Children taught to meditate

Feb 05, 2016

By Dr Ivan Filmer
Some said they felt sleepy. Others said they heard their heart beating and yet others said they felt calm. These were the responses from some 100 over children in Years 2 to 6 who together with their parents, were at a Meditation course for children held at the Church of the Divine Mercy, Penang (CDM) on Jan 24. The session was held by Nita Ng, author of My Little Meditation Book. In the first part of the session, she asked the children to close their eyes and concentrate on the word MA RA NA THA (the Aramaic word meaning Come, O Lord) by breathing in and out at each sound of the word. The suggested timeline for each session of meditation was a minute for each year of their age, with an upper limit of 20 minutes.

In the second session, the children were asked to remember one very important thing in their lives and, in silence, think about it and thank God. Nita said that when we pray, we often speak to God and rarely wait to listen. In meditation, we give God a chance to talk to us.

So, we must keep silent and listen for Him to speak to us. It was interesting that the majority of the children did keep silent during the session and were open to this form of prayer. However, more practice is needed. The parents and catechists who were present were encouraged to help their children in class and at home with this new form of prayer. Nita also provided copies of her book for parents to use in helping their children.