If I had known spirituality for kids when I was a kid I would have gotten more out of life than what I now have. I would have been more happy, more alive, more creative in the first 55 years of my life. As it turned out it is only in the last 10 years of my life that I have more fully enjoyed the things of the Spirit.
If you are still a kid, you are fortunate in being offered here ideas which can certainly make your life more happy, more alive and more creative. If you are no longer a kid you can use the ideas here to help your own children or those of others to learn and enjoy the wonderful spiritual realities.
Spirituality for Kids
Spirituality is that quality of life wherein a person has a direct and beneficial relationship with unseen realities. These unseen realities range from the electrons flowing through our electric wires to the winds in our environment, from the electromagnetic waves passing through our radios, television sets, mobile phones, to the movements of stars beyond our galaxies, from the ideas in our brain to the ideas stored in libraries, magnetic devices and in the cyber world, from the spirits of our ancestors to the all pervading Spirit who fills the universes with his power, wisdom and goodness.
The child, from infancy to the age of eighteen, can have a meaningful and beneficial relationship with these spiritual realities. How to lead a child to this relationship is what I want to share with you in this article. These are only general guidelines.
The Beginning and End of Genuine Spirituality Is Love
The Spirit loves us. That is why he brought us into this world with the life that we have. Some have the life of heavenly bodies, others have the life of stones and minerals, others the life of vegetables, still others the life of animals. We were given the life of human beings. It was love which brought us human life. And love is our end, our final destination, the union of love with this Spirit who brought us into existence.
The child needs to feel that indeed it is love which brought him into this world.
So begin cultivating spirituality for your kid by loving him. Loving a child begins with talking to him from the time he is conceived. Direct thoughts of love to the child in your womb or in the womb of your wife. Say words, even just in your mind, like 'I love you. I will take care of you. I will make sure that you come out of the womb safely'.
Do not think that because the child is only a fetus that it cannot feel the love in your words. The child is already part of the spiritual realities from the time of his conception and is affected by what we think, say or do. Spiritual vibrations are already emanating from us to the child in the womb. And if we listen carefully we can also understand the vibrations from the child to us.
When the child is born you can immediately commend him to the Spirit who permeates this universe. There are churches which dedicate their children to God. Some do this instead of infant baptism. You do not have to wait for the rite of dedication or baptism to commend your child to the all wise, all good and all powerful Spirit. Say something like, 'Eternal Spirit who brought this child into existence, I offer you this child. Let him grow knowing you, learning more and more of your ways, loving you.'
Refer the Needs of Your Child to the Spirit
Provide for the needs of your child the best way you can, always asking the Spirit what is best for him. This applies to the food, clothing, shelter, health and education of the child. If you want to impart a life of spirituality to your child you yourself needs to have a meaningful, constant, and beneficial relationship with the Spirit. Talk with the Spirit about this child. He alone knows what is best for your child.
Teach Your Child to Read and to Love Reading
If there is one thing I owe that is unique to my parents it was their teaching me to read and to lead me to love reading. They were the ones who taught me how to read, so that even before I finished Grade One I already knew how to read and in fact was teaching my classmates how to read.
Reading puts the child in contact with the ideas of other men and women. These ideas come from the Spirit who inspires these ideas in the writers.
Do not rely on the teachers in school to teach your child how to read. If you do this they may grow hating to read because my observation is that most teachers do not know how to teach their pupils to read. Most students grow up reading only what is assigned to them in class. And they do this with unwilling hearts. They prefer to do other things than reading. A spiritual child loves to read and read because through reading he interacts with spiritual realities.
A New Start
I am very fortunate in that last year, 2011, I was given a new child, actually a grandchild, but the mother gave the child to me from the time of birth. And even before birth I accompanied and supported the mother morally and financially in the pre-natal checkups. So I consider him my own direct child.
Now that I know more of spirituality I am able to practice nurturing spirituality in this child. What I wrote here is something that I practice with this child and it is working wonderfully. The child is growing physically and spiritually, that is, in love.
These are some of my general guidelines I am sharing with you so that you too can nurture spirituality for kids. Love them from the beginning of their life in the womb, refer their needs to the Spirit, and teach them to read. They will surely grow as loving children.
Here are my other blogs which may be of help to you:
http://bit.ly/devspirit
for your spiritual growth
http://bit.ly/alternativehealth
for your health
http://bit.ly/novotrends
for learning about the new trends around us
http://bit.ly/bepaidonline
for earning some income from the Internet
Here are your links to download the e-books for FREE. To download a copy of A NEW CHRIST by Wallace D. Wattles click this website http://bit.ly/anewchrist. To download a free copy of A NEW EARTH by Eckhart Tolle click this website http://bit.ly/ebookanewearth. I hope that you enjoy reading these free e-books and profit much from them, as I have also profited greatly from them.
Showing posts with label spiritual realities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spiritual realities. Show all posts
3 Ways to Know You've Had a Spiritual Awakening
Remember Rip Van Winkle? Those of us in the American English speaking part of the world who passed our high school years in the 1950s to 1970s do remember him. He was the man who slept for 20 years in a hollow in New York. We knew him in our English Literature class.
For the younger generation who know nothing about Rip Van Winkle, here is a very brief summary. He was the principal character in Washington Irving’s story “Rip Van Winkle.” He was a Dutch American who did not want to work for a fee. He just wanted to play. One day he was lost in the mountains of New York as it was then before the American Revolution and got into the company of the ghosts of Henry Hudson and his crew. He drank their drink and fell asleep. He woke up only after 20 years, with a long beard and an aged man. He goes back to his village only to discover it was no longer the same as he left it. America was now independent from Great Britain. After some searching he discovered his family.
The reason why I started with the story of Rip Van Winkle is because he illustrates the person who sleeps for many years, who is awakened only after sleeping those many years, that is, in his body, the physical life.
In the spiritual life, like Rip Van Winkle most people are asleep and unless somebody wakes them up they will continue on sleeping spiritually, perhaps for the rest of their life. Some of them will wake up only in eternity.
Here are 3 ways to know you’ve had a spiritual awakening. If you have not gone through these 3 ways, this means that you are still asleep, that is, spiritually, like Rip Van Winkle physically, and it’s time for you to wake up.
Difference Between Spiritual and Physical Awakening
And that is the difference between spiritual awakening and physical awakening. You cannot know that you are physically awake if you are asleep. You cannot know that you are awake while you are still sleeping. But you can know that you have not yet awakened spiritually. How? By reflecting on your life, whether any of these ways are present in your life. If they are not yet present, then it means that you have not yet awakened spiritually. Knowing this you can now desire to awaken spiritually. And desiring to awaken spiritually is the step before actually awakening spiritually.
Fortunately, the ways to know we’ve had a spiritual awakening are similar to the ways to know we’ve had a physical awakening.
Awareness of Invisible Realities Around You
The first way to know that you are physically awake is by being aware of your surrounding, at first indistinctly, then little by little, more distinctly.
Even before you open your eyes you can know that you are already awake, that you are still in bed, that it is late in the night or early in the morning, etc.
Even so in spiritual awakening you are aware of the spiritual or invisible realities around you. You are aware that you are in a world of spiritual as well as physical realities. Again, as in physical awakening, this awareness is at first indistinct, but as time goes on and as you proceed in our spiritual journey this awareness becomes clearer and clearer.
This awareness of spiritual realities around you may result as a consequence of a dissatisfaction with your present job, of a failure in business, of a loss of a loved one, of a joyful encounter with a beloved. Whatever it is that triggers this awareness, you are made aware that not only physical, visible things surround you but also spiritual, non-visible things, like love or fear, inner peace or turmoil, joy or confusion.
Have you had this experience? If you have, then you have begun to awaken spiritually.
In physical awakening, after being aware of your surrounding the natural thing to do is to open your eyes and you see things around: the fading darkness or the onrush of sunlight, the furniture around the room, the light switch, the door, etc.
Awareness of Spiritual Forces in Struggle
So also in spiritual awakening you open your spiritual eyes and perceive the spiritual realities around you: the strivings of human beings to improve their lives and seek ultimate happiness, the crimes committed in the search for some kind of satisfaction, the exultation and joys of those who succeed in their endeavors, the struggle between good and evil occurring before your very eyes.
Do you perceive these spiritual realities around you? Beneath the stories of sordid crimes and wars, of natural and man-made calamities, do you see the mighty spiritual forces claiming for your attention? Do you see the ever increasing hordes of human beings who are digging deeper into poverty and homelessness? Do you see the few elite masters of this planet earth who continue to acquire resources beyond their consumption and just waste them away? And do you see these events as part of a spiritual battle between the invisible good and evil forces of the universe, beyond psychological, sociological, economic and political factors? Do you see the forces behind our world leaders which push them to dominate peoples and exploit them? If you do, you’ve had a spiritual awakening.
Action
Thirdly, in physical awakening after you are aware of your surrounding and after you open your eyes, you act. You get out of bed, go to the wash room, etc., preparing yourself for the work of the day.
So also in spiritual awakening, after you are aware of your spiritual surrounding and after you see what is happening spiritually around you and all over the world, you act. You prepare for the spiritual work ahead of you. You do not sink into hopeless resignation, thinking you can do nothing because of the enormity of the spiritual forces around you. You act because you are convinced that the Spirit in you is mightier than the thousands of problems around you.
You act but you do not do so rashly. You do not go into battle unprepared. So also in spiritual warfare you put on the shield and weapons of a spiritual nature, completely prepared to vanquish the enemies.
Are you struggling with spirit power to make this world a better place for you to live in, even just in your corner of the world? If you say, Yes, then you are acting and you are spiritually awake.
The three ways to know whether you’ve had a spiritual awakening is by 1) being aware of the spiritual realities around you; 2) opening your spiritual eyes to the events of spiritual forces around you; 3) acting spiritually in your corner of the world to make it a better place to live in. If this has happened to you, you know that you are spiritually awake and you can now help others to wake up spiritually.
There are millions of spiritual Rip Van Winkles around you who have been spiritually sleeping for years, for decades even. It is your task as an awakened spiritual person to help them wake up spiritually.
For the younger generation who know nothing about Rip Van Winkle, here is a very brief summary. He was the principal character in Washington Irving’s story “Rip Van Winkle.” He was a Dutch American who did not want to work for a fee. He just wanted to play. One day he was lost in the mountains of New York as it was then before the American Revolution and got into the company of the ghosts of Henry Hudson and his crew. He drank their drink and fell asleep. He woke up only after 20 years, with a long beard and an aged man. He goes back to his village only to discover it was no longer the same as he left it. America was now independent from Great Britain. After some searching he discovered his family.
The reason why I started with the story of Rip Van Winkle is because he illustrates the person who sleeps for many years, who is awakened only after sleeping those many years, that is, in his body, the physical life.
In the spiritual life, like Rip Van Winkle most people are asleep and unless somebody wakes them up they will continue on sleeping spiritually, perhaps for the rest of their life. Some of them will wake up only in eternity.
Here are 3 ways to know you’ve had a spiritual awakening. If you have not gone through these 3 ways, this means that you are still asleep, that is, spiritually, like Rip Van Winkle physically, and it’s time for you to wake up.
Difference Between Spiritual and Physical Awakening
And that is the difference between spiritual awakening and physical awakening. You cannot know that you are physically awake if you are asleep. You cannot know that you are awake while you are still sleeping. But you can know that you have not yet awakened spiritually. How? By reflecting on your life, whether any of these ways are present in your life. If they are not yet present, then it means that you have not yet awakened spiritually. Knowing this you can now desire to awaken spiritually. And desiring to awaken spiritually is the step before actually awakening spiritually.
Fortunately, the ways to know we’ve had a spiritual awakening are similar to the ways to know we’ve had a physical awakening.
Awareness of Invisible Realities Around You
The first way to know that you are physically awake is by being aware of your surrounding, at first indistinctly, then little by little, more distinctly.
Even before you open your eyes you can know that you are already awake, that you are still in bed, that it is late in the night or early in the morning, etc.
Even so in spiritual awakening you are aware of the spiritual or invisible realities around you. You are aware that you are in a world of spiritual as well as physical realities. Again, as in physical awakening, this awareness is at first indistinct, but as time goes on and as you proceed in our spiritual journey this awareness becomes clearer and clearer.
This awareness of spiritual realities around you may result as a consequence of a dissatisfaction with your present job, of a failure in business, of a loss of a loved one, of a joyful encounter with a beloved. Whatever it is that triggers this awareness, you are made aware that not only physical, visible things surround you but also spiritual, non-visible things, like love or fear, inner peace or turmoil, joy or confusion.
Have you had this experience? If you have, then you have begun to awaken spiritually.
In physical awakening, after being aware of your surrounding the natural thing to do is to open your eyes and you see things around: the fading darkness or the onrush of sunlight, the furniture around the room, the light switch, the door, etc.
Awareness of Spiritual Forces in Struggle
So also in spiritual awakening you open your spiritual eyes and perceive the spiritual realities around you: the strivings of human beings to improve their lives and seek ultimate happiness, the crimes committed in the search for some kind of satisfaction, the exultation and joys of those who succeed in their endeavors, the struggle between good and evil occurring before your very eyes.
Do you perceive these spiritual realities around you? Beneath the stories of sordid crimes and wars, of natural and man-made calamities, do you see the mighty spiritual forces claiming for your attention? Do you see the ever increasing hordes of human beings who are digging deeper into poverty and homelessness? Do you see the few elite masters of this planet earth who continue to acquire resources beyond their consumption and just waste them away? And do you see these events as part of a spiritual battle between the invisible good and evil forces of the universe, beyond psychological, sociological, economic and political factors? Do you see the forces behind our world leaders which push them to dominate peoples and exploit them? If you do, you’ve had a spiritual awakening.
Action
Thirdly, in physical awakening after you are aware of your surrounding and after you open your eyes, you act. You get out of bed, go to the wash room, etc., preparing yourself for the work of the day.
So also in spiritual awakening, after you are aware of your spiritual surrounding and after you see what is happening spiritually around you and all over the world, you act. You prepare for the spiritual work ahead of you. You do not sink into hopeless resignation, thinking you can do nothing because of the enormity of the spiritual forces around you. You act because you are convinced that the Spirit in you is mightier than the thousands of problems around you.
You act but you do not do so rashly. You do not go into battle unprepared. So also in spiritual warfare you put on the shield and weapons of a spiritual nature, completely prepared to vanquish the enemies.
Are you struggling with spirit power to make this world a better place for you to live in, even just in your corner of the world? If you say, Yes, then you are acting and you are spiritually awake.
The three ways to know whether you’ve had a spiritual awakening is by 1) being aware of the spiritual realities around you; 2) opening your spiritual eyes to the events of spiritual forces around you; 3) acting spiritually in your corner of the world to make it a better place to live in. If this has happened to you, you know that you are spiritually awake and you can now help others to wake up spiritually.
There are millions of spiritual Rip Van Winkles around you who have been spiritually sleeping for years, for decades even. It is your task as an awakened spiritual person to help them wake up spiritually.
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Here are my other blogs which may be of help to you:
http://bit.ly/spiritdev for your spiritual growth
http://bit.ly/alterhealthcare for your health
http://bit.ly/novotrends for learning about the new trends around us
http://bit.ly/bepaidonline for earning some income from the Internet
Here are your links to download the e-books for FREE. To download a copy of A NEW CHRIST by Wallace D. Wattles click this website http://bit.ly/anewchrist. To download a free copy of A NEW EARTH by Eckhart Tolle click this website http://bit.ly/ebookanewearth. I hope that you enjoy reading these free e-books and profit much from them, as I have also profited greatly from them.
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