MEDitatioN

28

Enlightenment Journal | Spring 2011

Settling the mind

 

so that we know 

right action and the true essence of our 

being is a useful practice for children 

as well as adults. Even young children 

can learn the techniques and benefit 

from the experience of quieting the 

mind through meditation practice. 

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra gives this guid-

ance for clearing the mind:
[1.2] Yoga is the cessation of the fluc-

tuations of the mind.
[1.41] When the fluctuations of mind 

have become weakened, the mind 

becomes like a transparent crystal…

Children need three things in order 

to learn meditation 1) a teacher or 

parent with a proven meditation 

practice 2) a tangible experience to 

understand what is happening in 

the mind 3) and encouragement to 

practice meditation. At CSE, for the 

tangible experience, we use the “Mind 

Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? 

Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?

(Tao Te Ching Verse 15) translated by Stephen Mitchell

Lighting the Path for Children

Jar” technique to model the mind. The 

Mind Jar is an ordinary clear jar filled 

with water. Glitter is added to repre-

sent the fluctuations, or vrittis, in the 

mind. We approach this as a learning 

experiment, asking questions, making 

observations, sharing what we see, and 

learning from each other. To use the 

Mind Jar, do the following:

Gather Materials

• Jar: a large jar for group discussion; 

small jars for individual use

• Plain Water

• Glitter: small but not fine 

Set the Stage

1. Ask “Where is the mind?” Children 

generally point to the head, which is fine. 
2. Ask “What happens in the mind?” 

We think thoughts and feel feelings. 
3. Ask “What are thoughts?” Model 

some of your own thoughts. Have 

children give examples of thoughts they