Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Have Faith Like That of Children

Have Faith Like That of Children

The Patheos website published this request on The Divine Feminine website:
"If you could create your dream curriculum — a set of materials for the spiritual development of children and adolescents — what would it look like? Go into your deep wisdom and send us a blog of 300 to 700 words."
Have Faith Like That of Children
We are so busy attempting to keep adult control over children that we forget that they often see truth much brighter and more simply than do we. We are all children deep in our emotions, where it may be that our “souls” reside. For certain purity of spirit resides in the child before they learn about life through our own actions and reactions. Our religions strive to deny this purity of spirit at birth, but I believe this is an effort to continue priestly power.
Lesson #1 - How to be perfectly still in their souls, even if their bodies must move to accomplish this.
Meditation in nature
Lesson #2 - How to listen to the small sounds
Hear their own breathing and that of nature around them, including the sounds of humans. Identify all natural sounds
Lesson #3 - How to collect their free-flowing thoughts
Flash card with simple words and sounds that came into their consciousness while meditating.
Lesson #4 - How to tell their own stories
Encourage them to tell their own experiences through pictures, words, movement, music
Lesson #5 - How to ask respectful questions
Encouraging opening the mind to different interpretations of the same shared experience
Lesson #6 - How to give respectful answers
Encouraging personal experience as valid, and often necessary, background information
Lesson #7 - Explore concepts of point-of-view with the children
Why do you think or feel this to be true? How do you compare what you believe to be true with what others believe?
Lesson #8 - How to look each other in the eye
Encourage children to identify emotions based on body language of each other and other animals
Lesson #9 - Taking turns as a form of respect
Encourage children to bring out the ideas of others, so that all participate without fear of ridicule
Lesson #10 - Identify connections
Help children to create circles of community with chains, intersecting, and overlapping where similarities occur.
I believe these methods of allowing children to explore what is all around them and explore with wonder, instead of pre-programmed prejudices based on fears instilled by others, would reignite the wonder of childhood which is where I believe the openness to the spiritual level of life resides. We teach compassion for themselves and the world in which we live out of our children with fear-based religions and rites of passage.

Have Faith Like That of Children

Have Faith Like That of Children

The Patheos website published this request on The Divine Feminine website:
"If you could create your dream curriculum — a set of materials for the spiritual development of children and adolescents — what would it look like? Go into your deep wisdom and send us a blog of 300 to 700 words."
Have Faith Like That of Children
We are so busy attempting to keep adult control over children that we forget that they often see truth much brighter and more simply than do we. We are all children deep in our emotions, where it may be that our “souls” reside. For certain purity of spirit resides in the child before they learn about life through our own actions and reactions. Our religions strive to deny this purity of spirit at birth, but I believe this is an effort to continue priestly power.
Lesson #1 - How to be perfectly still in their souls, even if their bodies must move to accomplish this.
Meditation in nature
Lesson #2 - How to listen to the small sounds
Hear their own breathing and that of nature around them, including the sounds of humans. Identify all natural sounds
Lesson #3 - How to collect their free-flowing thoughts
Flash card with simple words and sounds that came into their consciousness while meditating.
Lesson #4 - How to tell their own stories
Encourage them to tell their own experiences through pictures, words, movement, music
Lesson #5 - How to ask respectful questions
Encouraging opening the mind to different interpretations of the same shared experience
Lesson #6 - How to give respectful answers
Encouraging personal experience as valid, and often necessary, background information
Lesson #7 - Explore concepts of point-of-view with the children
Why do you think or feel this to be true? How do you compare what you believe to be true with what others believe?
Lesson #8 - How to look each other in the eye
Encourage children to identify emotions based on body language of each other and other animals
Lesson #9 - Taking turns as a form of respect
Encourage children to bring out the ideas of others, so that all participate without fear of ridicule
Lesson #10 - Identify connections
Help children to create circles of community with chains, intersecting, and overlapping where similarities occur.
I believe these methods of allowing children to explore what is all around them and explore with wonder, instead of pre-programmed prejudices based on fears instilled by others, would reignite the wonder of childhood which is where I believe the openness to the spiritual level of life resides. We teach compassion for themselves and the world in which we live out of our children with fear-based religions and rites of passage.

Have Faith Like That of Children

The Patheos website published this request on The Divine Feminine website:
"If you could create your dream curriculum — a set of materials for the spiritual development of children and adolescents — what would it look like? Go into your deep wisdom and send us a blog of 300 to 700 words."
Have Faith Like That of Children
We are so busy attempting to keep adult control over children that we forget that they often see truth much brighter and more simply than do we. We are all children deep in our emotions, where it may be that our “souls” reside. For certain purity of spirit resides in the child before they learn about life through our own actions and reactions. Our religions strive to deny this purity of spirit at birth, but I believe this is an effort to continue priestly power.
Lesson #1 - How to be perfectly still in their souls, even if their bodies must move to accomplish this.
Meditation in nature
Lesson #2 - How to listen to the small sounds
Hear their own breathing and that of nature around them, including the sounds of humans. Identify all natural sounds
Lesson #3 - How to collect their free-flowing thoughts
Flash card with simple words and sounds that came into their consciousness while meditating.
Lesson #4 - How to tell their own stories
Encourage them to tell their own experiences through pictures, words, movement, music
Lesson #5 - How to ask respectful questions
Encouraging opening the mind to different interpretations of the same shared experience
Lesson #6 - How to give respectful answers
Encouraging personal experience as valid, and often necessary, background information
Lesson #7 - Explore concepts of point-of-view with the children
Why do you think or feel this to be true? How do you compare what you believe to be true with what others believe?
Lesson #8 - How to look each other in the eye
Encourage children to identify emotions based on body language of each other and other animals
Lesson #9 - Taking turns as a form of respect
Encourage children to bring out the ideas of others, so that all participate without fear of ridicule
Lesson #10 - Identify connections
Help children to create circles of community with chains, intersecting, and overlapping where similarities occur.
I believe these methods of allowing children to explore what is all around them and explore with wonder, instead of pre-programmed prejudices based on fears instilled by others, would reignite the wonder of childhood which is where I believe the openness to the spiritual level of life resides. We teach compassion for themselves and the world in which we live out of our children with fear-based religions and rites of passage.

Have Faith Like That of Children

The Patheos website published this request on The Divine Feminine website:
"If you could create your dream curriculum — a set of materials for the spiritual development of children and adolescents — what would it look like? Go into your deep wisdom and send us a blog of 300 to 700 words."
Have Faith Like That of Children
We are so busy attempting to keep adult control over children that we forget that they often see truth much brighter and more simply than do we. We are all children deep in our emotions, where it may be that our “souls” reside. For certain purity of spirit resides in the child before they learn about life through our own actions and reactions. Our religions strive to deny this purity of spirit at birth, but I believe this is an effort to continue priestly power.
Lesson #1 - How to be perfectly still in their souls, even if their bodies must move to accomplish this.
Meditation in nature
Lesson #2 - How to listen to the small sounds
Hear their own breathing and that of nature around them, including the sounds of humans. Identify all natural sounds
Lesson #3 - How to collect their free-flowing thoughts
Flash card with simple words and sounds that came into their consciousness while meditating.
Lesson #4 - How to tell their own stories
Encourage them to tell their own experiences through pictures, words, movement, music
Lesson #5 - How to ask respectful questions
Encouraging opening the mind to different interpretations of the same shared experience
Lesson #6 - How to give respectful answers
Encouraging personal experience as valid, and often necessary, background information
Lesson #7 - Explore concepts of point-of-view with the children
Why do you think or feel this to be true? How do you compare what you believe to be true with what others believe?
Lesson #8 - How to look each other in the eye
Encourage children to identify emotions based on body language of each other and other animals
Lesson #9 - Taking turns as a form of respect
Encourage children to bring out the ideas of others, so that all participate without fear of ridicule
Lesson #10 - Identify connections
Help children to create circles of community with chains, intersecting, and overlapping where similarities occur.
I believe these methods of allowing children to explore what is all around them and explore with wonder, instead of pre-programmed prejudices based on fears instilled by others, would reignite the wonder of childhood which is where I believe the openness to the spiritual level of life resides. We teach compassion for themselves and the world in which we live out of our children with fear-based religions and rites of passage.