Welcome to the world of Ammi—a mindfulness adventure series for young children. Ammi is a wise and gentle child who leads the way as we explore ourselves and one another through the natural world. Each story uses guided imagery to inspire inner connection and support emotional regulation. These simple meditations recognize the importance of imagination as a foundation for conscious creation in the world. They bridge the physical, the energetic, the emotional, and all the spaces in between. Whether in the home or classroom, you can engage in these special practices with children of all ages. Read them aloud together, listen to the guided meditation, and welcome the time to process and integrate the practice.
Ammi’s Adventures: Clouds
Hi! I’m Ammi. My name means “the whole world is inside of me,” and I think it’s true: I carry the whole world in my mind and heart and body. I know you do, too! I like to play games, explore, and discover what makes me, me. I’m so glad we’re together on this journey!
I love to sit and watch the clouds. I play the cloud game with my friends, my family, and I even play it by myself. I look up and the sky comes alive with animals, people, anything and everything. And then it changes again right before my eyes. A dragon becomes a heart. A face turns into a bird. Those clouds always felt so far away, but then one foggy morning I discovered I was inside a cloud! I could feel it on my skin and breathe it into my lungs, and walk around in the thickness of it, while it wrapped around me. It felt like a hug from an old friend.
Later that day I was feeling confused about something important to me. I needed to make a decision and I didn’t know how. It was then that I noticed the feeling was familiar. It was like a cloud, except this time it was inside of me! It felt like a cloud right in my head. My mind was foggy and unclear.
I felt grateful I had spent all that time watching clouds, because I had learned so much from them. I know for sure that clouds change, and that it usually doesn’t take long and that it’s always beautiful to see. So I sat and watched the cloud in my mind. I didn’t try to change it, I was just present as it slowly but surely changed shape and size. I used my wind breathing to center my body and I used kind words to speak to myself so I could be patient and unafraid while the cloud changed. Eventually it thinned and drifted and my deepest self knew what to do.
There are always going to be clouds. Outside ones and inside ones. The more we can be comfortable with the clouds the more brilliant the skies can be! Let’s walk through some clouds and practice being with them together.
A Five-Minute Meditation for Kids
Ammi’s Adventures: A Guided Cloud Meditation for Kids
- Settle into your body by using your breath. Bring the air in through your nose or mouth, and as your chest and belly expand, relax into your chair. Feel your back upright and supported, your root grounded, and your legs on the floor. Breathe in and out, inhale and exhale, as you gently come home to yourself, and softly close your eyes.
- Bring your presence to your low belly. Imagine an ocean there. Fish swimming, colorful coral swaying, a water wonderland. Keep breathing, what else do you see? Move your attention up to your heart center. There, imagine a garden. Blooming flowers, fluttering butterflies, a gentle breeze. Breathe in and out. What else do you see?
- Move your attention up to the center of your head. Imagine there is a still lake with crystal blue water. In the sky are big puffy white clouds. Bring your presence a little further up to the top of your head. There, above your head imagine one of those clouds. The cloud grows and grows, filling with rain. When it’s as big as you want it to be and it’s ready to burst open, let it rain down on you. Maybe it’s fast tickling rain, or heavy wet droplets, or light soothing rain. Like a waterfall, let the rain flow from the top of your head down through your lake mind, down into your heart garden, and down through your ocean belly. It flows down your arms and hands, down your legs and feet, and onto the floor around you. Let the rain do what it does best. Cleaning and clearing and bringing new life.
- Bring your focus back to the rain cloud at the top of your head. It has changed again. The rain is gone and it is filled with sunlight. As you breathe gently, let the sunlight shine in and through you. A soft breath and the sun shimmers on your lake mind, a deeper breath and it warms the dirt in your heart garden, another big full breath makes sun rays that stream through your ocean belly.
- Tenderly scan your body. Do you see or feel any other clouds inside you? Where are they? What shapes are they? What colors? Are they full and thick or wispy and light? Are they rain clouds or sun, or something else? Be curious about them. Notice them. Welcome them. Be with them. Watch as they change.
Clouds remind us that everything changes. In fact, everything is changing all the time. Including us. Some of the changes are small and gentle and other changes are sudden and gigantic. The only thing to do with change is be in it. Often we find joy in it, and sometimes we just breathe. The clouds remind us how to sit and watch the changes without needing them to be a certain way. We can’t shape a cloud, or even know what it will turn into next. But we can watch and wait and be curious. And we can do that with all that changes inside and outside of us, too! Confusion will always make way for clarity. The unknown becomes known.
Love from your friend, Ammi
Try This: Clear the Confusion with a Cloud
A simple imagining game that helps me take care of myself.
You know what reminds me of clouds? Cotton balls. Cotton balls are really good at soaking things up. Imagine a cloud soaking something up that you no longer need. Think of something you’re holding onto that isn’t yours or you’ve outgrown. Maybe it’s something that you’re confused about and need help with, or just something that feels heavy to you. Now put it into your cotton ball cloud. Let it soak it all up and then watch as it floats away. You might even want to send it to someone or something who you know can help. Notice how you feel. Lighter? Brighter? Clearer? Calmer?
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