Inspiring Reads for Kids
  • Home
  • Testimonials
  • About
  • Newsletter
  • Ori's Blog
Inspiring Reads for Kids it's a project which creates mindful illustrated stories with beneficial messages for life.
It was designed to be a special space for parents and kids to share quality time with content that supports healthy and happy emotional growth. It is suitable for kids from 6 years up, though it can be enjoyed by children of all ages. 
  
The stories are brought in a child friendly way; To the traditional online illustrated format we've added narrations and music hoping this will help convey the messages even better. 

All our stories were written by a meditation teacher with years of experience working with kids. Topics and inspiration for the tales are drawn from many different cultural and spiritual traditions, while at the same time our stories are rooted in the shared universal values of goodness, kindness and generosity.
​
Childhood is the time in our life in which our emotions, our belief in ourselves, our creativity and imagination and our entire inner world are shaped and developed. For this reason it is the perfect time to "sow" in our children's hearts & minds seeds of positivity and self love. Seeds that will mature and grow into tenderness, compassion and care for others and for our wondrous world, and into a solid and confident emotional base for their growth.
Picture

Ori Avnur is a meditation teacher and an artist from Israel. He began his career as an art teacher for children. Later on he moved to live in the east to study meditation and eastern philosophies. There he studied with some of the greatest spiritual teachers of our time. During this period of meditation practices, he began to write his children’s stories and founded “Inspiring Reads for Kids”. Today he is running a drawing and animation school for children while writing and publishing his children’s books.

My Teachers

These are the teachers I deeply love and who played a crucial role in my life, in the way I go about living, in my evolution and growth. I owe to them the awakening of my heart and my call to contribute to the world of children
​

H.H. THE 14TH DALAI LAMA  
​I visit Dharamsala on a regular basis to listen to the teachings, and for being in the presence of, H.H. the Dalai Lama. I am always deeply touched by the simple yet very powerful way in which he conveys messages of hope, love, kindness and compassion for all human beings. I am moved by his uncompromising attitude and invitation to embrace and respect all traditions, cultures, and religions. I feel that his unshakable determination to always focus on our shared values as human beings going beyond our apparent differences is such an important message for our world. I feel those qualities make him such a unique leader in these times.  Indeed, in his presence I felt my heart uplifted and that yes, without a doubt, we can create a better world. It's in our hands.

ECKHART TOLLE
Eckhart Tolle is one of the greatest spiritual teachers of our times. Though I haven't met him in person, I have listened to countless of his teachings through his many books and tv programs, and I consider him one of the strongest influences on my path. His teachings are very clear and I find them helpful in any life circumstance. He combines teachings from Eastern traditions with modern psychology using accessible language that well speaks to us as westerners. 
Eckhart Tolle abandoned an academic life to go into a period of solitude before later becoming extremely known and successful. Throughout all this ‘’external’’ life changes, he remained always humble and true to himself. I feel that such consistency and inner stability  are the qualities to look for in a teacher. I consider his teachings very helpful for remaining centered and connected to our inner balance while riding the waves of life. 

JETSUNMA TENZIN PALMO
I had the honor to met Jetzunma Tenzin Palmo for the first time in Dharamsala India 2009. I was deeply influenced by her enlightening wisdom and overwhelming love for all beings. Since then I’ve regularly followed her mission and her teachings. In 2011 I had the precious opportunity to visit her at her nunnery. Jetsunma
Tenzin Palmo is one of the first women from the west who took long Hymalayan cave retreats in solitude. She is a great influencer and activist for women’s rights within the Buddhist world. She's leading a revolution within Buddhist institutions by providing, for the first time in history, Buddhist education to nuns.  Her biography was published in the book A Cave in the Snow.

MOOJI
I regularly attended Mooji's teachings in Rishikesh, India. Mooji is another amazing teacher who offers a simple, direct method to connect to the innate wisdom of our heart. Continuing the tradition of self-inquiry shared by the great Indian sage Ramana Maharshi, Mooji doesn't waste time on theories and sophisticated explanations; rather he invites us to simply quiet our mind and dive deep into the direct  experiences of beauty, freedom and joy that are at the core of our very being.
Though he's not a man of many words, Mooji always conveys his teachings with a big smile and great sense of humor that makes everyone's heart blossom. He's one of my most beloved influences and his teachings are a cornerstone in my life.

SWAMI MUKTANANDA - SHIVANANDA LINEAGE
Swami Muktananda continues the direct lineage of the Shivananda Yoga and Advaita tradition established by the great Swamy Shivananda of Rishikesh. He’s a Canadian born swami who began his spiritual practice at an early age in India.  Later on, needing to support his mother, he returned to Canada and started a business. Because he kept a dedicated spiritual path while being in the midst of a very busy life and occupation, he became a fantastic teacher for people who wish to practice spirituality in the west while having a regular western-lifestyle. One of his core teachings that touched me very much was that as long as we remain connected to our inner aspiration to find peace and happiness within ourselves, our life will go in the right direction, and genuine serenity and joy will come in everything we do. This is one of the precious inspirations I took from Swami Ji into my life, and that message is also very present in my books.

SAHAJANANDA 
He is the founder of Hridaya Yoga School, which teaches a heart based meditation inspired by the Indian Sage Sri Ramana Maharshi, called Hrydaya Meditation. Twenty years before time, Sahajananda was already teaching what The Hearth Math Institute, scientist Gregg Braden and many more, came to know much later. Our human heart has a field of energy, and by focusing our attention on the rhythmical breathing in our chest, opening up to the sensations and feelings arising without judgement, we can transform our lives.
The focus of The Hearth Math Institute is more on the incredible health benefits that such a simple meditation technique can bring. Among others, are improved heart rate variability (which is what keeps you alive longer) and resilience (key to bounce back from and manage long-term stressful modern life situations). This technique though goes beyond these benefits and can also bring radical transformations in who we are, the way we perceive ourselves and the world, and our purpose on earth. Hrydaya meditation is a tool for healing, personal growth, and spiritual transformation.
Sahajananda was my first teacher of meditation, yoga and Sanskrit texts. I have attended his retreats between 2007-2012 in Thailand. During his courses and silent retreats I've gone through profound inner transformation and heart awakening. It was then that I started to feel the call to contribute to the world of children for the first time, and during those retreats I began to write the children's books found on this website.
Hridaya is the Sanskrit term for the heart. Literally, “hri” means “to give”; “da” means “to take”; and “ya” comes from “yam” which means “balance,” or “harmony.” Thus the Sanskirt language describes the heart as the organ which “gives and takes in perfect balance”, as it does in its action of pumping blood around our body. Yet Hridaya refers to the Spiritual Heart too which is the aspect that brings about the profound life transformations so many have experienced thanks to this meditation.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
  • ​Privacy Policy   |   Term of Service   |   Contact us
  • ​​​​​​
  •  Inspiring Reads for Kids, Golomb St.4, Kyriat Tivon, 36022, Israel

© 2020 by Ori Avnur

  • Home
  • Testimonials
  • About
  • Newsletter
  • Ori's Blog