When we first created Sanctum we had a zone where students could just be still on beanbags in a white draped area. Amazingly, some ‘got it’ and, understanding the point of the exercise, actually experienced a bit of peace. But to be honest we forever felt that without some sort of direction it would forever be simply a chill zone for a few and a slightly out of the way place to gather for a not so quiet chat for most.
Then we stumbled upon the simple idea of a ‘calm jar’, a way of focusing attention on something for a while to induce a sense of peace or calm. It’s just a jar with water and glitter in it. But early trials showed the glitter settles too quickly. What we needed was thicker water. Here’s our final recipe.
Large jar, washed out with a well fitting lid.- Bottle of Glycerin (from Boots or a pharmacy)
- Glitter
- Water
- Food colouring
- Washing up liquid
- Superglue
In order:
Quarter fill the jar with Glycerin and top it up with water to within 10mm of the top.
Add quite a lot of glitter, probably a bit more than you think. You can always add a bit, put the lid on and shake it to see, then add a bit more if you think it needs it.
Drop in a very small amount of food colouring. Try the smallest amount you can and add more if you need to. You don’t want the water to become too opaque.
Finally, add a small drip of washing up liquid. This is to break the surface tension as without it the glitter tends to stick to the surface of the water. Too much and it all get too frothy.
Now put the lid on and shake it. Does it work well enough? You can always add a bit more of any of the ingredients at this stage. Then top it up with water or more glycerin to leave about 5mm of space at the top.
Take the lid off and dry the top of the jar and the inside of the lid thoroughly
Screw the lid back on very tightly.
Turn the jar upside down and trickle a small amount of superglue into the gap between the jar and the lid in a few places all round. Capillary action should draw it into the gap. This not only helps the seal but more importantly it stops the inquisitive from taking the lid off.
We wrote a script for a narration, setting it to the track Monorail by Port Blue, that students listen to on an mp3 player. Obviously we can’t re-distribute the final audio track but if you’d like the script do get in touch.
The ‘Calm’ activity has now more than fulfilled our expectations. Students often say it’s really helped them to understand the benefit of taking time out to be still. And when we ask them which activities feel most like they imagine prayer to be, the often point to the calm zone.
