Dear students, neighbors, colleagues and friends,

As a teacher, I am astounded by how the mental state of my students impacts their ability to learn.

When students come to me with a lot of fear and self-doubt, I sometimes feel like I am teaching to a brick wall.

When their minds are clear and sharp, when they are calm and present, they learn so much faster and certainly have more fun! 

 

In fact, my students who manage to achieve fluency in under three months are not the most gifted for languages or the ones who study the hardest, but those who are least encumbered by the fear and resistance that can make it difficult to listen and communicate clearly.  They possess extraordinary curiosity and creativity that spring forth naturally from an uncluttered mind.

 

Not many of you know this, but long before I started Into This City, I was an exceptionally spacey teenager who nearly failed out of high school.

 

My life changed because I lived in a community that had the resources to send me to amazing self-development programs and work with teachers who helped me to transform from within whether this was through acting classes, meditation, retreats or coaching. 
 
I really want to be able to to give this opportunity to young people who don't have these same resources. 
And that is why, this April, Into This City is very pleased and proud to support the Brooklyn Sit-A-thon on April 21.
The Brooklyn Sit-a-thon is a borough-wide event where we join together to spend a day in sitting meditation as a way to raise funds for the Awake Youth Project - a program coordinated byBrooklyn Zen Center in partnership with Brooklyn College Community Partnership to bring mindfulness and meditation programs to Brooklyn youth. (See the recent NY Times article on this project)

Many of the young people with whom we work live with considerable economic hardship and risk for violence. They struggle with enormous stress, anxiety, anger and other strong emotions that make an already demanding life schedule all the more difficult. Consequently Awake Youth Project's high school-based groups employ meditation and mindfulness practices to address the many challenges in the lives of our youth.

 

Now in their third year, requests for replication of these groups are emerging. However the volunteer efforts that have been the backbone of this endeavor require funding for stabilization so that we can continue with our programs at Erasmus, Bushwick and Brooklyn College Art Lab's teen program, while expanding to other schools.

To join this effort to bring mindfulness and meditation practice to our community's youth, please feel free to give any donation, large or small! $10 or a simple facebook share will go a long away. 
It would mean so very much to me and these teenagers.


 

Sincerely,
Manisha Snoyer
Director, Into This City
E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of New York in French to add comments!

Join New York in French

Visit our bookstore

 

 

Visit our store

Learn French