The book “Sitting Still Like a Frog” is an example of the logical move to introduce children to meditation and help them develop a steady and regular practice. Jon Kabat-Zinn wrote the introduction. He is well-known worldwide as a fundamental voice in getting the American medical world interested in introducing patients to meditation practice, especially those in constant pain and for whom little can be done. He developed the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) which is used in many hospitals and other medical facilities. One of those who learned his approach is a woman in the Netherlands, Eline Snel. She wrote the book itself.
Time magazine has a cover story on meditation, which does not mention much about schools and education applications of meditation but does cover the recent American history of the subject and the basics of doing meditation. It does mention police, soldiers, medical personnel, busy moms and stressed executives and politicians are doing it and seeing the benefits at home as well as at work.
The practice is an ancient one and was, of course, developed before there was an America, human application of electricity, computer or the internet. The basic practice is so simple to describe, basically sit still and quiet
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Sit comfortably but still and alert
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Relax tense muscles
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Stay that way for 10 minutes
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Keep your eyes on a single spot
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Put thoughts gently out of mind repeatedly
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They will keep returning
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Keep gently putting them aside
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Keep attending to your breath
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You may try putting your attention on your breath
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You may wish to mentally repeat “In” and “Out” with your breath
But it can be hard to do. It can be difficult to see why one should do it. It is better to set a timer for one or 2 minutes, stay quite still and try hard to focus just on the sensation of breathing the whole time. The deepest benefits are not that one can relax but that one learns to be aware of what thoughts are getting attention. You can see what comes up as a subject. You can ask yourself why that has emerged and what you think of the topic. Much greater self-acceptance and compassion for self and others emerges from the practice. Excellent, lovely things to equip a child with. Or an adult.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
