How do children change when they do the meditation? A lot of children have a difficult time due to stress that adults do not realize children have. Through this meditation, the stress that has built up has been discarded and the children show a lot of change.
Through these children’s drawings, there was a research study that analyzed their changes. Let’s take a look at Professor Mookyung Sohn’s research at art therapy and coloring therapy.
“My mind that has changed through meditation: let me show you with my drawings.”
When you look at the drawings, you can see the children’s minds
Drawing by ___ Kim, 4th grade elementary school female. Left: before meditating. Right: after meditating.
Before attending Meditation Youth Camp
There is such a large amount of self-expectation. It shows that the child has a hard time to control the energy. The picture demotes it.After attending Meditation Youth Camp
Thoughts about home (parents) became warmer and softer. Thinking more positively about myself and becoming more emotionally stable.
Silla University Art therapy full-time professor Mookyung Sohn during the winter break of 2011 picked 14 children who attended the 25th Ma-Eum Su-Ryun Teenager Camp who were in elementary and middle school and analyzed their before and after drawings to look at how their minds had changed after doing meditation.
Professor Mookyung Sohn conducted the study using the method of the HTP (House-Tree-Person) test. The HTP test looks at the house, tree, and person in the drawing to determine the relationship and interactions between family, psychological environment at home, interpersonal skills, willpower, ability to adapt, personality and intelligence, and behavioral patterns; it is a test that can diagnose the psychological state in a relatively wide range of fields.
One can know the psychological state of a child by how the child draws the house, in what way the tree is drawn, and how the child portrays the person.
Even those children who do not communicate their minds show their deepest minds through symbols illustrated in the drawings.
Drawing: ___ Oh, 4th Grade Elementary school male. Left: before meditation. In the drawing he wrote “The child is dancing. The tree on the wall is laughing, the tree is laughing, and the house is also laughing.” Right: after meditation.
Before attending Meditation Youth Camp
He is having a hard time controlling his emotions and is slower than others who are the same age. It shows that this child is wanting to be loved and tends to depend on someone else. He cannot control his energy level and has a lack of will power.After attending Meditation Youth Camp
Depending on others has disappeared and he has the strength to be independent. He has regained some of his own will power and can see the positivity in the world.
Drawing: ___ Moon. 6th Grade Middle School male. Left: before meditation. Right: after meditation.
Before attending Meditation Youth Camp
Although the physical environment of the house looks relatively fine, there is also an introverted tendency to have a lot of thought and be frustrated. Smooth yet anxiety when dealing with others. Like flower pots, feeling controlled within the frame of the parents.
After attending Meditation Youth Camp
The frustrating minds have disappeared, and he can honestly portray his feelings openly. Depending on his parents has diminished and the friendships have gotten deeper. Being more confident about living in the world and he seems to have found emotional stability.
After finishing analysis, Professor Mookyung Sohn gave the following evaluation.
“Usually art therapy takes 4-5 months before seeing positive results. Thus, diagnosing and treating are not possible in a short amount of time. But through this meditation method, in about 20 days, the children who practiced this meditation showed positive changes with outstanding changes in at least 3 categories is very inspiring.”
Also in 2012, at the Academic Society for Human Completion Spring Conference, displayed the analyzed content with the title “Through drawings, analysis of the effects of teenagers doing Ma-Eum Su-Ryun meditation” and Professor Sohn came to this conclusion.
“This meditation has a positive psychological effect on children. If one does this meditation steadily, then you can expect a much bigger change.”
In fact, during the same time period, Dukju Lee Professor’s team at KAIST University analyzed before and after effects of this meditation on the brain waves of children who attended “Meditation Youth Camp”.
Just like how you can feel the changes in the drawings as above for student Moon, his brain waves also changed as such.
Picture: Before and after the meditation effects on brain waves.
Just by glancing at it, you can see the complicated and stressed busy mind changing to the comfortable and stable mind.
Go to details of the research (Academic Society for Human Completion)
The best gift for our children who are struggling with various stresses would be educating them how to “discard the mind”.
P.S. 1. Minds having a hard time due to stress… even though they are elementary school students, they are not an exception. There are teachers who are putting this “subtraction of the mind” method into the educational curriculum and helping children throw away all that nonsense stresses and grow to be positive and bright. Their stories continue next.
P.S. 2. Those who are interested in Meditation Youth Camp during Summer vacation and Winter vacation to attend the Korean Personality Camp: http://www.meditationyouth.org
Source: www.meditationlife.org
