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Paper Stone Stacking

10 PDF
Four bundles of scrunched up paper in the mindful reflection activity Paper Stone Stacking

Paper Stone Stacking

Mindful reflection activity to explore dreams & develop inner focus.

  • Promotes mindfulness & focus
  • Develops patience
  • Builds connectedness
  • Adaptable to many topics
  • Suitable for all group sizes

Mindful Reflection Activity

This mindfulness activity combines goal-setting with meditative focus through the symbolic transformation of written dreams into balanced structures. Paper Stone Stacking creates a powerful metaphor for how personal aspirations require careful attention and balance to achieve stability. The physical act of balancing paper stones mirrors the delicate process of nurturing hopes and dreams, making it perfect as a mindful reflection activity.

Step-by-Step Instructions

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Original post March 2023, last updated October 2025.

BY Kyle Price

Comments (9)

  1. Matthiaslauwers85

    Hi!
    What happens with the goals that were written on the papers? It seems that reaching the tower is the goal but nothing happens after that?

    Reply
    1. Mark Collard

      We suggest you invite your group to reflect on the process of building their paper towers. Refer to the Reflection Tips tab for some useful questions to get started. Focus on resilience, determination, goals, patience, etc.

  2. chaim5522

    I was looking for an activity that only involved paper, so I checked this game out. I had come across it a few times before but never really paid attention – paper stacking didn’t seem interesting to me… but wow!
    What a surprise. It’s an amazing game!

    Reply
    1. Mark Collard

      I get it Chaim, I feel the same way about certain activities I have already made my mind up about. So glad to hear you enjoyed this one. It’s one of my faves too.

  3. jeWElle de Mesa

    hey, kyle! what made you smile today?

    for me it was seeing how super adaptable this activity is. thank you for sharing.

    i can also see this used for debriefing, with specific prompts

    for team building, might be worth exploring how we can combine each others paper stones, stack them and see the combined result – shared dreams, aspirations, insights, et al

    for continuity, and use for a later activity – i am excited to try combining all the papers, and convert/transform it into a bigger ‘ball of dreams’, that we can pass on to each other (like the snowball toss or group juggle).

    thaaaaanks again!

    (“,)

    Reply
    1. Kyle Price

      I love these ideas! It really is a versatile activity. If you’re in an outdoor setting that allows it, cairn stacking can be a powerful mindfulness activity too!

    2. jeWElle de Mesa

      noiiiiice! thanks for this, kyle. love the metaphor of ‘stacking’ for a range of topics – time management, to-do lists, annnnnd as you mentioned, mindfulness.

      wondering how we could combine the stones and papers – maybe each paper has a prompt/question/quote/anything that invites reflection?

      also thinking about stacking and ‘re-stacking’, and how this might link to the importance of trying things out (among other insights)?

    3. jeWElle de Mesa

      ‘combine the stones and papers’ – each stone gets wrapped in a piece of paper (with insights or other written content), then stacked.

      (“,)

  4. Kyle Price

    Hey everyone! This is an activity I created. I’d love to hear what you think!

    Reply

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