When babies are born they are not fully present in the 3rd dimension, or in other words, the reality around us. They are still hold the perspective of their eternal selves and are completely new to the our perspective of separation. Newborn's eyes are physically capable of seeing perfectly at birth, but because they are new to this perceptive they are not yet able to separate the colors and tones that make up the world around us. As they get older they begin to lose this connection. They begin to adapt the idea of separation as their reality, because of this I believe its very important to start teaching spiritual concepts to children even at a young age.
For those of us that are not religious this can be very difficult, at the same time is kind of a blessing. When your choose one particular religion your only looking at one perspective. Your seeing just one fish, when their are thousands of others in the sea that do just as much as any other fish. That is like having three kids and picking one and claiming it as your favorite. The other children perspectives mean little and prevents the family to grow as a whole. This is what you to to someones spiritual development when you force them to look through only one lens. They wont develop their own unique perspective. In truth no one alive today has ALL the answers. The only way we grow spiritually is through new experience and new perspectives.
The first step for us as parents is to let go of the idea that we know whats best for our children's spiritual development, because we don't. What works for one person may not work the same for another. This will allow your child to see that its okay if what they think isn't the same as someone else thinks, which is actually a good lesson anyway! This will also help fuel their creativity and become the inspiration for learning. Think of your role as parent as not the supplier of answers, but as the provider of a language about which you can discuss faith-oriented topics.
Many parents feel like children will be uninterested, or not mature enough to understand spiritual concepts. This could not be further from the truth. Kids ask the same philosophical and existential questions that people have asked for millennia. They are often times more in-tune with their spiritual side than most adults. This belief that children are uninterested leads to parents trying hide their spiritual self and only practice spiritual practices in private. When in fact, these should actually be things you want them to see. You are their most important role model. Use daily events to teach spirituality. Big ideas don't always require big actions. Show them what unconditional love looks like and examples of it. Take them out into nature and explain how everything in the forest relies on each other.
Teach your children a set system of values, ethics and morals and how those these fit into spirituality. For example, a child with little knowledge about spirituality, can make a choice not to hit another child. Part of this decision could be based on the child’s need to stay at school and avoid suspension and consequences at home. That alone is a pretty good reason. But, what if we add a spiritual and ethical aspect to compound the already good reason listed previously? What would happen if we taught this child what happens spiritually when we harm someone? We could talk about how we are filling our bodies with negativity then giving that to someone else. We could talk about how we want to do to others what we would like for them to do to us and that we wouldn’t want anyone sticking us with a ball of negativity.
By creating an environment at home that allows children to express themselves and connect with nature, parents will be giving them the tools to become spiritually stronger and respect every form of life. A happy childhood is the first step towards a happy life in the future, not only to themselves, but to the whole world.
Have A Beautiful Day!!!
For those of us that are not religious this can be very difficult, at the same time is kind of a blessing. When your choose one particular religion your only looking at one perspective. Your seeing just one fish, when their are thousands of others in the sea that do just as much as any other fish. That is like having three kids and picking one and claiming it as your favorite. The other children perspectives mean little and prevents the family to grow as a whole. This is what you to to someones spiritual development when you force them to look through only one lens. They wont develop their own unique perspective. In truth no one alive today has ALL the answers. The only way we grow spiritually is through new experience and new perspectives.
The first step for us as parents is to let go of the idea that we know whats best for our children's spiritual development, because we don't. What works for one person may not work the same for another. This will allow your child to see that its okay if what they think isn't the same as someone else thinks, which is actually a good lesson anyway! This will also help fuel their creativity and become the inspiration for learning. Think of your role as parent as not the supplier of answers, but as the provider of a language about which you can discuss faith-oriented topics.
Many parents feel like children will be uninterested, or not mature enough to understand spiritual concepts. This could not be further from the truth. Kids ask the same philosophical and existential questions that people have asked for millennia. They are often times more in-tune with their spiritual side than most adults. This belief that children are uninterested leads to parents trying hide their spiritual self and only practice spiritual practices in private. When in fact, these should actually be things you want them to see. You are their most important role model. Use daily events to teach spirituality. Big ideas don't always require big actions. Show them what unconditional love looks like and examples of it. Take them out into nature and explain how everything in the forest relies on each other.
Teach your children a set system of values, ethics and morals and how those these fit into spirituality. For example, a child with little knowledge about spirituality, can make a choice not to hit another child. Part of this decision could be based on the child’s need to stay at school and avoid suspension and consequences at home. That alone is a pretty good reason. But, what if we add a spiritual and ethical aspect to compound the already good reason listed previously? What would happen if we taught this child what happens spiritually when we harm someone? We could talk about how we are filling our bodies with negativity then giving that to someone else. We could talk about how we want to do to others what we would like for them to do to us and that we wouldn’t want anyone sticking us with a ball of negativity.
By creating an environment at home that allows children to express themselves and connect with nature, parents will be giving them the tools to become spiritually stronger and respect every form of life. A happy childhood is the first step towards a happy life in the future, not only to themselves, but to the whole world.
Have A Beautiful Day!!!