Reconnecting with the limitlessness of a child’s imagination
I have two small kindergarten-aged nephews. Even at such a young age, I’m noticing the effects of overstimulation and negative conditioning. They’re glued to their parents’ phones, constantly watching bright, high-pitched videos produced solely to hook kids in and get views (meaning, no educational value whatsoever). They’ve already learned how to worry, and no one bothers teaching them how to manage stress or cultivate compassion because unfortunately not a lot of adults even know how to do this.
As much as I try to encourage my sister to incorporate meditation and mindfulness techniques into her parenting, it doesn’t seem to stick. Luckily, that’s where my job as auntie comes in. So before we bust out the video games or start-up Netflix, it’s meditation time.
Each of these meditations takes you on a unique journey. Most of them are of a fantasy genre, with magic and all kinds of creatures, but there’s a robot story as well. I appreciate that they start with instruction on breathing. I’ve always felt that before you can learn to meditate, you must learn to breathe. The narrator’s voice is gentle and charming, perfect for each of the whimsical settings. I also found the background sounds and music to be perfectly balanced, adding texture to each meditation.
As a child, I enjoyed leading guided visualizations with my friends. It was fun to take them on thoughtful adventures to learn more about themselves, to deal with issues, and to simply have fun with their imaginations. Even as an adult, my favorite meditations aren’t the typical body scan ones, but the kind that takes us to other realms to reconnect with the pure creative energy we all had as children before we were conditioned by shame and societal expectations. So even though these are designed for kids, I enjoyed them a lot myself. I feel it’s important to reconnect. We believed in magic as kids, so why not nourish that feeling in adulthood? It can only bring happiness and success.
My nephews, like all small children, are experiencing life as a human for the first time. Very quickly, the magic is fading as they internalize mindsets that create a feeling of lack, of not being enough, which develops into a constant background noise of anxiety and depression which often incapacitates us by adulthood. I’ve had to deprogram from the trauma and conditioning of my own childhood, so why not stop it before it even starts?
Start early with meditation. The children in your life will be so much happier and healthier for it.
Listen to Kids Meditation Stories and more self-improvement audio programs on Audiojoy — download free on iOS or Android.
Content Review by Kason Clegg