Chapter 1: all your happy memories are not in the past

Learning Point: WE ALL HAVE HAPPY MEMORIES THAT WE CAN ACCESS.  In this session we will be getting in touch with some happy childhood memories.  Sit quietly, shut your eyes and breathe deeply.  When you are feeling relaxed begin this exercise:  On each breath in, see yourself as a child.  On each breath out, smile. Continue for several minutes.

   If you are having trouble, go further back in your childhood to a time when every day was new and golden.  I believe children are born with this potential for happiness.  Someone in my class always says: "What if your childhood was unhappy?" Most all of my students can remember some happy moment and it is almost always of some simple experience they had.  An imaginary tea party where a girl fed her dolls was what one girl remembered.  Sleeping in a featherbed on a cold morning was another's memory.  One remembered the fun of climbing trees , another just running as fast as he could.   By entering into these past occasions of grace and joy we experience again the gift of God's love.

   I always enjoy doing this exercise because as I watch my students, the expressions on their faces soften and worry lines seem to go away.
   When the lights are turned back on, I ask the students to let go of  the memory but hold on to the feeling of happiness.  Some authorities believe that recalling times of happiness actually speeds the healing process.  Flood yourself with as many happy memories as you can.  These memories are a gift--unique to you alone.

   If you have the opportunity, read the poem, "On Turning 10" by Billy Collins.  It celebrates the wonders of being a child, small wonders that are open to all.

   One caution!  Don't let these happy childhood memories make you sad because they are in the past.  Rejoice that they were once a part of your life.
  What  happy memory do you remember?  You might wish too add these to your journal.