Night Time Moods
Guided Imagery for Children
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Imagine that you are standing on top of a hill and
right in front of you is the most beautiful forest, full of green trees, with a
breeze softly blowing the leaves. You
can feel the breeze on your face and as you take a deep breath, the aroma of
flowers seems heavenly. You can smell
some wild roses, some carnations, and a hint of wild mint combined. You just love the way the smell of flowers
mixes with the aroma of the pine needles.
See that there by the edge of the forest are flowers
blooming everywhere. So many pretty
colors! You can pick some flowers if
you like to take with you on a journey.
Perhaps you like red flowers or bright blue flowers, maybe even purple
flowers. Whatever colors you like,
those are the color of flowers that you see growing in the forest. There are
flowers blooming everywhere!
It is a beautiful sunny day. The sky seems so blue
and the clouds of puffy, fluffy white float gently by as a smooth breeze
brushes against your face. What a great
day to “not do nothin” so you amble along the edge of the forest. Looking beyond the trees, you can see a
meadow over to the north of where you are.
Suddenly, you notice a movement in the meadow -- what is that? Peeking around the trunk of a tree, you
notice that the sun lights up the scene like a spotlight. Following a path made of tiny, tiny, foot
prints you slip between trees to reach the meadow. This meadow is astounding.
It has the greenest grass you have ever seen. It is so green that it appears to sparkle in the sunlight, like tiny
diamonds in the sun. How beautiful it
is!
You’re feeling very curious. What was that movement?-- what is happening
here? Out in the center of the meadow
something is moving and it is brown.
O-O-O-H! What could it be? Dropping to your hands and knees, you crawl
toward that brown, furry, moving thing.
You can barely see it because you are keeping your head below the top of
the grasses. You feel like diamonds are
sparkling all around your shoulders as you creep through the grass. When you get close enough, you can see that
the movement you saw is a group of little furry, brown animals meeting in the
center of the meadow under a big, old, oak tree. The leaves of the tree dance with the breeze.
What is that sound you hear? -- The tree is whispering
to you, “Come on over under my branches and join in the meeting, you are very
welcome to be here with us.” Your eyes
grow big and you think, “Did I really hear that?” The tree seems to nod its head as the wind sways its
branches. You swallow hard and almost
gulp. This isn’t easy for you, but you
don’t want to be rude so you stand up. As you take a step toward the group of
tiny furry animals, you can tell that many little, tiny eyes are watching you. Another step toward them and you can see
that they are looking at you as if they have been waiting a long time for you
to appear.
All the animals; squirrels, birds, bunnies, foxes,
ground hogs, deer, chipmunks and let’s see, how many more can you remember were
there? Think about it. Some of your favorite animals are
there. They all gather around you
expectantly. “What is this? “ you
think, “What do they want me to do?” A
tiny, pink bunny thumps his foot on the ground and says to the group of little,
furry animals, “It is time to be quiet now, it is time for our story.” The bunny turns and looks at you as if to
say, “Well, when are you going to start?”
“Oh, is that it?”
You think, “Okay, I can do this, I can make up a good story for
them.” Sitting down under the tree, you
choose a comfortable place where you can lean your back against the trunk of
the tree. You can tell the tree is pleased that you chose to sit close to
her. The grass beneath you feels soft
and clean. All the animals move closer
to you and nudge your legs and arms with their soft, moist, noses. They look so cute when they do that it makes
you giggle. They look at you with eyes
full of love and you giggle, too.
This is such a delicious moment that you take a deep
breath of the fresh, country air. It
smells so sweet with the scent of all the flowers that grow in the meadow. As you begin to speak, the animals seem to
grow very calm, quiet, and peaceful.
Your voice lulls them into a dreamlike state. You say, “Once upon a time -- there were forest animal friends who
loved to play together in the meadow at springtime. They chased each other and
tumbled around in the green grasses. There were lots of places that they could
hide from each other, like old hollow logs, deep caves, and large leaves close
to the ground that made little cubbyholes where no one could find them.
You are a very good storyteller and your voice goes on and on telling one tale after another. You tell about fairies, and knights in shining armor
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Children see all the little things down to the very
last detail. They remember how to get
into an experience and really feel it.
They have fun regardless of whether they are experiencing reality or
imagination. If we all remember the
imagination that we may have forgotten, we will have richer, fuller experiences
in our lives and we will be grateful for the tiny moments.
The guided imageries contained in this book use
Neuro Linguistic Programming that inspire positive thoughts and raise
self-esteem. The children can read the
short version of the story on the picture page and at bedtime the parent can
read the longer version to them.
Parents:
This is a special book for bedtime.
Instead of the usual story, the child will use their imagination to
become the center of what is happening in the drama that you are reading. Before you begin to read each story, you can
help your child relax and prepare for the adventure by reading the introduction
first. There are short passages on the
picture pages that your child can read or learn to read when they look at the
book by themselves. They can color the
pictures if they want to.
In a soft, slow, modulated voice, speak clearly and
recite the following introduction. Then
continue with the story of your choice.
Introduction:
Close your eyes and take a deep relaxing breath. See if you can fill your belly with air.
Hold it gently and feel a soft, golden white light-energy come into your lungs
swirling inside your chest and belly.
Let your air flow slowly and gently from your belly out through your
nose.
When that air is all gone, breathe in again, filling
yourself with the golden-white light energy again, letting it swirl around and
around inside of you and even flowing out through your feet and connecting you
to the Earth. You and the Earth feel
very close and safe together.
Breathe gently out – release, relax, and let go of
any bad thing that may have happened in your life today. Feel your muscles unwind, relax, and let go,
as all tension or tightness leaves your body.
You are now ready for a good story.
Lets go together and imagine.
About the Author
Cara Bryant, Director, Author, Artist
Cara is the director of an adult education program
and helps to make it possible for everyone who needs a diploma or job to become
capable of getting it. Cara has written another book, Moods In the Moment,
also with 1st Books Library.
She lives in Arizona with her husband and six children. She receives inspiration and guidance for
the stories she writes. She has created
a line of greeting cards made with dried southwestern plants and flowers. The inserts of the cards have positive
messages and pictures inspired by her last book. She enjoys creating computer art.
Carol Weaver, R.N., M.Ht., Author, Artist
Carol is a storytelling Grandma who happens to be a
Registered Nurse and a Master Hypnotherapist.
She uses Neuro Linguistic Programming, Reiki and Love as tools for
healing. Carol retired from the Indian
Health Service on the Apache Reservation and plans to write more stories as she
travels the world with her husband John.
Dara Heward-Bryant, Author, Artist, Age 12
Dara is the granddaughter of Carol and the daughter
of Cara. She also has a talent with
writing stories and poems, telling guided imagery, and doing artwork. She enjoys directing and acting in plays
that she writes and records with her camcorder.
Annie Bryant, Author, Artist, Age 6
Annie is the granddaughter of Carol and the daughter
of Cara. She has a vivid imagination,
loves guided imagery and creates wonderful pretend adventures that she takes us
on. She loves animals and wants to heal
the world with love.
Toni Center, Illustrator, Artist, Author, Teacher
Toni is a retired Art teacher. She has had two solo-Art shows, many awards from state and local Art shows and has paintings in states from Alaska to Florida. She has authored an inspirational book with the messages from her guides and angels. She has been married fifty-two years and is a “young” grandmother of four and great grandmother of five.