Saturday, October 6, 2012

~ RAISING YOUR CHILD IN SPIRITUALITY

I have four children, none of whom does attend a building of worship on a regular basis. They have been exposed to multiple religions. One might consider at extreme ends. My first born was baptized  in the Greek Orthodox church. My other three were born in the Jewish faith. My second born son was circumcised by a Mohel (a Jewish person trained in the rite of "Brit Milah" (the practice of Circumcision) After all,  his mother is Jewish. Based on Jewish law, the children of a Jewish mother are automatically considered Jews and should be raised in the Jewish faith. 

Let's face the fact that when we bring a child into this world the only "label" he has is HUMAN. How he evolves as a human does depend on his upbringing. As a child I rarely went to a place of worship. I remember going to a "Science of Mind church" in San Bernardino a couple of times. I remember more a group of people coming to the house and speaking about spirituality with a doctor Hollenbeck, an archeologist  who traveled the world and shared his spirituality. I was at a young age then  and did not understand the message being taught. 

I can honestly say my parents had absolutely no influence on my decision to be baptized as a young adult in the Greek orthodox church.  In fact when my father heard of this, he mocked the church, parading around the house with a robe as though he were a priest ~~ essentially making fun of organized religions.

In this era when technology has taken a huge leap forward there are so many distractions to choose from that turns our focus on the material rather than the spiritual.

Can one be spiritual outside the walls of worship? ~~ Yes! Can one be spiritual by going to church?  ~~ Not necessarily . One can be spiritual in church , but not because of church or a temple. It is not the building that makes one spiritual. It is what you have inside you that makes you a spiritual being. Spirituality is a 24 hours a day experience. It is not the one or two hours on Sundays, Mondays or Saturdays experience which makes a person spiritual.

To make an analogy: We can all identify with diets. You will find numerous methods to loose weight. However, many of us may loose weight, but we do not keep it off. Why? you ask. Because our goal should be to keep it off. It is a permanent life change. Like humans wanting to be a good person and strive for "salvation". Going to church or Temple and recite prayers and receive sacraments maybe a quick fix but when you leave the building and flip off a driver for cutting you off on the freeway or kick the dog because it is in your way, etc. is not a life change. You must practice your faith ~~ spirituality with each breath you take.

Now, raising children in spirituality; even from a child we can teach them by example the golden rule which binds all religions. This is simply in essence: Treat others as you would want to be treated ~~in so may words.

A child can be taught to meditate, practice yoga relax with rhythmic breathing as in Kundalini Yoga. After all ~~~ breathing comes natural to us, however intentional breathing with a rhythmic action can relax the body and mind. Do this twice a day, morning an night will make a difference for you and your child.

I recently was blessed by meeting a family with two children, one girl and one boy,  ~~twins. Both under 10 years old. George  Kaponay and his beautiful spiritual wife, Bobi, are the founders of the "Chrystal Heart Energy Grid".

Here is the link to their site:

http://crystalheartgrid.com/

They are from Australia. They are currently in the US on a pilgrimage to promote humanity healing, unity and spiritual awareness and how the energies of the planet can bring us together as one. 

The two children are home schooled. Their education and intelligence level is  far ahead of their years. Their knowledge of nutrition is amazing. Of coarse nutrition is a huge part of spirituality. If you love your body you will take care of it. You must love yourself before you can truly love others.

I took the family to Lake Arrowhead, a local mountain resort and spent the day with them.

Below are a couple of photos with the Kaponay family.










Perhaps not everyone has the opportunity to home school and to travel around the world to places of great energy of Mother Earth. Having said that one can find the same peace and energy in a local mountain or even a park. You do not need a yoga mat to meditate and practice Yoga.

Teach your children to love and respect Mother Earth. Teach them to love all four legged, winged, finned life who share the air we breathe. 

I am proud and blessed to say that all four of my children are brilliant, good humans who would never violate the golden rule of life. Be the love you want to see in your children. 

Be well in Love and life
















1 comment: