This is probably one of the most fun representations to use when it comes to how your mind works, because not only is it remarkably simple and easy to do but there’s something oddly satisfying watching it. Some even continue to use it as a relaxation technique moving forward outside of this course. 

What I want you to do is pause the course and go down to your dollar store and pick up a few supplies. This also can be a great exercise to involve your kids on and start the groundwork for mindfulness with them as well. It’s a great excuse to get crafty with them 🙂

There are tons of different versions on the internet. Feel free to experiment and google it if the below recipe doesn’t work for you.

How to Make Glitter Jars

Making a glitter jar is an easy, fun, and inexpensive project for home or school. Here are the craft supplies you need:

• 16-ounce glass or plastic jar with lid
• 1/2 cup clear glue
• Water (Distilled for longer use)
• Hot Glue Gun  
• 1–2 teaspoons glitter
• Food coloring (optional)
• Sequins (optional)

Step 1: Pour Water into the Jar

Pour 1/2 cup of distilled water into a clean mason jar. Unlike tap water, distilled water contains no contaminants or minerals and will help keep glitter jars mold-free.

Step 2: Add Glue to the Jar

Next, pour 1/2 cup of clear glue into the jar. If desired, tint your glue with 1–3 drops of food coloring. You can also use clear glue—it has a beautiful effect!

Step 3: Sprinkle Glitter Into the Jar

Sprinkle 1–2 teaspoons of craft glitter into the jar. We like to use a combination of fine, standard, and chunky glitter! It is also fun to add shaped sequins, such as hearts, to glitter jars.

Step 4: Top Off the Jar

Fill up the remainder of the jar with distilled water. Wipe off the rim with a dry paper towel.

Step 5: Seal the Jar

Use a hot glue gun to squeeze a ring of glue around the lid of the jar. Press the lid onto the jar and secure it with the metal ring.

Once you have it completed

I want you to shake the jar quite vigorously for at least 10 to 20 seconds then I want you to look at all the glitters swirling around in different currents at different levels and maybe different colors depending on what you decided. I want you to understand that this is what happens to your thought patterns when an event happens. Now over the course of the next 30 seconds to a minute I want you to set the jar down on the shelf or on the table and just watch what happens! This is a great time to just take some slow deep full breaths, nice and easy, and focus on the glitter. Given a bit of time and showing a bit of patience you’ll see the glitter start to slow and start to settle down and the levels will start to combine until you finally get a solid layer at the very bottom of the glitter back at rest and you are once again able to see through the jar. This is a fun representation of how our mind works. Let’s take it past the fun and understand when something happens to us, we have many thoughts in many different directions, each one with their own context and their own desire to be heard. We require space in those moments not only to let the initial thoughts settle but to choose and see the proper context for that event. Not all the thoughts that get stirred up pertain to that particular event; some of them are triggers or leftover memories from other events that may be similar in some way but still they do not apply. Therefore, we are able to look at each individual thought, choose whether it belongs within this context or not and start to make some decisions on a move forward basis.