'Baby Buddhas'
You may be surprised to hear that children as young as 18 months can learn to meditate, but one woman who teaches young kids says it's made a difference in the ones she supervises during the day.
Childcare provider Lisa Desmond says many are now calmer, happier, and better able to cope with being away from their parents all day.
Desmond has written about her experiences in the new book, Baby Buddhas.
She stops by The Early Show Monday to give insight on how parents can teach meditation to their kids in their own homes.
Desmond tells co-anchor Hannah Storm she watches children in her Vermont home during the day, and she says the difference meditation has made is significant.
The following excerpt from "Baby Buddhas" may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the express permission of Andrews McMeel Publishing.
Introduction
The Beginning...
"Recently when asked, 'What does it feel like to meditate?'
Avery said, 'I open my heart and have loving feelings,'
all the while gesturing to her heart and mind."
-- Mother of two-year-old Avery
The meditations in this book will give children a tool they can use in their daily lives, a tool that will last a lifetime. I have seen meditation work every day with the preschool children I teach. I have observed children who are in pain from the loss of a loved one, children who are sad, fearful, hyperactive, or angry, become calm, relaxed, and at peace with themselves and the world around them through meditation. It helps them fall asleep and calms them when they are afraid, upset, or worried. It gives them a way to comfort themselves in times of grief and sorrow. It helps children with learning difficulties, attention deficits, and chronic or life-threatening illnesses build self-esteem and confidence through acceptance and understanding. I have seen the joy on a child's face when we do a meditation celebrating his or her birthday or the birthday of a sibling. I have seen relief on a child's face after he or she has sent love to a deceased relative or pet. Parents also see the benefits of meditation throughout the day. Children or "Ommming" themselves to sleep, sending love to friends and family whom they miss, and setting up a meditation space and meditating on their own, as they help themselves deal with fears like darkness and separation or celebrate a beautiful sunset or the arrival of a new brother or sister. Meditation gives children a way to send peace, joy, and love into a world they have yet to understand and gives them a way to take the time to be thankful and give gratitude for all they have, for the people who love them, and for the world they live in.While I have found in my studies many styles of meditation interesting and enriching, the Tibetan Buddhist, Hindu, and Native American meditations are the ones that resonate with me most and are the ones that are reflected within this book. I had powerful and life-enhancing teachings from Tibetan monks at the Kopan Monastery in Nepal and Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist scholars and guides in Nepal and Tibet. While in Asia, I observed how spirituality was everywhere in these people's culture-in their architecture, their paintings and music, their speech, their every action and gesture. It became apparent to me that while Western cultures delved outside the self, Eastern cultures delved within. These trips reinforced my belief that children need to learn how to fill themselves and live their lives from the inside out. They can either spend their lives wondering who they are, searching outside of themselves for all the answers, or they can find a place of balance, harmony, and knowingness within. I have found that meditation provides a way and allows a child's true and authentic self to come forth and shine.
I had been teaching a traditional morning program in my home for children eighteen-months to three years old. As I became more interested in meditation, my home began to reflect my interests and changes taking place within myself. I started playing calm, soothing, and healing music. I began collecting crystals, bells, chimes, signing bowls, Buddha statues, Indian rattles, and angels. I created altars for the sacred objects I brought home and with each new item the children's curiosity grew. They would ask: "Could I please hold that crystal?" "Who is that statue?" "Can you ring that bell?" "Can you show me how the singing bowl works?" "What's that angel's name?" "Could I shake that rattle?" I changed the popular kids'-style music I played to the more calming, soothing music I had begun listening to myself and saw, heard, and felt a real difference in the energy of the children. They were quieter and seemed more at peace. I began teaching the children about vibration-that the sound of "OM" is a vibration. That "OM" is in everything and everyone and that "OM" is the sound of love.
Their natural interest and curiosity made me wonder whether meditation could help children this young. The assumption is that preschoolers are not old enough to participate in such an adult activity, but research indicates that most of a child's learning takes place before the age of five. So, I began slowly piecing together, adapting, and creating meditations from what I was learning and practicing. I was open and sensitive to the children's own interests and needs, and together we created the different types and styles of meditations within this book.
Baby Buddhas has three parts. Part One, "Creating Your Space," teaches the fundamentals of meditating, such as breathing, posture, terminology, and how to create a successful environment for meditation. It is a guide to help all adults learn meditation and how to teach meditation to children. Part Two, "Adult Meditations," includes three meditations for parents and teachers. I adapted these meditations from ones I learned while in Nepal and Tibet. These meditations allow adults to become familiar with the practice of meditation and gives them the confidence and grounding to become better teachers to children by giving adults an opportunity to focus on themselves, others, and the world around them. Part Three, "Children's Meditations," has ten meditations for children organized from simplest to most complex, with each meditation building on the one before.These meditations teach children that love is always with them. No matter what happens in their lives, once the seed has been planted, the children will have a tool that will always be with them. The "Sunshine Meditation," the "Cleansing Breath Meditation," and the "Catching Blessings Meditation" were created during the tragic events occurring in schools across our country. I wondered how a child could get to such a painful place to commit acts of violence at such a young age. How could I help children not to get to that place? The "Sunshine Meditation" builds self-esteem. It teaches how to breathe in, enlarge and brighten the sunshine ball of love within, and fill the whole self with love. The "OM Meditation" teaches children that love is always within them. The "Cleansing Breath Meditation" teaches children that they can let go of thoughts and feelings that make them feel sad, mad, or bad and that they can instead choose to bring in love, joy, and peace. The "Catching Blessings Meditation" teaches children that love is all around them. It teaches children to look around, prepare, and take hold of and bring within them the love that surrounds them.
The "Inviting the Bell Meditation" teaches the concept of sending and receiving love. I say, "When I strike this bell, the sound it makes will be the sound of my love-how much I love you and how happy I am to be with you." I strike the bell, and we all listen silently until the sound ends.
My home is on an old farm on a lake and we spend many days outside. The "Walking Meditation" started when I was teaching children the importance of being respectful to the trees, plants, insects, and animals and the concept of walking together as a group. Over the years, the children have named different trees and areas on the farm, which we use in this meditation. I blow my Tibetan horn three times and call to the birds, frogs, insects, and rabbits to "get ready; here come the children." We walk together and chant, "Let love guide us," all the way to "Bird Tree" and say, "Thank you, Bird Tree, for taking such great care of the birds." We then walk to "Cattail Bridge" and say, "Thank you, cattails, for keeping us safe and telling us not to come too close because there is water where you are." Next we walk to "Money Tree": "Thank you, Money Tree, for all the gifts of nature." Then we run around the "Circle of Love" (a mowed circle at the end of our path) and chant, "Love is all around us," and stop at "Cobra Crossing" (a stick that looks like a cobra standing in the ground) and say, "Thank you, cobra, for keeping our beach safe." Finally we go to the beach and throw rocks in the water and say a prayer of gratitude for all of nature's gifts.
"The Gratitude Meditation" was created after the birthday party of one of the children. One of the classmates was unhappy that she did not receive gifts or get to blow out the candles, so I wanted to teach the children the importance of being happy for others. We sent gratitude for all the gifts and kindness our friend had received on his birthday and we expressed gratitude that he was born. "We are so grateful that our friend Jack was born." I do this meditation on each child's birthday. I fell children learn the joy of being happy for one another and that they learn the joy of knowing how it feels when their friends are happy for them.The "Singing Bowl Meditation" teaches children about the connection between vibration and sound-the sound and vibration of the bowl and the sound and vibration of the self. A singing bowl placed on the palm of a hand and made to "sing" by circling the rim of the bowl with a wooden striker creates a beautiful sound and tickles the palm. I say, "That is what your love vibration feels and sounds like."
The "Crystal Meditation" teaches positive empowerment. I created this meditation to help children speak in a loving way, touch in a loving way, and think in a loving way. The idea is that we all have love within us and sometimes it gets "stuck" so the crystal helps to get it "unstuck." We do this meditation so that the children will be reminded of speaking, touching, and thinking with love. I hand them the crystal during the day and let them hold it if they did something unkind with their hands. I say, "Hold the crystal until your love is unstuck; you will know when that is because your hands will want to touch in a loving way." They tend to hold the crystal for a minute, concentrating, and then give it back, proclaiming, "My hands are full of love now. I'm ready to touch in a kind and loving way."
The "Rainbow Meditation" was developed after the death of a child's grandparent. Not only did I want to comfort this little boy and the other children, but I wanted to teach them that they could send and receive love to and from anyone, even if someone had died. We created a healing rainbow by starting at the base of our spines and following the ancient seven chakra energy system and its corresponding colors, which runs along the main energy channel parallel to our spines, up to the crowns of our heads. During this meditation, I said, "We are creating our healing rainbow of love-red...orange...yellow...green...blue...indigo...violet-and send it out the tops of our heads. We are sending this rainbow of love to our friend's grandpa who died. Our friend misses his grandpa and his grandpa misses him, too, so let's send the healing rainbow all the way up to heaven to our friend's grandpa." This was a powerful meditation that comforted this child and his friends during this time of grief.
I believe we are all born with everything we need for the life we are living. I believe this book will help children find that place of knowingness and love within themselves. A place that will always be there for them no matter what happens in their lives. A place to calm their fears, build their self-esteem, and find comfort when grieving and in pain. Children will learn to honor and awaken their own spirit within, as well as learn to honor and respect the spirit in others and the world around them. May the meditations in this book help plant the seed of love and kindness and may they give our precious children a tool that will help this seed grow.
-Lisa