CATEGORY
Meditation Game
DESCRIPTION
Make a rocket to launch your dreams.
INSTRUCTIONS
Start with an 8.5" x 11" piece of white or colored paper and a film canister with a tightly fitting lid. Make your dream as vivid as possible, and describe it on the paper using words and images. Cut the paper into two strips (6"x11" and 2.5"x11"). With the cap end of the film canister facing down, roll the larger paper around the film canister, forming a long tube. Make sure you can still remove the film canister cap, then tape the paper securely to the film canister. Cut a circle out of the smaller strip of paper, and cut a line from the edge of the circle to the middle (the radius). Twist the paper into a cone shape and tape it together. Drop the remaining scraps of paper into the tube, and tape the nose cone over the top (opposite the film canister). If you like, add fins to the bottom of your rocket to stabilize its flight. Now you're ready to make the engine and launch your dream.
Grab a bottle of vinegar and box of baking soda and head outdoors (this activity makes a big mess and the rocket can fly quite high.) Turn your rocket over, and take the top off the film canister. Pack the lid tightly with baking soda, and pour about two teaspoons of vinegar into the bottom of the film canister. Gently put the lid on the canister and snap it closed. Quickly turn the rocket over and set it down on its end and stand back. Watch your rocket launch into the air. If your rocket fizzles instead of blasts off, don't fret! It doesn't necessarily mean that your dream isn't supposed to take off. It might mean "not yet" -- or it may simply mean you need a film canister with a tighter fitting lid!
JOY'S JOURNEY
When I was a young girl, my father's boss lived on a huge farm, complete with a rifle range. Every summer, he would hold a family picnic for all his friends and employees. To a small girl, it seemed like there were hundreds of people milling around the food tables and massive coffee urns. Perhaps the attraction of the rifle range lured otherwise reluctant men into complacent obedience to their wives wishes for a family day at the farm. I acquired my love of deep rich coffee here, diluted beyond recognition with sugar and milk, but oh so tasty! These summer picnics were also my introduction to chasing after rockets. Dad's boss would launch these impressive handmade rockets, complete with colorful landing parachutes. All the kids would chase through the fields to find them. I can't remember if there was a reward for bringing back the rocket, but every child went after that rocket as if it were a basket of Easter candy. Being one of the youngest guests, I didn't have a hope or prayer of being the lucky winner. Watching the engine spark and burn before take-off, staring in awe as it gracefully lifted off the ground and soared into the summer sky, then running through the tall grass as I watched it gently float back to earth was reward enough.
QUOTES
There is no human failure greater than to launch
a profoundly important endeavor
and then leave it half done.
Barbara Ward
It is not good enough for things to be planned -
they still have to be done;
for the intention to become a reality,
energy has to be launched into operation.
Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan
I have learned to use the word "impossible"
with the greatest caution.
Wernher Maximilian von Braun
German-born American rocket engineer
Dr. Joy is available to present playful workshops (playshops) at your corporate training retreat, non profit organization gathering, or club membership meetings. She is located in Denver, Colorado, and travels throughout the US to deliver Serious Fun ™ Programs for personal growth, wellness, and inspiration. Please see the program pages for details and contact information.
This playful meditation activity is COPYRIGHTED. If you are a professional trainer, coach, human resources person, counselor, or therapist it is not ethical nor legal for you to use it or share it with your clients or those you supervise/train as part of your job. See the copyright notice on the front page of this e-book. Remember, character is what you do when no one is looking. Please take the high road, and pay me appropriately to use these materials professionally, even if you work for a church, school, non-profit or the government.
© Copyright 1999-2008 by Joy Koenig. All Rights Reserved.
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