The students loved Neal and her meditation methods. She eventually taught a full meditation class at JVS, and from there it’s spread like wildfire.
"When I’m being directed to do something, I don’t question it; I just do it," Neal explains.
Some JVS students mentioned they had been incarcerated at West Central and would have liked the meditation class while they were there.
So Neal contacted the proper authorities and now teaches one boys’ and one girls’ class every other week at the detention center.
The Youth Center classes came by way of students that had moved [from] West Central and still wanted to continue their instruction.
"I don’t know why they’re there and I don’t care," emphasizes Neal.
She doesn’t have a problem with disrespect in her classroom, either. Rather, "they sit and listen and are curious and interested."
Neal points out that she won’t talk down to her students. The way to get their attention, she stresses, is to "challenge their brains and not to condescend."
She is received very well by her classes, and says she feels it’s because "I don’t bs them; I’m very straightforward."
The newest class at the Cultural Center is making meditation and creative expression available to all teens in the Miami Valley area, regardless of school or age. While attending, students will learn a little about themselves. The mind-body connection and proper physical care, relaxation techniques, and the power of positive thinking.
"Every day when you wake up, tell yourself that you have value, that you will have a fabulous day," Neal exhorts her students. "Celebrate your differences, and replace all that negative thinking."
Neal’s upcoming project via the West Coast is a CD* of guided meditations, a combination of her voice and specific soothing music, again caused by students’ requests.
"I never break a promise to a student, " she says. To Neal, her teenagers and classes are more than a job, they’re her passion.
"This is the group I am I drawn to, this is the gift God has given me," she summarizes.
*Note: The CD was eventually produced in Ohio.