Children & Metaphysics
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org,
please feel free to visit the school website)
Introduction
Children's Spirituality
Spiritual Parenting
Compassion
Gratitude
Forgiveness
Religion
Prayer
Worship
Music
Nature
Teaching Spirituality Through Daily Life
Ways To Build A Stronger Spiritual Life
Talking To Children About God
Prime Time
Meditation
The Star Prelude
The Grandfather Tree
The Little White Cloud
The Fairies
The Butterflies
The Waterfall
New Years, Birthday Or At The End Of The Day
Spiritual Giftedness
Crystal & Indigo Children
Working With Children, In General
Psychic Games & Exercises
More Spiritual Activities For Children
Conclusion
Written by Carolyn Hoppe, M.A.
Introduction
Opening Children to their Spiritual Life
Young children are already near to the light as they have an intimate and intuitive awareness of the world that is still fresh. In actuality, it is the children who are our teachers. They remind us of our spiritual selves by being wholly in the moment. Children are already in their spiritual beingness. They teach by example through their innocence, purity, and their natural connection to the divine. They are truly in the moment. Their spiritual experiences and capacities shape their lives as the innate awareness of their own spirituality models for us a reminder of our spiritual nature. It is not about helping them reach up and transcend, it is more about drawing out the spirituality that is already there. Our task is to give them space and time to explore their own sacred inner world.
As we make practices to nourish the spirit within ourselves, we teach our children to do the same by example. We are providing children with an opportunity to develop a connection to a higher power, which increases their sense of security, confidence and well-being. We are here to help them to see the bigger picture of life and show them that there is a spiritual place to turn for comfort and protection. At the same time, it is vital that we be open to being the student and enable the child to be the teacher. There is great wisdom that comes out of the mouths of babes.
We can create spiritual awareness in our children by using everyday occurrences as teaching moments. One of the greatest lessons children have to teach adults is the energy of awe, which brings a spiritual attitude to the wholeness of life. Adults can use some lessons on how to be more open and appreciate life with fresh eyes, without expectations of judgments. Children learn early to protect themselves from the world, to judge, and manipulate it. We must encourage them to stay open to the moment as they inspire us to do the same.
A spiritual life includes wonders of delight through the senses. Delight is an affirmation of spirit. It nourishes our spirit, like taking a daily dose of vitamins nourishes our spiritual body. Children show us delight effortlessly, as they feel it with their whole body naturally. We can take their lead and join in on the joy of being alive on this planet. This spiritual awareness unfolds with wisdom in the direction of love, creating moments that open the heart and allow it to tune into spirit.
Activities that celebrate aliveness such as dancing, singing, laughing, and playing can facilitate an opening of the heart and establish a spiritual dialogue within one's self and beyond. We can monitor ourselves by asking: have we had our dose of delight? Taking the time to notice beauty, laugh and sing daily are expressions of joy and delight. They are the moments that nourish our spirit. Spiritual connections come through these moments of wonder, and set the stage to explore and see beyond the physical realm.
We are spiritual beings having a human experience. Tobin Hart says in his book, The Secret Spiritual World of Children (2003), "Spirituality is an intimate influence of the divine in our lives... Spiritual moments are direct, personal, and often have the effect, if only for a moment, of waking us up and expanding our understanding of who we are and what our place is in the universe. It involves an invitation to dwell as near as possible to the channel in which our light, or spiritual essence, flows." Spiritual direction is not only of the mind, but is understood as a matter of the heart.
Spirituality entails reaching from inside oneself to something transcendent. Some come near that light through service or devotion. Some find incomprehensible oneness in nature. Others find the spiritual in everyday moments with children. Spirituality may be seen as a worldview and as a process of development. How we address the answers to the questions of "who am I and what am I doing here?" affect the way we live in the world. Asking the deep questions can form the core of spiritual identity.
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Children's Spirituality
All things, including us, are sacred and are infused with part of spirit. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. Tobin Hart says in his book, The Secret Spiritual World Of Children (2003),
"Spirituality is an intimate influence of the divine in our lives... Spiritual moments are direct, personal, and often have the effect, if only for a moment, of waking us up and expanding our understanding of who we are and what our place is in the universe. It involves an invitation to dwell as near as possible to the channel in which our light, or spiritual essence, flows."
Spirituality entails reaching from inside oneself to something transcendent. Some come near that light through service or devotion. Some find incomprehensible oneness in nature. We also find the spiritual in everyday moments. Spirituality may be seen as a worldview and as a process of development. How we address the answers to the questions of "who am I and what am I doing here?" affect the way we live in the world.
As we make practices to nourish the spirit within, we teach children to do the same. In actuality, it is the children who are our teachers. No one can teach us how to be in the present moment, the ever-unfolding Now, the way that children can. Children are our very best teachers to remind us of being in the moment. Hart says in his book, The Secret Spiritual World Of Children (2003),
"Play, joy, laughter, ecstasy, beauty, dance, and celebration of all sorts tease open the heart." Children are already in their spiritual beingness. It is not about helping them reach up and transcend, it is more about drawing out the spirituality that is already there and giving them space and time to explore their own sacred inner world. Hart writes, "A child's openness and directness of perception allows for this intimate and intuitive awareness of the world; the child seems to dwell nearer the light... The world's sacred traditions tell us that the process ultimately unfolds in the direction of love and wisdom."
Spiritual direction is not only of the mind but is understood as a matter of the heart. We are providing children with an opportunity to develop a connection to a higher power, which increases their sense of security, confidence and well-being. We are here to help them to see the bigger picture of life and show them that there is a spiritual place to turn for comfort and protection. We must establish a spiritual dialogue for questions and concepts. We can create spiritual awareness in our children by using everyday occurrences as teaching moments.
Children have spiritual experiences and capacities that shape their lives. These spiritual connections come through moments of wonder, asking questions about the meaning of life, finding their inner wisdom and also seeing beyond the physical realm. One of the greatest lessons children have to teach adults is the power of awe, which brings a spiritual attitude to the wholeness of life. Adults can use some lessons on how to be open and appreciate life with fresh eyes, without expectations or judgments. Children learn early to protect themselves from the world, to judge, and manipulate it. We must encourage them to stay open to the moment as they inspire us to do the same.
The architecture of a spiritual life includes the structure of delight. Children often show us delights so effortlessly. Like eating our vitamins for our body, delight nourishes our spirit. Delight is an affirmation of spirit. Children do all this so naturally. We can take their lead and join in the joy of being alive on this planet. We can monitor ourselves by asking, have we had our draft of delight today? Our dose of beauty? A playful laugh? Did we sing or hum?
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Spiritual Parenting
The task of spiritual development is expanding our awareness of discovering who we really are, connecting consciously to a spiritual life by developing interpersonal sensitivity and creating an environment conducive to spiritual experiences. How you live your life helps your child develop a set of values with which to view the world. This is a great gift of the soul.
Hart continues in his book, The Secret Spiritual World Of Children (2003), "Our children do not belong to us; they belong to their own soul and calling. Parents are the host and guide for children to enter and explore the world." Spiritual parents come in all forms such as teachers, relatives, friends and neighbors. Spiritual friends are role models, listeners, nurturers, and mirrors in which children can find their own reflection, providing a spiritual day to day relationship to the uniqueness of their soul. Our job is to support, inspire, affirm, respect and value their inner life.
Hart writes, "Wonder is one way we connect with the pulse of spirit... These moments shape the way a child sees and understands the world, and they often form a core of his or her spiritual identity, morality, and mission in life... Following our bliss means to follow those feelings of wholeness that arrive through the heart of wonder." Invite children to find their own source using imagination as a gateway, suggesting an angel, or wise healing protector to connect to. Ask questions such as: "Is there a place that you can see in your mind that feels safe?" "Imagine someone who would be able to help you with this problem, what would this person do?" "What might the Angels advise you to do?"
Parents can create an atmosphere that supports children in discovering who they are, such as freedom to play and pursue their own interests, freedom to experiment to make choices and mistakes, and freedom to have their own feelings and thoughts. As parents set limits, children learn their beliefs, ideas and own limits. "The greatest task is to understand the child, to hold and behold our children. Hart explains the following method to really see into your child: "For a moment, look at a child, whether in your mind or face to face... Through the eye of your heart, stare in the absorbed way that children often stare. Let yourself fall into this child with openness, curiosity, and simple appreciation. The goal is to see and feel him or her without judgment and just pure recognition. You have reached into the heart of the child in the only way possible-through your own heart. You begin to feel the spirit of that child, to see him or her as a perfect, radiant, and mysterious being."
It is important to give children quiet time to become introspective and be creative. This helps them to get away from the chattering mind. Another way is to break the mind's routine, by activities such as to doodle, hop, run, change body posture, walk in a silly way, think out loud, hum, sing, take a bath or switch the color of the pen he or she is using. Also do things such as witnessing great beauty, encountering the unexpected, being in nature, taking a vacation, and being playful. All these things can break the automatic thought process and free the mind from the usual routine of thinking in order to help open into the present moment, where wisdom lives.
Allow children space to fail. Don't rescue them from the pain of the lesson. Grounding activities such as exercise, massage, drinking water, eating, deep breaths, big hugs, letting out a loud moan, singing and being outside helps children to fully inhabit their bodies. Show children how to listen to their hearts by paying attention to their feelings about something. Listening with the heart turns the focus outward toward others in order to understand, appreciate, and to love. Hart says in his book, The Secret Spiritual World Of Children (2003), "At any moment children can listen with their heart by simply being quiet for a few moments, taking a deep breath, and gently bringing awareness to the area of the chest. Invite them to call forth something they appreciate (a favorite moment, a friend or a feeling of joy). From this place, their attention can then turn to whatever is before them, perhaps a conflict. Children can create a space by imaging a bubble around them that can change from clear to opaque and porous to solid, depending on how much or how little they want to allow in and how much they want to project out. The added benefit is that the child inside us is drawn out to play with the child beside us.
Adults can help children to distinguish between their ego desires and their higher self or between a warning of the universe or a fear of the subconscious. Framing questions such as: Which choice is better? Is this person trustworthy? Which choice seems to have more light or flows better? When you trust your child's inner sense, you help them to trust and listen to their own intuition.
We are called to be present and mindful as an intentional spiritual discipline. Mindfulness is to be here and now. Become a non-judgmental witness of thoughts and feelings. In the challenges of parenting there may be times that come when you hear your own parents' voices rising within and a tendency to withhold love as a message of disapproval. Mindfulness invites us to pause inwardly, take a breath, and perhaps ask ourselves, what's that about? Is there a better way through this? What's the real lesson here? Where am I right now? How am I withholding my love to this child and even to myself? How can I be of service to this child? What is the best I have to offer? How can I be gentle and loving with my own inner child?
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Compassion
Compassion is a sympathy and desire to help the suffering of others. Compassion arises with an open heart. A natural way to express this is through giving. Mother Teresa said, "To me, God and compassion are one and the same. Compassion is the joy of sharing. It's doing the small things for the love of each other—just a smile, or carrying a bucket of water, or showing some simple kindness...the fruit of love is service, which is compassion in action." Compassion is the willingness to open our hearts to one another.
Suggestions: collect stories of people offering hope and help in times of crisis. Take children out into the community to look for ways people are involved in helping others. Share stories of great teacher, Jesus, Buddha, Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., or Mother Teresa. One way to nourish the seeds of compassion is to encourage children to unclutter their minds. Use prayer, guided imagery, relaxation and silence to help clear a child's mind. In their imaginations, children can meet God in whatever form God speaks to them, talk to Angels, or fly across the world to bring love and flowers of peace where they are needed. The limitations of time and space disappear in the realm of prayer and holy contemplation.
"Open your eyes and look for some man, or some work for the sake of men, which needs a little time, a little friendship, a little sympathy, a little sociability, a little human toil. It is needed in every nook and corner. Therefore search and see if there is not some place where you may invest your humanity."
—Albert Schweitzer
Recipe for Success: To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others: to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived, this is to have succeeded."
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Gratitude
Hart explains in his book, The Secret Spiritual World Of Children (2003), "Feeling a sense of appreciation vibrates the heart; expressing it makes it sing." He says often all that is required for the heart of love and caring to rise to the surface are simple questions such as: What's one thing that you're thankful for? How does a special person or creature in your life make you feel? How would your life feel without them? When they have identified someone you might ask: Can you send that person your feeling of thanks? Maybe through a prayer, a hug tonight that lasts a little longer than usual, a note, a word, or just a warm thought.
"The next best thing we can do with challenge is to be grateful for it... Gratitude is an energy that works miracles in all our dimensions... Gratitude releases a tremendous healing power within the structure of our cells; it is like a miniature atomic explosion...that is why we are told to be grateful: we are empowered by gratitude. Gratitude is a choice, in time it becomes a habit. Gratitude is an energy that unlocks the power of conscious change. Gratitude actually energizes your prayers and intentions."
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Forgiveness
Help the child to move past the anger to the hurt and injustice which usually lies beneath. Have your child ask himself or herself what the other person might have been thinking or feeling. This helps children move past blame.
Practicing Forgiveness: A Guided Imaginary Journey
(Create a quiet, peaceful environment in which children can sit or lie on the floor with their eyes closed.) Take a moment to stretch out your body, take a big yawn, and as you breathe out, just relax, let all tension release. Now sit comfortably, rest your body and with your eyes closed, take another deep breath and relax even further. Imagine you have the ability to, with your eyes closed, see inside other people, looking past their actions, looking past what they look like from the outside, to seeing them for who they truly are: beautiful, whole children of God (light, love, spirit, whatever word seems right to you.) You might imagine seeing a bright, shining heart radiating inside the body of the person you are envisioning. Now imagine you can look inside anyone and see this radiant heart, the beautiful inner light trying to shine through to the outside world. You can see each different person in your family in this way. Now remember a time recently when someone very close to you did something, and in response you became angry or hurt. See the person you feel angry with...imagine as you look at him or her that you can begin to see through the outside face they are showing you to the place inside their heart which is pure. Just notice what begins to happen to your anger when you focus on the inner beauty, Let the feelings of anger or hurt begin to melt, to soften as you watch this person's light trying to shine through.
See yourself extend your hand to the other person, and see a bridge of light stream form your hand to his or her hand...when the bridge meets, imagine your heart shines pure and strong as well. Look into the eyes and see the eyes of a very wise being looking out at you from within this person. If you want to, you can envision being able to hug the person, feeling a sense of inner calm as you do. Now when you feel ready, slowly open your eyes and come back to the room. After this visualization you may want to draw a picture of what you imagined. Make sure you put yourself in the picture too.
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Religion
Religion is meant to be a vehicle for spiritual growth. It is formed around standards of behavior, doctrines and rituals. Religion can lay the foundation to a spiritual life. It is the beginning of forming a certain perspective, but it does not stop there. Many people may go to church, proclaim to be religious, but do not live a spiritual life. Religion does not automatically make you a spiritual person. It is how you live your daily life and how you implement spiritual teachings. Spirituality is not confined to religion for it is an intimate, personal relationship to the divine that is created within yourself. Religion provides support, teachings and community to elicit spiritual experiences but is not confined to a building for spiritual lessons.
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Prayer
Prayer is a gift to and from a loving God and gives us a way to communicate gratitude and seek His guidance in our lives. It is an act of worship that involves listening as well as talking. Teach children to understand that God wants to help them according to His great wisdom and love by showing them how to pray. You could create a spiritual family bond using prayer for comfort, protection and to show gratitude. Make a ritual of family prayer, morning and night, as well as individual prayer.
Paula Fellingham, in Solutions For Families (2000) quotes a study in 1988 done by a cardiologist named Dr. Randolph Byrd at the San Francisco General Hospital. "There were 393 patients divided by a computer into two groups and one group were prayed for by prayer groups. The prayer group was simply given the patients' first names, along with brief descriptions of their medical problems. They were asked to pray each day until the patient was discharged from the hospital, but were given no instructions on how to do it or what to say. When the study was completed ten months later, the prayed-for patients benefited in several significant areas: They were 5 times less likely than the unremembered group to require antibiotics. They were 2 times less likely to suffer congestive heart failure and less likely to suffer cardiac arrest. If the medical technique being studied had been a new drug or surgical procedure instead of prayer, it would probably have been heralded as a breakthrough. Even hard-boiled skeptics like Dr. William Nolen, who had written a book questioning the validity of faith healing, acknowledged, "If this is a valid study, we doctors ought to be writing on our order sheets, Pray three times a day." If it works it works! Some studies have shown that a simple "Thy will be done" was more powerful than specific results held in the mind. In many experiments a simple attitude of prayerfulness, an all pervading sense of holiness and a feeling of empathy, caring and compassion seemed to set the stage for healing... Prayer is a reminder of our unbounded nature, the part of us that is infinite in space and time. It is the universe's affirmation that we are not alone. Lily Tomlin, a famous actress, once said, "Why is it that when we talk to God, we call it prayer, but when God talks to us, they call it schizophrenia?"
Four Steps Of Prayer
- Prepare. As we prepare to speak to God, we should try to rid our mind of worldly thoughts and focus on Him. For a moment we should contemplate God's greatness and goodness and think about what we'll say in our prayer.
- Express gratitude. The second part of a prayer is to praise God and thank Him for His blessings to us and to our family. We should thank God for specific things, expressing gratitude with all our heart.
- Ask for help. We should pray for specific ways God can help us, and seek forgiveness for our wrong doings.
- Listen. When we pray we seek God, and try to understand His will. How can we learn if we don't listen? We should keep our minds open and believing. During and after our prayers we should pause and listen, trying sincerely to receive insights and ideas that may help us. Divine impressions will come to us more readily when we're quiet and listen for them.
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Worship
Worship is an act or feeling of adoration or homage. The thing we worship in life is what we adore, admire, love and show devotion to. Ways to worship are prayer, meditation music and expressing gratitude. Formal worship service is attending meetings to learn about God.
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Music
Music is a form of prayer, it praises God. Paula Fellingham writes in Solutions For Families (2000), "Music has been called the universal language, the language of God... Many believe that god has inspired composers through the ages as they've created beautiful music. Stravinsky asserted, "Only God can create. I make music from music. I regard my talents as God-given, and I have always prayed to Him for strength to use them." Franz Joseph Haydn said, "Never was I so devout as when I composed The Creation. I knelt each day to pray to God to give me strength for my work. When I was working, I felt so impregnated with the Divine certainty that, before sitting down to the piano, I would quietly and confidently pray to God to grant me the talent that was needed to praise Him worthily." At his performance in 1808 as the music faded and the audience applauded enthusiastically, Haydn lifted his hands and said, "Not from me...from there, above, comes everything!"
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Nature
Music is a form of prayer, it praises God. Paula Fellingham writes in Solutions For Families (2000), "Music has been called the universal language, the language of God... Many believe that god has inspired composers through the ages as they've created beautiful music. Stravinsky asserted, "Only God can create. I make music from music. I regard my talents as God-given, and I have always prayed to Him for strength to use them." Franz Joseph Haydn said, "Never was I so devout as when I composed The Creation. I knelt each day to pray to God to give me strength for my work. When I was working, I felt so impregnated with the Divine certainty that, before sitting down to the piano, I would quietly and confidently pray to God to grant me the talent that was needed to praise Him worthily." At his performance in 1808 as the music faded and the audience applauded enthusiastically, Haydn lifted his hands and said, "Not from me...from there, above, comes everything!"
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Teaching Spirituality Through Daily Life
Life offers in our daily activities many teaching opportunities between adults and children, and of course this is a two way street. Children can teach us how to open our hearts and love others and to be in the present moment. We can teach children what the world means, how it works, and how what we hold in our consciousness brings it all about. Here are some ways to approach teaching children, whether it is through sitting down and participating in spiritual activities or through daily life events themselves. Of course, there is nothing that teaches children better than by the example that we set, for actions and attitudes speak far louder than any words ever could. Here are some pointers for setting a good example for children so that they learn to incorporate these concepts into their own lives.
Teaching The Spirit Day-By-Day from Teaching Spirituality: Give Your Children A Lesson They Can Follow All Year, 2004, by Nikitta A. Fostonat www.findarticles.com
- Sharing: "It's not the big things, but the little things that mean a lot," says Dr. Comer. "Teach children about the importance of sharing their time, their money, their spirit and their talent with someone who needs it. This could be an elderly relative, a sick neighbor or simply someone in need. Let your child see you perform the art of sharing so that they can know exactly what it looks like and how good it makes the other person feel."
- Thankfulness: Before a meal, before bedtime or in the morning are excellent times to acknowledge a higher being and to talk about the meaning of creation and the meaning of a supreme Creator.
- Trust: Children learn trust, experts agree, when parents respond in ways that children can count on, when parents are reliable, dependable and meet a continuing need. Children, in turn, learn to be reliable and responsible to others.
- Sacrifice: Building character includes learning to sacrifice, giving when you have little to give, but doing so because someone else is in need. Parting with something of value, giving something of meaning away, or sharing Christmas gifts with a shelter teaches children the benefits of sacrifice.
- Honor: If you are a responsible parent, your children will want to be responsible to you and will aspire to follow your lead. Showing honor to your parents, family members and friends shows children how to treat other people.
- Faith: Teaching children about the spirit within them and how that spirit affects other people, their environment and the happiness of others is a lesson that can be learned every day. "Teaching children to believe in themselves is the beginning of faith," says Dr. Comer. "Children must believe in their power to change the world around them."
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Ways To Build A Stronger Spiritual Life
- Identify blessings. Too often we go through life oblivious to the good that comes flowing into our lives. Try this spiritual exercise for one week: At the end of the first day, identify a blessing that came to you from a family member. At the end of the second day, a blessing from a neighbor. Third day, from a friend. Fourth day, from a work colleague. Fifth day, from a stranger. Sixth day, from a child. On the seventh day, a blessing that came from an "enemy."
- Be like Moses, speak words of blessing. One of the most beautiful and compassionate passages in the Bible contains these words of blessing pronounced by Moses:
"May the Lord bless you and protect you,
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show yon his favor and give you his peace"
—(Numbers 6:24-26).
Get creative with language, and speak words that will uplift, encourage, hearten, and bless other people. As you build them up, your own spirit will get stronger.
- Nurture a shared prayer life. Increase the amount of time you spend in prayer by sharing in prayer with others.
- Take a step of faith. Today, make time to heal a wounded heart, to extend kindness to someone who really needs a friend, or to help gather up pieces of a broken dream. Today, do whatever you can to radiate God's unconditional love.
- Be a grateful person. Start every day with a morning prayer of gratitude to God for the gift of a new day. Do this even if the day ahead appears ominous. Conclude every day with an evening prayer of gratitude to God for the gift of the preceding hours. Do this even if you've had a very tough day.
- Share the journey. Hook up with one other person who is seeking to grow spiritually. Agree to meet once a week for a period of time to study and reflect on spiritual matters.
- Serve. Look for ways to serve the community, especially tasks that promise no reward, such as picking up litter on the streets. Read and reflect on the action of Jesus in John 13:1-5.
- Cultivate a little solitude. "Solitude makes us tougher toward ourselves and tender toward others; in both ways it improves our lives. Set aside a few minutes to be alone—just you and God. In quietness we turn our minds away from the problems of life and fix our thoughts on the mind of God.
- Fast and pray. Prayer linked with fasting was often done by people in the Bible. Ezra 8:23 reports: "So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer." The next time you are asked to pray urgently for someone in difficulty, consider combining your praying with some fasting.
- Turn worries over to God. This is a clear teaching of Scripture: "Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you" (Psalm 55:22). Do this each time a worry comes up.
- Spread love wherever you go. That is the advice of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who advised: "Spread love everywhere you go: First of all in your own house... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting."
- Strive for excellence. The Bible tells us: "Whatever you do, do well." (Ecclesiastes 9:10) Be the best that you can be at whatever station in life God has placed you.
- Meditate on scripture. The Bible is loaded with verses of comfort, encouragement, and wisdom. Make it a habit to read and study your Bible in a regular, disciplined way. Highlight verses that speak to you. Meditate on those words. Memorize some of the passages so you can recall them from memory at a future time.
- Be reliable. Do what you say you will do—whether it's convenient or not. Follow through on all of your commitments, large and small. By your actions, show others you are a person who can be trusted and counted upon.
- Ask God to make you a blessing today. A great way to grow in wonder and amazement is by asking God to turn your life into a blessing. Do this each morning before your daily activities. Offer a short, simple prayer like this one: "Dear God, on this day make my life a blessing to someone, somewhere." Then pay close attention to every person you encounter during the day, as God will honor your prayer, sometimes in surprising ways.
- Spend time in nature. Nothing gives darshan (blessings) better than nature!
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Talking To Children About God
In his book Talking To Your Child About God (1994), psychologist David Heller discusses how we can help our children make or strengthen their own personal connection with God. He gives us some ideas on what we could say when our children ask us about God. Here is some advice:
- Let kids be kids. "If we start with the idea that [children] have some kind of spirituality when they're born, then what we need to do is figure out how it is growing in them, what God is doing in them—not how we can stuff them with God," says Fitzpatrick. One way for them to get in touch with the spirit within is simply through imagination and play. Dressing up, pretending, dreaming—all these things, says Fitzpatrick, put a child in touch with his or her inner life. The more comfortable he or she is with that force within, the easier it will be to commune with God.
- Have your child share his or her belief system with you. Parents don't have a monopoly on how to view God and life; we just think we do. Help your child explore his or her own views and feelings by having the child draw a picture of God or write a letter to the Creator. Discuss it with the child. Also, encourage the older child to learn about different religions; this allows him or her to reexamine what he or she truly believes.
- Talk about what God does instead of what God is. Saying that God is a spirit or God is love can be confusing for a young child; focus instead on what God has created—a rainbow, a sunset, a baby. This establishes a link in the child's mind between God and nature, and ultimately between God and the child.
- Rediscover nature. Parents should encourage their children to walk through the park, play in the snow, watch a river run and do other things that put them in touch with nature. "All these things draw the child closer to the earth, which is one way of thinking about spirituality," says Fitzpatrick. "It's helping children connect what's inside them with what's all around them."
- Practice what you preach. For example, if you want your child to pray, let him or her see you praying; if you want him or her to share, let the child see you sharing. The old expression "Do as I say, not as I do" is passé, especially when it comes to raising compassionate, loving children.
- Make prayer meaningful. Many children may bless their food and pray before bedtime, but do they actually get anything out of it? "We teach them a bunch of memorized prayers," says Fitzpatrick. "But in a way we don't realize that prayer is something that comes out of their hearts, not something you stuff down their throats." The phrase "heartfelt prayer" means something: Encourage your child to pray in his or her own way—you may be surprised by what you hear.
- Consider reuniting with the church "family." Some of us, who grew up in but moved away from the church, cite pettiness and hypocrisy as reasons for leaving. This, however, overlooks the positive things that our children may derive from being active in church. "Ideally, Sunday schools can give children the feeling that they are loved, they are wanted, they are cared for."
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Prime Time
Purpose: to bond and reinforce primary relationship of love.
Together, parent and child decide on a convenient prime time to meet once per day and connect. Even if the length of time is only a few minutes, make a commitment to follow through each day. As a reminder, post the meeting time on a centrally located place like the refrigerator. Establish a guideline that sincere listening without interruptions will take place during any conversation that becomes a regular meeting place as a reminder of the love that you feel for each other. The parent should model quality listening form the heart.
- Do a two minute heart lock in, sending love and appreciations to each other. Each person in turn talks about the highlights of their day—what went well and what was challenging.
- Give each other a long hug.
- Share qualities that you appreciate about each other.
- Read a favorite story together or make up one together.
- Learn the words of an inspiring, short poem.
- Be quiet for a few moments and send heart together to someone that needs love or compassion. Go deep into your hearts and make a heart wish of something that you would like to happen in your lives.
- When either of you is stressed out or had a hard day, have the other person just listen with compassion, and then mirror back the words and feelings. Sincere listening is caring in action. Each of you share five things that you appreciate about your life.
Questions About The Nature Of Life And Its Meaning
Questions that look at the inner world of thoughts, feelings and values help to define who we are. As adults become authentic we model this way of creating ourselves as we go. Invite children to find their answers in prayer and contemplation. What would your favorite wise person do? What is happening in your body when you feel angry? Make a drawing of what your body is sensing.
A question I have is...
Something I want to remember when I grow up is...
Something I have trouble with...
When I am at my best, I am like...
Something I want to remember about today is...
What do you think about God?
What would make your school, the world, your parents, the universe better?
How do you know what's the right thing to do?
What would you do if you were the president, the principle, the parent?
What is the most important thing about being you? What's the most fun? If you weren't you, who would you like to be?
What do you think the world looks like through an ant's eyes or a Martian's?
What do you think your parents think about when you're not around?
What would you do if you had a week to live?
Draw what you think a terrorist looks like on the inside and tell me why. When the children are done, ask them to hold up their pictures to show one another.
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Meditation
Meditation is a relaxing way to cope with stress and find solutions to problems. Meditation is a time for contemplation and reflection, a way to go within, quietly sitting upright for five to twenty minutes. Invite children to find a comfortable place to sit. Ring a bell three times to signal the beginning of the exercise. This can add to the power of ceremony that helps mark this as a special time. Take a few deep, slow clearing breaths. Let your body release and relax. Let any parts of you that need to wiggle or stretch do so. Feel the gentle pull of gravity and allow the chair you're sitting on and the floor beneath you to support you without any effort on your part. Just let go and allow yourself to be silent and not do anything for a few minutes.
Focus only on your breathing, allowing it to flow in and out without effort. If you find yourself thinking, distracted, working on a problem, don't fight it, but don't get stuck in it either. Just allow it and you to be, and bring your attention back your breath and to not doing. Perhaps you can imagine those thoughts or concerns floating up like bubbles from under water. When they reach the surface they simply burst and disappear. When you feel done, ring the bell one more time to indicate that the exercise is ending. As you gently come back to the room, you may notice sensations such as feeling more peaceful or maybe your mind is clearer.
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The Star Prelude
I want you to see above your head a beautiful, beautiful star. This star is very special to you, as it is your very own star. It can be any color you like—you might see it as being a purple star, or perhaps a pink one or blue, yellow or speckled one. Because it is your very own star, it can be any color or colors you choose. This special star is filled with white light, lovely white light that shimmers and glows. See this light streaming down toward you until it reaches the very top of your head. And now bring this pure light down through your head and take it right down your body until your whole body is filled with this glorious white light. Feel this light going down your arms, right down, until you feel it reaching your hands and going into each and every finger. Feel that light going down the trunk of your body, down until it reaches your legs, and when you feel it there, take it right down until it comes to your feet and then feel the light going through each toe.
Now look into your heart and fill your heart with love for all the people and animals in the world. They are your friends, be they small or large. Can you see your heart getting bigger and bigger? It's expanding because you have so much love in your heart for all these people and the animals and of course for yourself. Now your guardian angel is waiting to wrap golden wings of protection around you before taking you into your garden. The angel's wings are very large and very soft, just like down. Everyone has their own guardian angel and that angel takes care of you and protects you always, so you are never alone. It's important to remember this and to know that you have someone who looks after you with love and care.
Your guardian angel is now going to take you to a garden that is your own special place, but before you enter I want you to look at the large tree that is outside. This tree is called the Worry Tree. You can pin onto this tree anything that might worry you—perhaps you have had some arguments at school or maybe you are having difficulty with your school work. This tree will take any worries, be it with your friends or your family, and accepts anything that you would care to pin there. Put anything that worries you on the tree now.
Your guardian angel is now opening the gate for you to enter your garden. As you go in you find the colors are like nothing you have seen before. The beauty of the flowers, the colors, the textures, and the perfume—breathe them in. The grass is a vivid green and the sky a beautiful blue with little white, fluffy clouds. It is very peaceful in your garden. It is full of love and harmony. (After you have set the scene you can do anything you think the children would enjoy.)
Now see above your head a beautiful, beautiful star. This star is filled with lovely white light. Bring the light from that star right down through your body until you can feel it in every part of your body. Your heart is filled with love for all humanity and for all creatures great and small.
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The Grandfather Tree
The air is so fresh and clean, the perfume of the flowers is rich, and the sun a huge golden ball, sending down a very gentle heat. The trees are waving for you to come into your special garden. The trees want to talk to you. If you listen, you can hear them saying; "Come to me, come to me." There is one tree that stands out from the others. He is very, very old. He is the grandfather of all the trees, and he is full of knowledge and wisdom. There is nothing this tree doesn't know. He has been watching what happens around him ever since he was a young sapling. All the answers to your questions are inside the Grandfather Tree.
He has a very thick trunk and big, big roots going down into the earth. As they go down into the depths of the earth, these roots push the earth up, making mounds big enough to sit on. This Grandfather Tree has plenty of branches with beautiful green leaves, so many leaves it's a wonder he can hold the branches as high in the air as he does. The breeze is rustling the grass and the leaves on the trees are making sounds that are like the purest music one could imagine. Now walk up to the Grandfather Tree. As you approach the trunk of this tree, you will see there is a door with a little handle. Open this door and go inside.
Close the door quietly behind you now and you will find the inside of the tree is lit with a golden glow. In this glow, you can see passageways going through the branches. There is also another pathway going down the trunk into the roots. Why don't you go and investigate? You have plenty of time to choose which way to go. I wonder what you will find? There are rooms off these passageways that hold all sorts of knowledge. Some have lots of toys. There are always people around to keep you company who you can talk to. They will be able to answer your questions. It you want to remain on your own, you only have to say so and you can go into the room of your choice and do the things you most want to do. I shall now leave you to explore your special tree...
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The Little White Cloud
Your guardian angel is closing the gate behind you, and your garden is beautiful. The colors are so rich and luxuriant, with that deep blue sky and the sun a radiant golden ball. There are perky white clouds floating by.
As you go down your garden path, you will find that one of the white clouds has come down from the sky to take you for a ride. Climb onto this cloud. It is lovely and fluffy perhaps it's made of cotton or wool? Or perhaps it is made out of cotton candy? Look, there is a little seat with a set of leather reins. However, you don't have to tell this cloud where to go as it floats off into the wide blue sky. Your cloud knows where it is going.
Now you are leaving the planet Earth behind. Look below and see Earth like a gigantic ball with many different patterns. You can see that these are the forests, the rivers, and the mountains. The clusters of buildings are the cities, and they are tightly packed in. Where the sheep, horses, and cattle graze, you can only see a few buildings and barns. If you look very closely you can see your home way, way below you.
And off you go, up and up, floating very peacefully on your soft, downy cloud. The higher you go, the smaller Earth will appear to you, until it becomes just a speck in the distance. Have a good look around. You will see other small clouds that have children just like you who have been brought form their gardens to feel the freedom of floating in the heavens.
These little clouds are now stopping at a very large cloud. You can step off now and go for a walk on this big cloud. The other children are getting off too. You will find there are people there who like living in the clouds. They are called the Cloud People, and they wear flowing white robes with fluffy shoes and hats. The Cloud People love showing off their land of clouds to children. Grown-ups are only sometimes invited, and then only if they have the right kind of imagination.
There is so much to do on this cloud. You certainly won't fall off, even if you hang over the side by the tips of your toes, because they have a different law of gravity in Cloudland. There are slippery slides and swings and roundabouts to ride. You can even go swimming in the cloud pool, which is all white and foamy. What fun you can have here, so I think I will leave you now to enjoy Cloudland for a few moments...
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The Fairies
In your garden, the sky is a deep indigo blue with huge ballooning white clouds floating by and a yellow ball for the sun, it is so lovely and peaceful. You can see before you a pathway that is winding in and out of the trees. Walk down that path until you come to a small clearing. If you look very, very carefully you can see the fairies. They have been waiting very patiently for you.
See yourself becoming smaller and smaller until you are just the same size as the fairies and the elves. They are very excited to have you visit them and they have made you a fantastic costume in your favorite color. It glistens and glows in the sunlight. The fabric is so light it could float away if you didn't hold on to it.
To go with this magical outfit is a pair of wings that sparkle and shimmer in the sunlight. They are in a lighter shade than your costume. You can dress up and put your wings on and see how wonderful you look. The fairies are giving you a crown of flowers and herbs, and the perfume from these is rich and exciting. The fairies want you to go flying with them, and they will take you to examine the flowers that they look after. Each fairy has its own special flower and the perfume and clothes reflect its color and scent. When the fairies take off together, it's like looking at all the colors of the rainbow.
Two of the fairies, one on either side, will help you to fly, because this is the first time you have used your wings. It feels glorious to be free in the air. What does it feel like to fly? It's as though you were floating. They are taking you to their special flowers. You will land on the petals, which feel like velvet. If you lie down you will feel the softness of these petals and the sun warming the flowers.
When you have finished looking at the flowers, you might feel it's time to rest. After all flying can be very tiring. Come back now to the clearing. The fairies and elves are having a party for you. There will be fairy cookies, fairy bread, and gingerbread cakes. You will sit on a small toadstool with a bigger toadstool for a table, and you will drink from tiny pink shells. There are many games to play, and I know you will enjoy playing with these little people...
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The Butterflies
The air is fresh with a light breeze touching your cheek, and the sun is beaming down on you. The green grass is like a soft carpet under your feet, and the huge trees with their spreading branches are protecting the smaller plants. As you walk down your garden path, you will notice there are lots and lots of butterflies. They are so pretty, and their colors are glorious. Look at their wings, they are so fine. It's as though they had been woven by fairy threads, and then dipped into pots of paint that hold all the colors you can see in a rainbow.
Watch where the butterflies go... Can you see how busy they are with the flowers, visiting each one to say, "Hello, how are you today?" They land very gently on the petals. They have seen you watching them, and they are inviting you to join them in their happy task of talking to the flowers and the plants. They realize it will be difficult for you to keep up with them unless you too have wings, so Queen Butterfly is going to get you some butterfly wings and clothes that are kept near the roots of a red rose bush. The wings being offered to you shine beautifully in the sunlight. They are gold, black and amber with just a tinge of silver. The clothes are in a soft shade of yellow with little black stripes through them.
You can now take off to fly with the butterflies and see where they go. Queen Butterfly would like you to stay by her side because you are her special guest. It is her pleasure to take you to the very best flowers and shrubs in the garden. As you fly with Queen Butterfly, you will hear all the other butterflies singing a special song they sing. They would like you to join in with them. You will have to listen very, very carefully and learn the song so you can sing it too...
The Rainbow
It has been raining in your garden, but you will find many things to do. The sun has come out again, and you can feel the warmth all around you and the peace and joy that are there. Look at the silky blue sky and the white clouds that reflect the shining golden ball that hangs in the sky. You can still see showers of silver raindrops on the leaves and grass. The flowers look as though they had been brushed by a gentle wet hand. Look now into the distance, and as you look, you will see far, far off...a rainbow! This rainbow is very beautiful and very special. In fact, it looks as though someone painted it, because it's hard to imagine how something as glorious as this could otherwise exist.
I wonder how you will reach it? It seems a long way to walk, so I doubt you would get there for such a long time. I know. Why don't you just wish yourself there! Wishes can come true, and I am sure that if you think of the rainbow very, very hard, and wish yourself close to it, that it will happen.
So there you are, at the foot of the rainbow. Look at the colors... These are some of the colors you use in your own painting, red, yellow, green, orange, gold, silver, blue, purple, white, all sorts of colors.
Why don't you see what's on the other side of the rainbow? I wonder how you will get there—will you climb up? Or are there stairs? Perhaps there is an escalator to take you up and over, or perhaps you could just think very, very hard and wish yourself on the other side.
Now that you are on the far side of the rainbow, you are in Rainbowland. I think you should go exploring. It's very different here, isn't it? It's as beautiful as where you were but in a different way, because everything is washed gently in the rainbow's colors. Here come the Rainbow people to greet you. Their clothing is made out of leaves in all the colors of rainbow. Their shoes are pointed and curl in little circles over their toes. You can see their homes not very far away, but there is no need to walk there. All you have to do is wish. That is what the Rainbow people do to transport themselves around. I will leave you with these people, as I am sure there are many things they want to show you...
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The Waterfall
The "waterfall" is the method I use to bring students into imaginary field trips to help them relax deeply and get to an alpha state of awareness, calmness, and receptivity. It is the transporter device and so much more. It is a multi-sensory representation of the chi, universal energy. Anyone, anytime can use the waterfall energy to help calm and center oneself in times of stress, to help heal themselves, or to help heal others in all ways.
See yourself inside a waterfall of white light. Imagine this waterfall flowing down over the top of your head and down over your body, taking out any stress you may be holding. See the beautiful, crystal white light filling you and flowing into you, bringing you peace and relaxation. This waterfall is the waterfall of universal energy. Feel it pouring in through the top of your head and filling you inside with universal love and joy.
Imagine this white light energy now going directly to any parts of your body that need healing. Feel it fixing your body, aligning all the cells so they work perfectly. If you have allergies or cold symptoms, send the energy to your head and your lungs and feel it healing you. Send the energy to any part of you that needs adjusting and healing and feel it healing your physical body. You can imagine this like a computer virus check program, if you want to, finding and repairing any damaged parts of you. (If the child understands computers, use this, if not, leave that part out.)
Next, bring in the waterfall energy to strengthen your mind. Feel it giving you the power of better understanding and stronger memory. You can imagine this as a computer memory upgrade. See the light filling your mind and lighting it up brightly.
Now feel the white light pouring in you and filling you with peace. It brings you calmness and relaxation. Feel this healing your emotions. The white light pours gently into you, filling you with universal love and joy. If you wish, you may also feel this energy strengthen and heal your spirit (or spiritual body).
Anytime you need to use this universal energy, simply think "Waterfall," shut your eyes and it will be there for you. To use this energy to help others, you can simply send it out of yourself from your heart like a laser beam to whoever you want it to help. Think of someone you know who is sick or injured, or if you can't think of anyone, choose your mom or dad, a grandparent, brother, sister, or a friend. Imagine sending this energy out from your heart directly to them, connecting your beam of energy to their heart. Know that the energy will go to wherever it is most needed for this person, whether it is to a part of their physical body or to their emotions, their mind, or their spirit. Stay connected to this person for a moment while the universal love you are sending them fills them and works to heal them.
Now bring the energy back to yourself and see it flowing directly through you and down into the ground, refreshing your body and your mind. Now let us unite our energies as a class. Send your energy out from your heart center to a great ball or sphere above the center of the room. See the ball getting brighter and bigger. As it grows, see it rising up higher and higher. Fill it more and more and see it getting bigger and bigger. It rises until it is way up above the Earth now and very, very bright. (You can select a specific location or persons to send this to or just disperse it over the entire Earth as described here.) Feel the sphere getting bigger and brighter and fuller until it seems about to explode. Yes, it's even bigger now and it does! It bursts like fireworks now, dispersing over the entire Earth, bringing our combined light and universal love to the whole planet and its people to help enlighten the whole world and raise the planet's vibration.
Finally, bring the energy back to yourself and feel it filling you again with universal love and peace. Fill up a reserve of this energy in your head or your heart to use whenever you need it. Feel it flowing directly through you and down into the Earth, bringing healing now to Mother Earth as well. See this beautiful white light waterfall of energy all around you. Enjoy this waterfall for another moment.
Now the waterfall begins to thin and to fade and you can start to see out around the edges. You step out of the waterfall now and find yourself.
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New Years, Birthday Or At The End Of The Day
Ask your child to name or write down privately what he or she wants to hold on to. A memory, a bit of insight, even a possession and what he or she wants to let go of: a frustrating event, anger or hurt, a toy or clothes that are no longer needed. Put this note of what the child wants to let go of in an envelope, seal it, decorate it, and, with appropriate weight and fanfare of ceremony, shred and burn it. You might tell a story of nature cleaning itself out each year with the change of seasons, how trees have to let go of their leaves in order to grow new ones and how what is left behind becomes compost for creation. Helping children get into that natural rhythm of constructive surrender that frees them for new delights.
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Spiritual Giftedness
This is the concept that someone can be gifted in a spiritual way, for instance to be able to quickly learn how to do meditation, to have a knowledge of one's higher spirit, to have experiences that confirm an afterlife, or perhaps to have very strong intuition and/or psychic skills.
In Where Two Worlds Touch (1990), Gloria D. Karpinski says, "In a society that all but worships the rational, we are sometimes threatened by an encounter with the unknown. It's no longer out there, like the mysteries of space that we trust science will explain one day. When something extraordinary occurs to us, we often look to our religious leaders to tell us if it's good or evil... just like when we didn't understand storms and thought the Gods were angry."
Religion does not have all the answers. The manner in which societies have dealt with psychically gifted people varies from honor to ridicule, persecution, and even death. People with psychic abilities have been seen as either God's messengers or God's enemies. As we all have an IQ we also have a Psi Q, a psychic quotient. It is the potential within all humans for perceiving and interacting with nonphysical realities. The word "psychic" means pertaining to the soul or mind, therefore teaching psychic skills will help children develop and use their minds to a greater degree. Why would anyone disagree with this? It is oft-quoted that humans only use about 10% of our brain power. What would be wrong with increasing this capacity? Other purposes of developing psychic skills could be to develop intuition which could be a method of protection; to develop imagination, visualization and creativity; to enjoy the journey or process of learning and developing with less fear and concern.
Karpinski also writes, "A psychically skilled person has receiving equipment that is tuned to information passing through the ether. The ether is the connecting medium of all life. Thoughts, words, symbols, personal history, ideals, feelings, it all moves out from us into the ether like waves... Beliefs, strong emotions, even memories form patterns in the waves. When these patterns meet beliefs and emotions of other people, they do one of several things. If the wave patterns are alike, they can intertwine with each other and build a stronger emotion or belief, or they can cancel each other out or produce contrasting and opposing patterns." Most of the time we focus on our own personal physical reality and we are unaware of the waves that bombard us all the time. We may not know why but we sense and react to them. Good spiritual training promotes balance and integration with opening the possibilities of the mind. Everything that happens to us is for a purpose to bring us to a greater understanding.
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Crystal & Indigo Children
Crystal and Indigo are terms given to describe energy patterns and aura colors of a new breed of millennium children with an important purpose. They have unique characteristics such as: intuitive, psychic, clairvoyant, highly intelligent, creative, physically and emotionally sensitive. The Indigo generation precede the Crystal generation, the main difference being their temperament and purpose. Indigos are approximately age 7 through 25, the majority also including older adults. Indigos have a mission on earth to bring the planet into ascension. They are the warrior spirits cutting through the old systems and beliefs into a new way of being and thinking. They are here to raise the vibration of the planet. They experience a thinner veil of separation between the spirit world and the earth. Many display attention deficit disorder and a rebellion against authority. They can sense dishonesty and manipulation like a dog can sense fear. Crystal children are approximately between the ages of 0-7 years, possessing distinctive, large, penetrating eyes that are wise beyond their years. When their eyes lock on you, you feel them scanning your soul. They are highly evolved lightworkers, delightful, happy and forgiving. They are blissful, even tempered and very connected spiritually. Their purpose is to bring in unconditional love energy to the earth. They may have delayed speech, as they communicate so well telepathically. They have been called incarnated Angels as they spontaneously hug and care for people in need. They also have a close relationship with the elderly, animals, plants and rocks. If you are a parent to one of these special children you have been given a gift. You have the honor to help them develop to their fullest potential.
Wendy H. Chapman wrote and article on www.metagifted.org entitled Is Your Child An Indigo? If you have more than 10 yes answers, he or she probably is an Indigo. If more than 15, almost definitely.
- Did your child come into the world acting like royalty?
- Does your child have a feeling of deserving to be here?
- Does your child have an obvious sense of self?
- Does your child have difficulty with discipline and authority?
- Does your child refuse to do certain things they are told to do?
- Is waiting in lines torture for your child?
- Is your child frustrated by ritual-oriented systems that require little creativity?
- Does your child see better ways of doing things at home and at school?
- Is your child a nonconformist?
- Does your child refuse to respond to guilt trips?
- Does your child get bored rather easily with assigned tasks?
- Does your child display symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder?
- Is your child particularly creative?
- Does your child display intuition?
- Does your child have strong empathy for others?
- Did your child develop abstract thinking very early?
- Is your child very intelligent?
- Is your child very talented (may be identified as gifted)?
- Does your child seem be a daydreamer?
- Does your child have very old, deep, wise looking eyes?
- Does your child have spiritual intelligence?
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Working With Children, In General
Here is some advice from Wendy H. Chapman in her article How To Get the Most from Your Indigo Child: A Guide For Parents And Teachers at http://www.metagifted.org:
- Respect them.
- Practice unconditional love for your child. Love them and show it, no matter what.
- Give choices.
- Give them freedom to develop, balanced with supervision and safety limits.
- Do set limits to protect them, but not arbitrary ones.
- Tell reasons and explain why.
- As much as is possible, let them help to create rules and fair and appropriate consequences for breaking them.
- Give them complete explanations to the level they will be able understand.
- Don't talk down to them.
- Never say "Just because" or "Because I said so" and feel it is an adequate reason for an Indigo. It isn't.
- Be honest with your children. Tell the truth. They will know if you are not.
- Avoid giving orders, instead ask for their cooperation in accomplishing a goal ( ie. of getting ready to leave on time).
- Don't try to manipulate them. It won't work.
- Don't use guilt, fear, or hate as a controlling tool.
- Be fair.
- Be consistent. If you say NO, make sure you have a good reason and don't give in.
- Don't compare your childhood to theirs (i.e.: when I was a kid we had to walk 10 miles to school uphill both ways).
- Provide emotional support for them and their goals.
- Listen to them.
- Respect their privacy and personal space.
- Teach your child to have respect for others regardless of their abilities and model this behavior.
- Admit when you make mistakes.
- Make time to play with your kids.
- Don't do things for your children that they can do themselves. Empower them by letting them develop autonomy.
- Give them some responsibilities around the home and choices about which responsibilities they will have.
- Notice good behavior and thank them for it.
- Use rewards at least as often or more so than punishments. These help to get through frustrating times.
- Involve your children in your life. Don't shield them from it or they will know and resent it.
- Respect any psychic skills that they develop, even if you do not understand them.
- Provide appropriate training and support for any special talents they have—physical or metaphysical.
- Appreciate their strengths.
- Provide creative outlets for your children.
- Be open to learning from them.
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Psychic Games & Exercises - The "I Am" Psychic Game
"The words "I am" are two very powerful metaphysical words. Whenever you say "I am," you are making a statement about who you are, yourself, to the world around you and to your subconscious mind. When you say "I am" followed by a statement, you set up the experience that follows. That's why it's very important to be aware of what follows the words I am. Whatever follows in words will follow in your experience. I am healthy...I am sick or I am happy...I am sad. The words "I am" release to the subconscious mind a powerful instruction that the subconscious mind obeys."
—Sonia ChoQuette, The Psychic Pathway (1994).
More Psychic Games from ESP For Kids: How To Develop Your Child's Psychic Ability 1992, by Dr. Tag Powell and Carol Howell Mills.
- Find The Photo Game - Get 6 or so identical sized photos, one of the child, one of a favorite relative, one of a friend, one of a pet. Keeping them face down and separated, ask them to find the one you name—of Auntie Sue or one of themselves, etc.
- What's In The Gift Box Game - Have them guess what each birthday present is before opening.
- Coin Toss Guess - Toss a coin and have your child guess which side landed up. Keep track. Consider offering prizes for getting it right more than half the time.
- It's In The Cards - Using a standard deck of cards, have the child guess whether each card is red or black. Then move on to guessing suits or numbers. Keep track of correct guesses and praise all correct guesses. Make a big deal about anything greater than 50% accuracy.
- Holding The Bag - Put an item in an opaque bag, like a brown lunch bag. Hold it out for them or put it on a table. Have them put their hands on either side of the bag without touching it and tell what sort of vibrations it has. For instance, they can say anything like cold or hot, fuzzy or rough or smooth, metal, food, etc. Praise anything they get right even if they don't guess the object.
- Guess The Color Of The Marble - Choose a marble from a bag and guess what color it is before opening your hand. As a more advanced version, decide before choosing what colors you will pull out and then try to get those. You can also use colored blobs of glass that you can get inexpensively at aquarium stores or colored game markers.
- Get In Touch Game - Collect several pictures from magazines or photographs that have one central image in each. Have them put hands over or around the picture with their eyes shut and guess what or who is in the photo.
- Energy Ball - Collect positive energy (chi) from all around you in the air and compress it with your hands into a small ball of pure energy. Start with a circumference of about 3 feet (beach ball) and bring together to about a 4" softball. Pull and condense the energy together. Repeat over and over. Each time, feel the energy building more and more. Feel the tingle. When you feel it, you can toss it to someone. Play catch with it. If it starts to fall apart, pull it together again. Teach children to build the energy ball themselves.
- Sensing The Energy Game - Rub hands together rapidly about 10 seconds. Feel the tingle. Do it again, then hold your hands facing each other. Feel the energy flow. Do it again and hold your hands further apart. Increase from 1 inch to 5 inches to a foot. Try this with a partner and see how far away you can feel the energy from their hands. Next, try standing behind a partner and rubbing your hands together. Then holding your hands out, approach closer and closer and see when they can feel the energy from your hands. Then try the same thing, but touch your partner and then move away slowly, seeing how many inches away he or she can feel you. Switch places and see how far away you can feel your partner's energy. Try this with different partners - like mom/dad/grandma/grandpa, friends. As you increase in sensitivity, try feeling the energy without having to rub your hands together first.
- WeatherForecaster - Think about the weather for each day in the next week or so. Without using any resources except your gut feeling, guess what the weather will be like each day for the upcoming week. Write it down and then compare your guesses to the actual weather each day. You can also compare your guesses after you've made them to the weather forecast on TV, newspapers or on websites.
- Psychometry Game - Hold an object in one clasped hand. Sense the vibration of it. Let your mind wander over and into the object. Using your imagination, say whatever comes to mind. Use a tape recorder. If you have a group of friends around, have one of them secretly hand you an item and try to figure out where it is from.
- Feel The Light Vibration Game - Hold your hands behind your back with palms out. Another person shines a light, preferably one with a small, bright, tight, close beam, on ONE of your hands. Guess which hand has the light on it by mentally seeing your palms and deciding which is brightest. Wiggle a finger of the hand with the light on it.
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More Spiritual Activities For Children Turning Pessimism Into Optimism
Find a moment when you can talk about appreciation with the family and how it is a valuable tool. Discuss how cynical society can be at times, asking your teens to state what signs of cynicism they observe in their lives. Speak personally on how appreciation widens people's perspective of what is really important and valued.
- Ask each family member to write a list of people, events and things they appreciate. Request that no less than five items be written down.
- Discuss some of items on each person's list. Go deep into the heart and talk about how you can enhance your appreciation of the people, events, and things you listed. Help each other find creative ways to express appreciation.
- Have each family member post their list in their bedroom to remind them of who or what they appreciate. Reviewing the list helps nurture creative ideas of how to express appreciation. It also gives people an energy boost whenever they feel down.
Appreciating Your Day
- At the end of the day, have everyone write, draw or verbalize at least one thing they appreciated about the day. Next, ask everyone to write, draw, or verbalize one thing they want to appreciate about the upcoming day. Post everyone's papers in a central location.
- Set a time to get together the next day to revisit the list.
- Talk about how everyone did. Did you appreciate what you thought you would? Did you forget? Did you appreciate more things? What were they? Add the new things you appreciated to your paper.
- Even when you are grumpy, making an effort to appreciate something can help offset feelings of upset or stress. Ask if this happened to anyone.
- Repeat the process every day for one week. Save all the appreciation sheets.
- Collect the week's appreciation sheets in a scrapbook. You could review it at the end of the week.
- Talk about what the game meant to each person. If the game has been fun, you might want to do it for a month and get together at the same time each week to update and review the scrapbook.
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Conclusion
Children can propel our spiritual journey in a remarkable way, reminding us of the bigger picture. They can be our spiritual practice as we live in the moment, appreciate and enjoy the sense of wonder. We renew our spirit as we honor theirs. We must continually ask ourselves, questions such as, "What does the way I live my life teach this child?" "How can I understand and serve this child, this world, this spirit?" "What does this child offer to teach me?" Using talents, desires, and fantasies to find our calling and purpose, our life takes shape through choices we make. Our task on this earth, our virtual school of life, is to uncover who we are, what we are to do here, what we have to offer. Hart shares the poetry of Marshall Ball, a boy who cannot speak or walk, in his book, The Secret Spiritual World Of Children (2003).
"I see my self as a teacher
That knows about God.
Good thoughts come to me
And they teach.
I hope to gather thinkers
To give them my thoughts about love
Love to clean their ideas
That cleaning might loosen the love in their hearts
Good thinkers take love to heart
Like gold in the wild sun."
Psychologist, Ira Progoff, quoted in Where Two Worlds Touch (1990), tells us, "Love depends upon the capacity to reach beneath the surface of persons, to feel and touch the seed of life that is hidden there. And love becomes a power when it is capable of evoking that seed and drawing it forth from its hiding place."
Spiritual experiences serve as a catalyst for spiritual growth when our individual consciousness opens to the larger consciousness of which we are all a part. The purpose of spiritual parenting is to help children stay connected to their spirit and not allow commercialism and materialism to lessen the sensitivity of their soul. We must teach them to find ways and opportunities to nurture, feed, heal, restore, and renew the soul. As a metaphysical practitioner you may find yourself in a situation where you are being called on to assist someone in their parenting abilities or helping the child directly. These are some excellent strategies and tools you can share with children and parents alike. Let us teach our children well!