Papa, why do I have to go to school?

   

As a beautiful Sunday afternoon rolled into another Sunday evening, and the looming school week hung heavy in the air, my son Phoenix reflected back to me that simple and profound question, that no conscious parent can escape.  You know, the question that has hung heavy in our hearts since we were them and sitting in our first classroom, the question we have heard repeated over the years, by us, by them, out loud and in our hearts.........

"Papa, why do I have to go to school?

In all likelihood, unless we are homeschooling them, our children will spend more hours of the day, more days of their life, a larger percent of their educational years, in school, than with us, their parents.  How then, if it is our intention to nurture joyful, heart-centered, heroic children can we trust and rely on their schools to be an extension of this nurturing process?  

How can we, in essence, rely on an educational system that will take them in as young children and not release them until they have reached adulthood, to do a better job than we can do?  How can we trust that these precious formative years of their life are being attended to with the same care and intentions that we have?  How can we trust that what they are being taught is serving them in the most beneficial manner?

These questions don't have simple answers.  In fact meditating on them will more likely lead to more questions than to answers.  Because if we truly have the intention to nurture our children in a way that will reveal their gifts, center them in their hearts, and instill them with the courage and strength to be able to not only overcome obstacles, but to transform them into  opportunities, then the process of insuring that their educational experiences are beneficial is one of continual exploration.  There are no simple solutions.

There are however, two essential keys that will empower us and serve us as we navigate a course of action and educational path for our children. No matter  how much our family models might differ and the textures of our visions and priorities may vary, these keys will help us construct a foundation that will serve us and our children, our Rainbow Warriors. First of all, we must absolutely accept and maintain, throughout their educational years, no matter what the nature of their schooling may be, the responsibility of being their primary teacher.

Whatever teachers may pass through their life, whatever educational systems they may pass through, we are the constant, we must be there for them throughout.  Being their primary teacher is an absolutely vital mission. It is essential that we are vigilant in our continual presence and awareness and that we maintain a constant connection and communication with our children, so that we can support them and help them process their educational experiences in the most productive manner, and so that we can  help them by integrating, expanding, supplementing and discarding when necessary.  

Above all, as primary teachers, it must be our mission to insure that their heart wisdom is being nurtured and fed, that their minds are being exercised and not simply filled, and  that their individual gifts are allowed to be revealed and strengthened.  

We must accept, as their primary teachers, the responsibility of teaching them how to act courageously, with heart, with excellence and with strength.   We must accept responsibility for teaching them the value of integrity, the joy of beauty and the importance of idea being manifest in action. 

Which brings us to the second essential key in conscious parenting:  Teaching through action.   However varied the educational, and school situations are that we ultimately choose for, or with, our children are, we must not only accept responsibility to oversee, integrate and support the schooling by being their primary teacher, but we must be models, in action, for our children. 

"We forget sometimes that there are saints
living among us.
When we meet them, we are reminded,
not just of the presence of pure divinity
right here on earth,
but also of our own potential,
and of the responsibility we have to try
to live up to it  for our own sakes and
for the very future of this planet"  - Deepak Chopra

So, why do our children go to school? To learn!

Why do they go to the school they go to?  Why do they learn the things they are learning, in the way they are learning them?  Those questions my fellow teachers, are for us to ponder, hopefully, continually, as part of an ongoing process.

Standing on the Shoulders of our Ancestors

It may or may not be written in the stars that massive transformation is in store for life on Planet Earth, in 2012, but whether the starts notice or not, we are already in the midst of it.

The generation of children that is now dancing amongst us, and standing on the shoulders of our ancestors, is set to face the consequences and rewards of every process that human beings have initiated.  As change on every level and in every direction is moving exponentially faster, so will this dynamic generation experience the climax of every force humans have put into motion.

How fast are things moving? Our population is the ultimate symbol.  Human beings took 50,000 years to reach a population of 1 billion.   In the past 100 years, we have increased to 6.5 billion.  In the next 25 it will likely be 12 billion. 
 

Look around in any direction.  We are all aware of what is happening.

From environmental dimensions, such as fresh water, deforestation, the destruction of the marine habitat and depletion of resources to socio-economic systems, like capitalism where the distribution of wealth has inevitably reached the tipping point at the top, and political systems that are ready to implant chips into their citizenship, to technologies which have blazed us at lightning speeds from the electric light and the model T to nuclear power, mars rovers and micro-processors,  everything is reaching critical mass and about to climax at the same time.

Now, take a deep, deep breath.  Guess what? There is nothing to fear. These are exciting times.  Full of potential, in every direction.  Understand this: These children amongst us now, will not have the same opportunities we had.  They will have far greater, more intense and more profound ones.  They will collectively, have the opportunity to realize our highest, most divine potential as human beings.  They will, collectively, have the opportunity to be heroes.  Why do I stress collectively?  Wait, I'll tell you at the end of this blog....

These photos I took, this full moon afternoon, amongst the ruins of several civilizations.  They are literally, civilizations built upon civilizations, stones recycled, ancestors standing upon the shoulders of ancestors.  As I climbed through, the now deserted fortress and crawled through the now empty houses of worship that intermingled with the protective walls of what was, more than once, a thriving community, I was increasingly covered in light and surrounded by beauty.  The higher I climbed, the more my perspective expanded, the more my joy increased.

The truth is, Humans have put a lot of processes in motion and while many of the fear-based, negative ones are reaching their logical destructive conclusions, so too are the spiritual pathways our ancestors carved for us reaching their light-filled, joyous climaxes as well.  The hollow structures built on greed and selfishness were bound to crumble, it was always their destiny.  They are constructed of crisis and pollution and corruption, that is their nature.  No need to mourn their passing.

The light, the pathway of the heart, was always destined to prevail.  The reason our children are not just standing, but are dancing on the shoulders of our ancestors is that from the ruins of the soon to be collapsed pathways of fear, they are about to realize the climax of our highest most divine processes.

The reason I highlighted collectively?  For the first time in human history, this generation, led by a tribe of Rainbow Warriors, will attain collectively what, previously only individuals have attained......enlightenment.  Is that destiny set in stone? No, it will require vision, action and warriorship.  How will they prepare for it?

With the nurturing help of their parents, their ancestors. That's our work.

MLK: Transcending color, an elite rainbow warrior

                       "Love has within it a redemptive power,
                       And there is a power there that eventually
                       transforms individuals.  That's why Jesus says,
                       'Love your enemies' Because if you hate your
                       enemies, you have no way to redeem and to
                       transform your enemies, but if you love your enemies,
                       you will discover that at the very root of love, is the
                       power of redemption.  How do you go about loving
                       your enemies?  I think the first thing is this:
                       In order to love your enemies, you must begin
                       by analyzing self"  -Martin Luther King

One of the great assets our generation possesses, is the access we have to so many diverse paths of spiritual wisdom.  Throughout my recently published book, Papa's Tribal Cafe: A Single Parent's Guide to Nurturing Rainbow Warriors, I quote from a diverse tribe of ancient and modern Rainbow Warriors.  There is no one I quote from more than the master teacher, Martin Luther King.

It is no coincidence that the teachers who have been able to deliver the most profound and  precious  teachings, the ones that  have been able to move us closer towards our highest potential as compassionate beings, the ones that have been able to activate our heart energies and to ignite the hero within, have all done so in the face of great oppression.  Far from coincidence it is the pathway.

Martin Luther King, Gandhi, and the Dalai Lama are three shining examples of great teachers who in the face of great hate and massive challenges were able to not only access the light within their own hearts, but were able to utilize the tremendous obstacles they faced to teach others about the ultimate power of love.


               "When I speak of love, I am not speaking of some sentimental
               and weak response.  I'm not speaking of that force which is just
               emotional bosh.  I am speaking of that force which all of the
               great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life.
               Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to
               ultimate reality."  -Martin Luther King

Significantly they each took a different religious path to arrive at the same understandings about the power of love and light.  Just as significantly they each embraced  and understood the potential on all paths.

The ancient Greeks had a saying,  "The Gods test those they love the most".  What they meant was, that those with the greatest capacity for growth, those who exhibit the strength, courage and love to stay the path towards enlightenment will be given the greatest challenges to overcome.   It is only through resistance that patience, love and compassion can deepen.  We learn patience for example, when someone tries our patience.

The model of excellence and divinity that Martin Luther King provides, is a model that transcends all color and  religious beliefs.  He is a model of humanity that teaches us the value of rising in the face of oppression, the power of love and courage in action, and crucially, the understanding that the greater the obstacle we face, the greater the opportunity we have to realize our highest potential.

As we stand on the edge of this new frontier, in a world that is morphing unrecognizably, and wonder how our children will be able to navigate their way, we can learn a lot from studying Martin Luther King.  We can learn that courage, true, deep courage is rooted in love and compassion.

And we can trust that the greater the challenges our children face in their lifetime, the greater their opportunity will be for them to realize their inner hero.  This is a heavy understanding.  We are in the midst of massive change.  It is happening, now. There isn't one parent amongst us that doesn't want to somehow protect our children, from these turbulent times.  But the real truth is, the truth that we can see exemplified in the life of Martin Luther King, is that we don't need to protect our children.  We need to prepare them.

Prepare them by equipping them with the tools they need to seize the great opportunities this generation will have to realize their highest potential.  What are the tools?  Courage, integrity, compassion and love.  Simply put:  The ability to listen and act according to their heart.

Thank you so much M L K.  Thank you for lighting the way......

A sign of things to come....

Tiger Mother or Last Cry of a Dinosaur?

All the press that Amy Chua's latest book, The Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother has received is very revealing about the state of affairs in parenting these days.  It's also very revealing about the power that the big publishing companies have over the media.

Within 48 hours I read no less than six reviews from major  news sources.  Can the vision this book champions, really be that important?  Well, yes, but not for the reasons intended.  The book is being called controversial for the slant on obsessive goal-oriented parenting it portrays.  The author, a Chinese-American professor at Harvard in a self-congratulatory  autobiography, sadly believes that she is relating a story of what it takes to be a successful parent. 


What in fact is communicated is the essence of everything that has gone haywire and off-course in our educational system.  What is communicated is the last cry of a dinosaur relentlessly trying to hold on to a system that has already collapsed.  The extensive media coverage that the book has attracted further reveals how desperately the system (educational, economic and governmental) is refusing to recognize the massive change that we are in the midst of.


The really good news that was revealed through all this is that there are a lot more of us out there moving forward with integrity from our heart, than the media powers that be and corporate rulers would have us believe.  How do I come to this conclusion?  By simply reading the comments following the reviews, hundreds of them.  Treasures of inspiration, of heartfelt messages from joyful loving parents whom understand that change is in the wind, and on the ground, and everywhere in fact.

Be clear on this:  We are on the verge of a revolution.  A revolution of thought, spirit and vision.  And those who are doing there best to resist the change, by necessity need to keep us separate.  Therefore our unification and mutual support is crucial.  And be clear on this as well:  Our revolution has nothing to do with tearing down or destruction, it is about creation, it is a quest that springs from the heart, that will require hard, devoted work and it is a revolution that begins with the way we teach and nurture our children.

We have moved beyond a two dimensional debate on parenting.  It is not a question of either imposing our will on our children or allowing them to do whatever they want.  It is a much deeper process.  And it is certainly not a process that can any longer afford to not be focused on nurturing children who have the ability to listen and the strength to act according to their heart.


In a nutshell, the current World crisis which is permeating every aspect of our lives is the result of a World culture that has emphasized material wealth over spiritual wealth.  It is the result of a World culture that has rewarded greed over compassion and equated success with economic gain.


Rather than designing an educational system that raises heroes, nurtures gifts, and manifests honorable, courageous beings, we have an educational system that is designed to sustain an operating system controlled, maintained and motivated by fear and greed.


The great news is that everything is about to change and we are the key masters.  We, the parents of the new frontier have the keys to the hearts of the future.  We have a great mission ahead of us and massive work to undertake.  Let's stay connected and get on it.