What it is
Meditation meetings based on reading aloud, combined with an audiovisual session and the use of authorial compositions for relaxation / meditation. Come with your favorite book or the one you would like to share with others. Backup copies will also be available to grab from our box- who knows, maybe you will find the words you need at the moment? In a space equipped with a "peaceful" atmosphere (blankets, pillows), we will lie down comfortably, drink hot tea, read aloud to each other and share our thoughts. The meeting will end with a meditative sound session (AUDIOLEVITATION).
WHY
WE DISENCHANT THE BEAUTIFUL PRACTICE OF READING-ALOUD
Improve your well-being
Listening to the spoken word is one of the sources of everyday comfort, e.g. reading to a loved one who is sick gives them the feeling that we take care of them, we care about their well-being, we pay attention to them. The listener can rest and surrender to the soothing voice of the reader, trust him. Reading to a sick person speeds up their recovery and encourages them to be active. Anyone who has experienced reading aloud by a loved one knows that it is completely unlike reading to oneself. Reading aloud to another person serves to deepen the relationship - immediately and afterwards, because you can talk about the story you read later.
Relax for body
It makes the whole body vibrate gently, which relaxes the muscles and tendons. It's like a massage from the inside out. It can help, for example, in tension headaches or neck pain. Oxygenates. Reading aloud (especially with variable intonation), like laughter, improves blood circulation, which entails oxygenation and better work, among others. Heart, lungs and muscles.
Brain protection
Brain research shows that reading sentences or words aloud activates three different centers in the brain. This requires a combination of several processes, such as 'imagining' words, registering their pitch and tone, and checking your pronunciation. When we read a book aloud, we simply demand more from our brain than when we read it silently.
Developing imagination and supporting concentration
When we read, we leave in our minds bits of different information. It is impossible to say what can be useful when, but everything in some way broadens our horizons and improves our understanding of the world. Books practice analytical thinking. How often do we find, when reading something interesting, to guess the ending before turning the last page? And that's what it is - training critical and analytical thinking, drawing conclusions from hundreds of suggestions and premises.
Calming own heart
Reading is also a melody of language. Rhythm, pace, harmony. Reading slowly in a rhythmic and calm voice, we calm our breathing and mute the heart rate - we reduce the level of stress that is present in our daily life.
Additionally
Listening to reading in other languages, develops cognitive abilities of our brain. By listening to the literature of other cultures, we build openness, broadening our horizons with wisdom rooted in cultures of the world. Listening to the tales and wisdom of the ancestors of different cultures, develops abstract thinking and we have the opportunity to see similar experiences and phenomena from a completely different, yet unknown perspective.
FROM THE AUTHOR
HANIA PIOSIK
Over the past years, I have read books aloud to my friends and relatives. In 2019, the world closed in the grip of a pandemic, and I felt that I would like to embrace people who are close to me and started reading the old good Moomin tales in streaming, which brought me joy and peace in my childhood. The reaction of the audience was surprising - a lot of people sent thanks for help in falling asleep, calming down, and de-stressing in this galloping madness of pandemy. What was most interesting to me - a large part of this news came from foreigners. "I do not understand a single word, but thank you, because for the first time in a long time I fell asleep calmly". If this is how ordinary reading affects us, I want to read and encourage people to read to each other - I thought and this is how the idea of our meetings arosed.
HOW DOES IT LOOK LIKE
READING FOR FREEDOM
Organisation
I arrange the space so that we are comfortable - our No. 1 goal is to relax and feel "at home". Participants bring a book with them that they would like to share. We read each other aloud - if there is a desire and need, after reading a fragment, we share our thoughts on a given topic. There is no compulsion to participate actively - if you feel you have no power, just lie down, listen and rest. Freedom is our main intention. Freedom of speech and by freeing words - freedom of the spirit. The freedom of one spirit that he shares with others is the rebuilding of collective freedom. In this peaceful way, with the words of writers from different countries and cultures, we want to bring peace, expand mutual understanding, relax together and build bridges between the subtle differences in us that can be seen as the most beautiful element in the world, and not as a source conflict. Join us :) We will end each session with a common sound meditation with the intention of creating a world based on the values of love, peace and support.
Equipment
Reading for Freedom offers a supply of soft blankets for a group of 20 people (if group is bigger we will adjust to guidelines) and drinking herbs for participants (ingredients: ginger, turmeric, hellette, hops, yarrow, goldenrod, St. John's wort, honey, cinnamon). To conduct an audio session, we only need to connect to the local sound system and optionally a projector (for Audiolevitation we also have visualizations ready to be displayed, if the organizer wishes). We also have a box of books for seekers of unknown content and for those who simply did not take their copies.
Blankets
Drinking Herbs
Recovery Books
A WANDERING BOOK
SHARING MAKES HAPPY!
We will have some books in stock. If you feel it's time to send your favorite book further on, exchange it for an unknown item from our box. Who knows ... maybe the newly red words will unexpectedly start a completely new chapter in your life ...? :)
