Are you hearing “I hate you” often these days from your child? Do you find yourself often using Raymond’s last resort of “No TV for you” for his daughter Ally from the famous sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond? Or maybe you’re still dealing with temper tantrums from the terrible twos and you feel these things are going to hit you squarely in the eye eventually, given the way your child is acting up.

Here’s the hilarious episode.

The good news is that meditation can help. And not in a superficial way, like merely being mindful about parenting. This is far deeper. This works on you and your child and makes changes deep inside. It spreads positive vibrations in your household and builds long-term family bonds.

And remember, Sahaja meditation is not a self-help service, nor are we qualified to give parenting advice. What we’d like to show you is how meditation can build parenting abilities and tools for you, if you take your meditation routine seriously enough.

A few years ago, when I was teaching a Sahaja meditation class in New Jersey, I remember how one lady came to me after several weeks and told me that she was amazed at how Sahaja was working for her. When I inquired further, she told me that the biggest reason she had decided to stick on was that she was beginning to understand and develop a relationship with her teenage daughter. The arguments seem to have reduced dramatically and she felt she was able to put herself in the shoes of her daughter a lot more easily.

The climax of this story was when both the mother and daughter walked into my meditation class one day. I could make out that the change was so profound in their lives that they had even decided to meditate together, at home and in our weekly meetings. This is the best result a parent could hope for, but it probably isn’t going to happen with everyone.

But there are several ways in which Sahaja meditation can have an impact even though it may not be as dramatic as the example above. Unlike many other mental approaches to meditation, Sahaja works through the innate healing of the subtle energy system and causing manifestation of positive qualities already ingrained deep within us.

Exercising Patience

Everyone agrees that a lot of patience is required when managing children and especially when they make mistakes or don’t heed the advice of parents. Indeed, the mother I was talking about from New Jersey said that this was the first thing she realized had happened to her since she started meditation. And less stress because of meditation helps developing patience even more.

The Nabhi chakra and the qualities of a guru granted to us by the Void region ensure that we develop the patience necessary to deal with children.

Developing Innate Parental Abilities

The innate qualities of a father or mother manifest in the Heart chakra on the left and right side of this chakra. The practice of Sahaja meditation builds these qualities within practitioners. What does this mean?  A greater degree of caring, compassion, understanding and nurturing of children.

The innate manifestation happens through the strengthening and healing of this chakra. In a few weeks, you begin to feel these strongly inside yourself.

Relationship and Communication

Regardless of the emotions we feel towards our children, the right level and tone of communication and building a strong bond with them is essential. At times, we need diplomacy so we’re gentle enough to make children see their own mistakes. Sometimes, we have to be more encouraging and positive when they’re feeling let down or unhappy.

Most important of all, establishing a constant channel of communication where we can discuss their problems at the same wavelength is critical to managing them. These days, it’s far too easy for the children of the millennial generation to feel that their parents belong to the dinosaur era, especially with technology infiltrating our lives so fast.

A strong 5^th energy center or the Vishuddhi helps manifest relationship building and communication skills along with necessary tact in communicating with children. More importantly, it also helps develop a non-reactive, judgmental state within us, the one we call the “detached witness state” amongst Sahaja practitioners. This can be a terrific asset in hearing children out without reacting or judging. And it can be very useful when they’re acting up.

Building Self-Mastery at a Young Age

Sahaja is designed for achieving higher values and pursuits in life. Consistent meditators are always working on building their qualities of self-mastery. This happens through improvement in self-control and avoiding self-indulgence. It can also make meditators independent thinkers and completely in control of their lives. In other words, they take responsibility for everything in their lives and many times for people around them. They focus on a lot more than just themselves.

Teaching children to meditate from a young age can be a terrific asset in making them disciplined and mature. It can make them think about larger causes and think for themselves instead of parents having to constantly mentor them.

Establishing The Moral Compass in Children

One of the most powerful benefits of Sahaja meditation can be to establish the moral compass firmly within children. This happens innately through the power of the first energy center or chakra – the Mooladhara. In today’s age of twisted ideas through external influences, temptations offered by the media and advertising and many other causes, getting children to have a strong sense of morality and sound values can be golden.

The first thing that Sahaja achieves in meditators is strengthening the first chakra. In fact, the initiation into Sahaja meditation itself works through the power of this center. Becoming meditators early in their lives can greatly help raise children and future generations responsibly, taking the load off of parenting significantly.

So how do all these great benefits start showing up? Through regular meditation, at home, and in our group meditation sessions online.