There was a time when Visitacion Valley middle school in San Francisco could have featured in a gritty US crime drama. Surrounded by drugs and gang violence, the kids were stressed out and agitated. One day children came in to find three dead bodies dumped in the schoolyard. “In 2006 there were 38 killings in our neighbourhood,” says Barry O’Driscoll, the school’s head of physical education (PE). He says the lives of students were infected by violence in the community, and several fights would break out every day.

In 2007 a meditation programme called Quiet Time was brought in to meet some of these challenges. “When I first heard about it I thought it probably wasn’t going to work,” says O’Driscoll. “We get thrown a new thing every couple of years so I didn’t put too much faith in it.” But in April, just a month after meditation began, teachers noticed changes in behaviour. “Students seemed happy,” says O’Driscoll. “They worked harder, paid more attention, were easier to teach and the number of fights fell dramatically.”

In the first year of Quiet Time suspensions at Visitacion Valley – which has 500 students aged 11-13 – were reduced by 45% (pdf). By 2009-10, attendance rates were over 98% (some of the highest in the city), and today 20% of graduates are admitted to the highly academic Lowell high school – before it was rare for even one student to be accepted. Perhaps even more remarkable, last year’s California Healthy Kids Survey from the state’s education department found that students at Visitacion Valley middle school were the happiest in the whole of San Francisco.

Just Click this RED link to Get my Free Report on ‘The Power Of Mindfulness’.

>>>>   The Complete article Can be accessed here …  and great thanks to those who composed this report.  I`m privileged to share this with you .  https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/nov/24/san-franciscos-toughest-schools-transformed-meditation

Is Michael Grab a magician?Or are these the results we can all expect when we invest in Personal Development of the Meditative type?

How did he manage to create such amazingly stunning structure – balancing rocks which are defying the laws of physics?

Anyone who has seen these structures simply can’t believe their eyes – such an impossible creation.

Creating them requires immense meditative focus and amazing concentration. As seen in the video, Grab is working on tirelessly, coming up with tiny adjustments till he is able to get all the rock centers just perfectly balanced.

Is this due to his super meditative focus? It is known that in the past few years he has been regularly practicing rock balance.

“Over the past few years of practicing rock balance, simple curiosity has evolved into therapeutic ritual, ultimately nurturing meditative presence, mental well-being, and artistry of design,” writes Grab in his artist statement.

More info: gravityglue.com | Facebook | Vimeo | Twitter

Great pictures and a Video of Michael`s work can be seen by clicking the link here. Meditative?? See these astounding and beautiful works here!

Copyright: <a href=’http://www.123rf.com/profile_lightwise’>lightwise / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

What do successful people do? … What habits do they have which makes them highly successful? How is their life different from us! How expensive is it to be successful? These are some common questions which often strike us, when we feel the strong urge to succeed!

Surprisingly – it costs nothing to develop habits which make you successful! Meditation is said to be the biggest reason of their success; it certainly relaxes and takes care of the mind. Successful people meditate regularly.

They are all early risers and this certainly attributes to their success. So, don’t sleep that extra minute if you are trying really hard to be successful! Know more about such successful habits!

Have you ever you wondered how certain people have gotten so successful? Sure you have. A great idea, motivation, persistence, and a little luck helps, but most successful people share certain habits. Here are nine habits that have helped place them on the top:

1. They meditate.

Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, told The Huffington Post in 2013 that “Meditation, more than anything in my life was the biggest ingredient of whatever success I’ve had.” Dalio, however, is not alone. Oprah, Rupert Murdoch, Russell Simmons, Arianna Huffington, Bill Ford and Padmasree Warrior have all attributed mediation as a huge component to their success.

Taking care of your body and mind by relaxing, exercising, healthy eating and getting enough sleep are all ways to improve your chances of success.

Related: Meditation Isn’t Just For Hippies: Here is How it Can Help Entrepreneurs
2. They wake up early.

President Obama, Richard Branson, Jack Dorsey, Larry Schultz, Tim Cook and Xerox CEO Ursula Burns are known to be early risers. How has this attributed to their success? Because early risers are able to start their days ahead of everyone else by responding to others, exercising and finding some personal time, early risers also tend to be happier and are more proactive.
3. They network.

Successful people realize the importance of networking. In fact, research has found that networking can lead to people performing better at work and increases the chance of landing a job. Networking helps our successful people be more innovative. According to Dale Carnegie’s classic “How To Win Friends & influence People,” successful people rarely complain or criticize. They are sincere and try to be empathetic.
4. Keep themselves busy.   ….  Keep reading by clicking this link!

Thanks to those at Entrepreneur!! … just great!!