Childhood is a time of constant change and transformation: from young children endlessly exploring their world to teenagers trying to find their place in it. Often parents wonder what they can do to help make the inevitable changes in their child’s life more smooth and enjoyable.

Bob and Carol Markowitz were feeling concern for their eighteen-year- old daughter Malla. She had been going through the usual teenage syndrome of not feeling fulfilled and was looking outside herself for fulfillment.

"Once the yagyas began we noticed an almost immediate change," says Carol. "She became more interested in her TM and TM-Sidhi programs, and felt a deepening of her inner experience. It is amazing to us to see how much more self-sufficient and blissful she’s become.

"We also saw good results from the yagyas for our younger daughter, Marissa. During the summer, sometimes she could feel impatient and angry over little things. With her yagyas that melted away. Now she enjoys more comfort and balance."

Invincible Teenagers
Childhood has its challenges at all ages, but the teenage years can be especially difficult. Dee Johnson has discovered a new approach to nourish her two teenage boys.

"Maharishi Yagyas seem to cushion our sons from the inevitable swings that come with being a teenager. They seem happier, healthier, and more stable. They are confident in their own invincibility, and feel they can do anything and accomplish anything. No matter what comes up, they’re able to keep their focus on the knowledge and the path to enlightenment."

Off to School
Raina often became anxious about being separated from her mother. She was very fearful and tearful if left with a sitter other than a family member. Her mother, Patty Dollive, spent a lot of time at "playdates" helping her daughter get used to new friends and surroundings, and in the cloakroom at preschool attempting to gently wean her away. Finally, Patty decided to have a Maharishi Yagya performance for her daughter. "People who meet Raina today find it difficult to believe she was once very shy," says Patty. "Raina’s yagya coincided with Convocation Day at Maharishi School. Raina was very excited to start kindergarten, but also very apprehensive. At convocation, we parents sat with the kindergartners. Somewhere into the celebration, Raina got off my lap and boldly walked over to her new teacher, whom she’d only met the day before, and plunked herself into Mrs. Gritz’s lap! The next day, Raina kissed me goodbye at the door and trotted up to class by herself! She’s pretty much been comfortable in this way ever since."

Every child has his or her own life to live. As the years pass, parents find that they just have to keep letting go as their children get more and more independent. Yet the natural transformations that all children go through can still be supported. Parents can let go, but at the same time continue to help their children from a very deep level, nourishing those Laws of Nature that guide these steps of progress. In this way, the Maharishi Yagya program can help make each new step to adulthood more balanced, secure and joyful.

For more information on the Maharishi Yagya program, call 603-588-4235.

Joan Rist is an administrator for the national office of the Maharishi Yagya program, located in Antrim, New Hampshire.