Christian Meditation

'Be still and know that I am God.’

Psalm 46:10

We are bombarded from an early age with noise, stimulus and messages to keep busy. Jesus says, ‘Unless you become like a little child, you cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.’ Christian Meditation aims to provide our children and staff with a space for stillness, and silence and simplicity.

We teach Christian Meditation to children throughout the school, from Early Years to Year 6, and is practised daily. Christian Meditation is one of the forms of prayer our children can learn. When children start in Reception, they can begin with 1 minute and work up to their chronological age, e.g. 6 years = 6 minutes 11 years = 11 minutes. The daily practice of Christian Meditation aims to help the participants to ‘embrace joy, inspire hope, cultivate love, build intimacy and celebrate life.

There needs to be opportunities for stillness in school. These opportunities are everywhere, everyday, for everyone. They can be found in the falling leaves,

the growing grass, the air we breathe and in the melting snow. Only in silence

can we grasp a tiny fraction of the wonder of our identity as children of God.

Meditation allows us to find ín our hearts a visíon for peace.

In silence, our children's hearts and minds can be raised to a level of spirituality

that they cannot attain in the noise and chatter of our busy, modern world.

Through mindfulness and meditation in school we can give children the valuable time of silence, which is a time for them to befriend their true selves.

Mindfulness allows children to listen beyond the chaos that is both outside them and within them. Our children are inundated with a constant stream of distractions and are adept at multi-tasking. Through the use of Christian mindfulness and meditation, they have the opportunity to slow down, to calm down, and to just "be'!

Allowing them time for their bodies and minds to relax and explore God's presence.

The use of a Mantra

In Christian meditation we can use a Mantra to focus our attention, The Mantra is part of the 'Saying Prayer, or can be sung, for example:

"Maranatha, Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus Come'

Or spoken as, "Come Lord Jesus Come" or "God is love".

Sometimes a Mantra can be in tune with mindful breathing, for example repeating the name of God:

"Yahweh", Yah' on the in-breath and Weh' on the out-breath. Any of the names of God can be used as a Mantra, for example: Emmanuel, Christ, Lamb of God, Son of God, Son of Man, Lord, Father in Heaven.

The action of mindfulness and meditation, the 'Doing Prayer may be asking the children to settle into a seated position, or a lying down position, or it may include mindful walking.

The Thinking Prayer' element of meditation can be when children

enter into their "heart room" and listen to God and talk to Him in their hearts.

The "Being Prayer' aspect of mindfulness and meditation can be found in the silence of our hearts, where our hearts are open to God and we are still in the presence of the Lord.

The 3 Ss – Silence, Stillness and Simplicity

1. Sit still and upright with your back straight.

2. Place both your feet flat on the floor or legs crossed if sitting on the floor.

3. Place your hands on your lap facing either upwards or downwards.

4. Close your eyes lightly.

5. Be aware of your normal breathing pattern for a minute or two as you relax.

6. Silently, interiorly, begin to say your sacred prayer word or mantra “ma-ra-na-tha,” in four equal syllables.

7. Listen to the sound of your sacred word as you say it, slowly, gently and continuously.

8. If thoughts and images come, keep returning to simply saying the word.

9. Maintain this stillness for the entire period of the meditation.

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