What Do I Expect?

I expect that my son will run circles around us while we sit on our cushions meditating. It's pretty hard for a small child to sit still, so why even bother teaching him to meditate? The basic premise is that one day he will. He will sit and meditate. By starting at two, and in hindsight we could have started at 18 months (this is the point when he started to get quite active and good at observation), he will learn that meditation is as necessary for the mind as food is for our bodies. We might be able to go without it for a few days, but really it needs to be done daily.

So, what actually happened on the first few meditations? On the morning of Levi's birthday, hubby and I sat on our cushions after giving him a few basic instructions (see The Best Gift We Could Ever Give Our Child blog. Once we commenced, Jason spontaneously started talking and I thought, 'Yes! Guided meditation is perfect because Levi will eventually internalise the instruction and at a later stage we can do silent meditation (which is my favourite).' Since we had our eyes closed, Levi kept saying, "BAH!" in his attempt to scare us awake.

We do a two minute meditation morning and evening. On the first day, we did a two minute meditation in the evening and Levi laid on his cushion pushing a toy car. This time, I did the guided meditation. It generally went like this, "We give thanks for the opportunity to meditate and we dedicate the blessings of this meditation to all beings. Take a s-l-o-w deep. Starting at the head, scan your body looking for any tension or stress. Relax any areas of tension. Scan your face, neck, arms, hands, back, front, legs, and feet. Take a slow deep breath and be aware of the breath at your nostrils. We give thanks for our fortunate circumstances. I'm thankful for my wonderful husband and beautiful son."

The next morning (20 Nov 13), again we meditated. It was just Levi and I as Jason had to start work early. Levi again didn't sit still but said, "Bah!" to scare me. That's okay; totally expected. That evening I wasn't at home as I was organising an event and hubby forgot about meditation. That's okay; it happens.

This morning (21 Nov 13), we all meditated. As part of our process to find out what will work for Levi, we decided to try an eating meditation. I poured a small amount of sultanas in a bowl for Levi to eat as we meditated. The goal was for Jason to do a guided meditation for Levi on eating. E.g., eat one sultana at a time, taste the sweetness, roll it in your mouth and feel the texture, chew it slowly, and feel the sensation of swallowing (repeat the process). Levi ate all the sultanas before we even began! Oh well. It really is trial and error.

For me, morning meditation is best done immediately after waking (except I have to go to the toilet; hubby doesn't). Obviously our little guy might be hungry, but generally he doesn't need to eat immediately upon waking. I will trial the eating meditation again, but will need to have our timer already set and the preliminary instruction completed before giving Levi the sultanas.

The preliminary instructions are a reminder of why, what, and when. So we say something like, "It's time to meditate for two minutes, Levi. We meditate to silence the mind and create happiness for ourselves and others. Please sit on the cushion like mummy and daddy." We don't actually expect him to sit at this stage but it's important to give these instructions so that he gets to know what is to take place. I anticipate that by the time he is three, he will sit. He will follow our example and gradually sit for the allotted time. I want Levi to be an 18 year old who sits twice daily and reaps the magnificent benefits of meditation. This is the beginning of making that a reality.