• Tingshas or other signals for beginning, ending meditation

Say that it is time for some soul-seeking. Ask the youth what they think "soul-seeking" might mean. Accept some ideas. Affirm that to do some "soul-seeking" you need to have an idea of what "soul" means. Say something like:

Some people say your soul is the core of your nonphysical self, the center of your being. If you go soul-seeking, you explore your inner self, the parts of you that are not your body. You might find your essential self.

Invite the group to try a brief meditation. Ask them to relax, sit comfortably and close their eyes or stare at one spot on the wall or in the center of the room to avoid visual distractions. Say that you will sound the tingshas, lead a meditation, and sound the tingshas again at the end of the meditation.

Sound the tingshas. Guide the group's meditation:

Let your thoughts drift away from your body . . . let the events of the day and the clutter of the room move off into space . . . let your mind float free. . . . Then gradually . . . slowly . . . move into yourself . . . center yourself . . .find the place you cannot see . . . that you still know exists . . . the core of yourself . . .the deepest part of you. . . . Experience your center, your soul . . . Let it come to you . . . let it show you who and what you are . . . let your soul be you . . . . Let it drift on beyond you . . .Let it show you who and what you are . . . . [Allow a long pause.] . . . Now slowly, gradually, come back into your body . . . return to where you were . . . return to all of us . . . .

Sound the tingshas to end the meditation. Ask youth what the meditation was like. Did they visit a nonphysical part of themselves? Did it seem like the center of them, the deepest part of them? Do they think that "soul" is a good name for the place where they looked? How do they think it differs from character? From personality? From self?