Mysteriously, Innerkids website was taken down last week by hackers. Then, all of the sudden a NEW group hits the net called "Smart Method Kids", but it uses TM. Is it the TM Org in disguise or just a school using TM? Probably just coincidence.
According to the web site, kids using meditation watching the breath can create STRAIN and FRUSTRATION for them! Ouch, breath awareness sounds PAINFUL! We should avoid it at all costs! I mean, who would want their kids to STRAIN. They could get hemorrhoids or something.
As their website claims:
"The ancient, venerated Vedic Tradition of meditation prescribes different practices at specific stages of development in the child’s life. Because very young children are still integrating their inner world with the outer world around them, they may find it difficult to practice a meditation that requires them to sit still or inhibits their natural inclination to know and discover. Attempts to settle a child through directing their attention to breathing or trying to create inner silence may instead cause strain and frustration for the exuberant, growing child.
One technique of meditation that has been successfully introduced to many middle and high schools throughout America and around the world is the Transcendental Meditation technique. Based on the broad spectrum of scientific research on the effectiveness of the TM technique for students, [1] educators have felt confident that the Transcendental Meditation program is a safe and reliable practice to help children cope with stress and improve learning ability [2] and behavior [3]. Over 140,000 school children around the world have learned the TM technique in the past three years."
Prepare to be assimilated. Don't worry, it's Vedic, it won't hurt you! (actually TM is a tantric meditation method, but these people who are teaching it, don't seem to even be aware of the difference)
"The ancient, venerated Vedic Tradition of meditation prescribes different practices at specific stages of development in the child’s life. Because very young children are still integrating their inner world with the outer world around them, they may find it difficult to practice a meditation that requires them to sit still or inhibits their natural inclination to know and discover. Attempts to settle a child through directing their attention to breathing or trying to create inner silence may instead cause strain and frustration for the exuberant, growing child.
One technique of meditation that has been successfully introduced to many middle and high schools throughout America and around the world is the Transcendental Meditation technique. Based on the broad spectrum of scientific research on the effectiveness of the TM technique for students, [1] educators have felt confident that the Transcendental Meditation program is a safe and reliable practice to help children cope with stress and improve learning ability [2] and behavior [3]. Over 140,000 school children around the world have learned the TM technique in the past three years."
Prepare to be assimilated. Don't worry, it's Vedic, it won't hurt you! (actually TM is a tantric meditation method, but these people who are teaching it, don't seem to even be aware of the difference)
140,000 (!!!) other kids have learned it in just the last three years all over our Big Blue Marble and you don't hear them complaining, do you?
Check it out at:
http://www.smartmethodkids.com/child-care-tips/can-children-learn-to-meditate
Of course TM hasn't really been shown via any independent research that I'm aware of to be beneficial for kids. The only research I've seen was done by TM True Believers where the kids were coached on what their benefits would be. And then they asked them how they felt after they were indoctrinated on TM. Imagine that!
The "strain" word is a mantra long heard in Transcendental Meditation circles to attempt to demonize other meditation techniques which use balanced attention. Certainly from the perspective of people who learn to practice a balanced form of attention, lax, unbalanced attention just means your more likely to fall asleep. It's actually considered a defect in most forms of meditation, including mantra meditation (like TM).
Maybe there is something to independent research on Transcendental Meditation that shows 50 some per cent are not actually meditating at all, they're asleep! That's one of the disadvantages of not learning the nature of ones own mind and how to (properly) regulate attentional skills.
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