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Know
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THIS WEEK'S ISSUE From the Inside Out...
Last Minute Ideas
BE the World It's important to give without expecting anything in return, rather than keeping a tally of whom we've helped and who has helped us. Silence and service go hand in hand. Random acts of kindness, particularly those anonymously accomplished, reflect a healthy non-attachment to deed or outcome. ~ Chelle ~
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From the Inside Out
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Though
preschoolers are too young to grasp many of the abstract concepts
that go hand-in-hand with spiritual life, they have other skills
that will serve them well on the road to spirituality: They have
no problem believing in things they can't see, and they live almost
entirely in the moment. "Kids this age have an incredible sense
of wonder — they're innate spiritual beings," says Marianne
Neifert, a pediatrician, mother of five, and the author of Dr.
Mom's Prescription for Preschoolers: Seven Essentials for the Formative
Years . This
is the perfect age to begin nurturing your child's spiritual side
— as sustenance for her soul, as a way of answering her cosmic
questions, and as a means of strengthening her interpersonal skills.
Every religion has some kind of belief embedded in it about loving
your neighbor. And giving your child a foundation in faith will
also give her something to fall back on in trying times later in
life. Clarify your own beliefs. Whether or not you practice an organized religion, you'll need to decide what you believe in order to foster spirituality in your child. That doesn't mean you have to have all the answers, but you can take time to consider the questions: Do you believe in a Higher Being? Do you believe there was a divine element in the creation of the world? What do you think happens when a person dies? Don't pretend to have all the answers. When your child asks where people go when they die, answer honestly: "Nobody knows for sure, but some people think they go to heaven. Other people think they're born again in a new body." Inevitably, your child will ask what you think. If you have a strong belief, share it. If not, it's okay to admit that there are some questions people spend their whole lives trying to figure out — and this is one of them. Use daily events to teach spirituality. Big ideas don't always require big actions. You can demonstrate that spirituality is a part of everyday life by incorporating it into ordinary actions and words. When you open the curtains in the morning, you can say, "Look at this glorious day Mother Nature made." Instill an appreciation of nature. Nature is a great place to find a tangible manifestation of the divine. "Kids learn with all their senses — they love to pick up a rock or jump in a puddle or chase a butterfly," says Neifert. Help your child see nature as something sacred by demonstrating your own love and respect for it. When you go for a family hike in the woods or a picnic on the beach, clean up after yourself (and even others), and be considerate of creatures in their habitat. Plant a garden with your child, and make it part of your daily routine to check on the progress of the plants together. Introduce her to the idea that the Earth is a gift, and that our survival depends upon the survival of the planet. Tell stories. The world's spiritual traditions are full of stories designed to explain everything from how the world was created to why people sometimes do bad things. Introduce your child to the notion that different people have different ideas about God by drawing on this wealth of literature. Read stories together from an illustrated Bible, a book of Hindu mythology, or a collection of Jewish folk tales, amending and simplifying as you see fit. Build on family traditions. Spirituality not only connects us to the divine; it also connects us to each other and to the past. If you're raising your child in the same spiritual tradition that you were raised in, be sure she knows that she's carrying on family rituals that were passed along by her grandparents and even great-grandparents. Show her pictures of her grandmother taking her first communion. Let her help polish a pair of Sabbath candlesticks that were handed down by your parents. And be sure to tell the same family stories at holiday time that you listened to as a child. Make it fun. Spirituality should be more joyful than somber and serious. Together, act out plays or put on a puppet show based on creation stories or your own spiritual themes. Above all, do what spiritual people have done for centuries — sing and dance! If you don't know any traditional tunes, a wealth of CDs and cassettes of spiritual music is available. Don't forget to explore songs and chants from other cultures or traditions as well. Practice silence. Once a day or once a week, take a minute to sit quietly with your child, encouraging her to be silent and listen to her inner voice. Your moment of silence needn't be introduced as some lofty practice of meditation, but simply as a calming break in a noisy day. Whether your child uses this time to commune with the divine or simply to rest and recharge, it'll help put her in touch with the "big" picture. Stress the spiritual side of holidays. Try to balance the commercialism of the holiday season with activities that underscore its deeper meaning. Volunteer at a local charity. Donate food, clothing, or toys to a shelter, and have your child do the same by choosing a few items she no longer plays with. Participate in church or synagogue events centered on holiday themes. On the fun side, share some holiday crafts with your child: Create a homemade nativity scene out of cardboard and fill it with little dolls, craft a menorah out of modeling clay, or make a Kwanzaa kinara to hold the symbolic candles representing the principles of the holiday — unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Consider joining a faith community. By regularly attending services and social events at a place of worship, your child will come to see that spirituality plays a central role in the life of the community. She'll also grow up more comfortable with the liturgy and rituals of your faith and come to see a house of worship as a place where she can feel comfortable and secure. "Kids thrive on predictability," says Neifert. "Whether it's a Catholic child seeing the communion bread and wine, a Jewish child hearing the Hebrew prayers, or a Hindu child smelling the incense in the temple, by experiencing rituals kids come to appreciate the predictability of a religious service, if not the deeper meaning." Follow your child's lead. Let your child ask the questions, and give her plenty of opportunities to discuss her own notions of issues such as what heaven looks like, or what happens to people after they die. Try not to dictate the answers to big questions, begin your answer by asking her what she thinks. Or ask her to draw a picture and tell you about it. Spirituality is a two-way street: If you listen carefully to your child, you might discover something you never thought of before.
Inspiration
Line's International Forum>>>
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Far Horizons KALAHARI CHRISTMAS
TREES
Early British influence in the African country of Botswana led
to Christmas Pantomimes — comical, musical, and very vocal
(unlike Mime) presentations. Based loosely on fairytales, they
manage to fit in an old maid (played by a man) and a young hero
(played by a woman). Somewhat like melodrama's that were performed
in the United States, they usually involve audience participation,
like booing the villain and cheering the hero. Situated right
in the center of Botswana lies the Kalahari Reserve, which is
characterized by vast open plains, saltpans and ancient riverbeds.
Varying from sand dunes with many species of trees and shrubs
in the north, to flat bushveld in the central area, the reserve
is more heavily wooded in the south, with mophane forests to the
south and east. A typical woody plant in Botswana's bush savanna
is the "moselesele" or sickle bush. Its delightful lantern-shaped
inflorescences, that light up the trees like Christmas decorations,
have inspired the popular nickname: Kalahari Christmas Trees.
Untangling the Web
COMPUTER-EASE "Forwarding
eMail: With Pictures"
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Last-Minute Ideas Just
for YOU
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Fascinating Facts
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Web-Wize Update
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We all want to protect the people, and even the values/beliefs, that we hold dear. The more we cherish them, the more we can imagine how terrible life would be if anything "happened" to them. Our own fears motivate us to enforce fierce boundaries for them ... and for OUR peace of mind. My favorite author, Dr. David Viscott, Ph.D., writes: "You cannot protect anyone from themselves; you cannot protect anyone from life. You cannot spare a loved one the confrontation with their own mortality, their own stupidity or their own emptiness. Indeed, to take on the burden of sentry, guarding another person's borders, is to interfere with that person's life lesson. If we are the sum of everything that happens to us, to limit a person's experience is to limit their growth." Dr. Viscott continues: "The wrong protective attitudes isolate us and make us prisoners in our personal life. We strive to find a livable balance between trust and protection. Too much space isolates you from the Flow of Life and keeps you out of touch with the mainstream. Too little space makes you suspicious of everyone, lest they invade what is yours. You cannot fence the world out without fencing yourself in. We are creatures of the boundaries we construct, the limits we test, the goals we seek, and the restraints we abandon to seek new worlds. Not to break through the limits containing you is to be forced to live the same day over and over again for the rest of your life." By disengaging from a place of control and moving into an "Observer Role," when necessary, we can step beyond fear, anger and sadness to re-create Clarity, Joy and Balance in our personal environment ... which then has a ripple effect upon the entire world. Remember that "The Universe rearranges itself to accommodate YOUR picture of reality." By KNOWING all is well — at a core level — the River of Life is able to flow in a more natural way, so that each person can experience their own evolutionary process and lessons. My close friend, Gabrielle in Santa Fe, New Mexico, showed me the following Message from the Hopi Elders - 2001: "To my fellow swimmers: There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore, they will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know that the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off in to the middle of the river, keep our eyes open and our heads above water. See who is there with you, and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves; for the moment we do, our spiritual growth and journey come to a halt. The way of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves. Banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration." Further Reading: Book of the Hopi by Frank Walters and Oswald White Bear Fredericks, plus Medicine Lodge at Manataka.org.
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