seagulls, and as the waves wash in and out in a regular pattern, their breath quite naturally takes up a regular even pattern of its own.
After a minute, Anneke and Hans feel rested and run down to water's edge in pursuit of their new seagull friend, but only fast enough to catch a glimpse of his white belly as he swoops out over the edge of sea.
They turn their attention back to collecting the shells they had come for, gathering several handfuls they consider special. Walking back to their bikes, shells stored in backpacks, brother and sister wend their way home.
But, the events of the day with Sammy Seagull at the sea were not forgotten. To this day, when they need a break, the twins spend a few minutes sitting still while breathing in and out in an even pattern, like the waves that repeatedly wash in, and flow back out to the sea.
*********************************************
The author, Susan Helene Kramer, has been teaching people of all ages and abilities meditation, yoga and dance for more than 30 years.
Hans, Anneke, Max and cousin Johnny are the characters in the meditation stories and teach us while they are learning meditation techniques that come in handy in the moment and in later times; a few virtues make their appearance also.
Look for how to sit, relax, walk and dance in meditation, and how an instant meditation, prayer, reflection and song bring a feeling of happiness and enthusiasm to living.
Most of all enjoy these little stories that are easy to remember and will stick with you like mother's pancakes and syrup on Sunday morning.
Anneke and Hans went to school
But what they learned after
Was more than school rules.
The birds, grass, trees and waters flowing
Held lessons that helped them along
While growing.
But what they learned after
Was more than school rules.
The birds, grass, trees and waters flowing
Held lessons that helped them along
While growing.
Stories in Book
1. Sitting Meditation by the Sea
2. Dance Meditation in the Park
3. Relaxation Meditation in a Meadow
4. Walking Meditation by a Canal
5. Instant Meditation and Lesson on Kindness
6. Thankfulness in Prayer and Meditation
7. Christmas Joys
8. Reflecting While Sitting on a Pier
First story: "Sitting Meditation by the Sea"
To begin, it is a Saturday morning and the twins are climbing onto their bikes, to start heading out along the 2 mile herringbone patterned brick bike trail rolling through the dunes leading to the North Sea on the western coast of Holland.
Along the path to their right and left they pass woodlands of oak and open grasslands, interspersed with lower pond areas surrounded by grasses, reeds and cattails. Many birds and ducks make these dune parklands their home year round or temporarily while migrating.
Anneke spots a new family of colorful male mallards with their tan and brown mates, and Hans spies a group of coots with the white foreheads and black bodies of both sexes.
Then the twins see a cormorant flying across in front of them about 20 feet high over the meadow, carrying a long thin branch back to his nest site in the middle of a large pond.
Hans and Anneke do not pause long on the ride today, as they are anxious to reach the open stretch of yellow sandy beach rising gently from the sea in their quest to collect small shells for craft projects.
Nearing their destination they race each other for the final stretch down the slope of the last tall grassy dune, coming to a quick halt as the brick trail breaks off abruptly into soft sand.
Their eyes momentarily adjust to the far horizon of sea, barely discernible from the gray-blue sky above. Eighty miles directly to their west is England.
And, looking in a north-westerly direction, hundreds of miles away just south of the arctic circle is Iceland, the direction from which many winter storms assault Holland after first whipping their winds against the shores of northern and eastern Scotland.
Out of breath, Hans and Anneke lock up their bikes on convenient rail fences at the end of the bike path, and go sit for a few minutes at the foot of a dune facing the sea.
Since they are quiet and unmoving, a seagull comes quite near them at the water's edge. Two foot waves wash in and flow back by gravity and still their seagull friend, 'Sammy Seagull' as they call him, stands rooted on the wash of beach.
The twins take this time to sit up straight pretending to be seagulls, and as the waves wash in and out in a regular pattern, their breath quite naturally takes up a regular even pattern of its own.
After a minute, Anneke and Hans feel rested and run down to water's edge in pursuit of their new seagull friend, but only fast enough to catch a glimpse of his white belly as he swoops out over the edge of sea.
They turn their attention back to collecting the shells they had come for, gathering several handfuls they consider special. Walking back to their bikes, shells stored in backpacks, brother and sister wend their way home.
But, the events of the day with Sammy Seagull at the sea were not forgotten. To this day, when they need a break, the twins spend a few minutes sitting still while breathing in and out in an even pattern, like the waves that repeatedly wash in, and flow back out to the sea.
*********************************************
The author, Susan Helene Kramer, has been teaching people of all ages and abilities meditation, yoga and dance for more than 30 years.