Magickal Techniques for the Hyperactive Child

One of the foundational beliefs in my family's Tradition is non-dualism, that is, this world is not separate from that of the spiritual. So, while we do recognize the existence of multiple planes of existence, parallel realities, and such, we see them as all being right here, right now. Everything is connected, a part of the same Greater All, and completely inseparable. The only distinction is that which we make within our own minds and thus reflect outward through our perceptions (we choose what we see, we create our own realities.) 

It only follows then that the practice of magick, then, is a very real part of our daily lives, something that we use as another means of achieving the best possible lives for ourselves and something that even our very young children are familiar with and proficient at.

My eldest has a tendency, not uncommon for a five year old, to completely lose control of himself and he's rather high strung. This does already cause him some problems, and my husband and I, both being aware of future problems that can arise from this, have been trying various things to help him calm down. We've had little success, so I decided to try a more magickal approach.

Atticus and I have been working on meditation to help him relax and remain focused. He has been struggling with it, but is making great progress. Mostly, he is bored with and can't see the point of it at all (not surprisingly.) But, as I said, he is making progress: he no longer tells me he's tired, his sighs of exasperation are fewer, and we're able to sit now for about 5 minutes if I'm guiding him, about 1 minute if we're just silent. 

But, he hasn't been able to use this successfully when he needs it the most. So, we've added a new dimension to his meditation, a little visualization exercise that, so far, is really helping him to relax and stay focused.

He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and takes whatever it is that is stressing, upsetting, or getting him too excited and puts it on a cloud. Then, with his exhale, he blows that cloud far, far away (into outer space, all the way past the Moon, to the Sun, where it gets burned up, he says,) so it can't bother him anymore.

Atticus likes the imagery, and when told to "put that behavior on a cloud" he has immediately closed his eyes, turned inward, and blown it away, allowing himself to stay in control --and out of trouble.