Mitch and I teaching the kids at The Book Garden, Frenchtown, NJ...shy Mitchie is standing to my left. Feel free to ask me about my extensive teaching experience.
MEDITATION, MY FRIEND has been praised by leading mental health experts, and by noted individuals in the mindfulness, meditation, and neuro science community. Rick Hanson NY Times Best Selling author of The Buddha's Brain and Hard Wiring Happiness, Tara Brach, NY Times Best Selling author, True Refuge and Radical Acceptance, and Diana Winston the director of mindfulness education at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center, author of WIDE AWAKE.
PLEASE NOTE THIS BOOK COMES WITH A FREE AUDIO DOWNLOAD. In this wonderful book you will meet Mitchell Hoffsteader, the quirky, endearing star, and co-author of Betsy Thomson’s new book “Meditation, My Friend.” Mitch is like many kids we know. He hates doing homework, he is not fond of vegetables and he gets frustrated when Betsy, otherwise known as Betzilla, the adult figure in his life, tells him what to do. Worst of all Mitch is convinced he has an incurable case of “Restless Brain Syndrome” – “You know when you can’t stop thinking and thinking.” Mitchell also has trouble in school, making friends, and believing in himself. He finds it hard to concentrate and feel calm. All of this begins to change when Mitchell meets Betsy’s friend Tenzin, a monk from Tibet. Tenzin introduces Mitchell to mindfulness meditation. He teaches Mitchell how to cope with life’s challenges and deal with his own inevitable “gluey-sticky monster thoughts” by being mindful. Mitchell learns how to become “Mindful Mitchie” and find his “quiet place inside.” Full of playful illustrations, wonderful photography and life-size puppetry, and "how to" meditate instructions “Meditation, My Friend” is every adult’s answer to the question of how to introduce mindfulness to children. The book is also for the young at heart. As Tenzin says, “Anyone, anywhere can meditate. It doesn’t matter what religion they are or aren’t, if they are young or old, or wear tube socks or no socks – anyone can benefit.” The free download includes guided meditations, a discussion of mindfulness with Betsy and Mitchell, and Mitch’s spunky song “Meditation is Good For Me” and Betsy’s “Wish” is available for purchase here or on Amazon.
Mitch and I like to tell kids....“As you breathe in, cherish yourself....As you breathe out, cherish all Beings.” ..."Even puppets", Mitch likes to add. – The Dalai Lama taught us this.
Meditation, My Friend t-shirts
While living in NYC’s East Village in the 1990's, Betsy first discovered meditation. Her first introductions to serious meditation were at the Shelburne Falls, MA. Vipassana Meditation center and Integral Yoga Center, NYC. Meditation and yoga have remained a very important part of her life. While touring and performing at the “Mend the Sacred Hoop Concert’ at Pineridge Reservation, South Dakota, Betsy was introduced to Lakota culture and spiritual teachings. Feeling very much at home and connected with the Lakota and their teachings Betsy still practices what she has learned today.
Since 1990 Betsy also maintains a well-respected career as a psychic and intuitive counselor. She has been a featured [psychic] reader for ESPN, interviewed on CNN and Java Journal and in the Des Moines Register, and a guest on numerous radio shows discussing her intuitive work. Clients include members of the corporate and finance worlds, as well as celebrities in the entertainment industry both nationally and internationally. Learn more here: http://tarotreadingsbybetsy.com
Like many people, a monumental marker in Thomson’s life was 9/11. Immediately after the collapse of the Twin Towers, she began volunteering as a stress therapist assisting responders. Thomson’s primary focus was on FDNY members suffering from depression, PTSD, and bodily injuries due to 9/11 events. Working both in firehouses and at Ground Zero, Thomson provided touch therapy (acupressure, Reconnective Healing, Reiki and mindfull meditation) and energetic balancing. In 2002, Thomson was awarded “New Yorker of the Week” by NY1 News for the extensive work she did with members of the FDNY. She continues to work with Serving Those Who Serve, as director of outreach. This nonprofit that provides support to responders of 9/11 and their families, veterans and responders of the Gulf oil spill.