Before you have something to give to others,
you must first give to yourself.
A kind of self-acceptance, forgiveness,
and gratitude.
Of all the creatures on the earth.
We are fortunate to be a human.
Filled with emotions, feelings
and a thinking mind.
To think of a world
and it manifest before our eyes,
is the greatest gift.
To live in this forever moment,
that extends into the future,
is the way to live that honors the sanctity of life.
No Longer a Prisoner of Thought
As I stepped outside of my thoughts, I saw them as the thoughts of my culture, my father, my mother, those who lived in my immediate vicinity.
I started to cling less and less to the persona that I called my personality. With insight, i was free to be. I could understand my life and which way I need to go.
Mindfulness Meditation and quiet contemplation moved me to the next evolutionary shift that we humans must make.
It is the one thing that will push Humanity forward from this stuck-on maintaining the status quo.
I turned around and look directly at my life and saw that I could transform myself and meet the challenge before me. It has been my mission to transform education ever since I entered the arena in 1992.
After leaving my fulltime job as an educator in 2001, I began to see the slow decline in Democracy that we see on a national level.
This loss of purpose is directly related to the decline of the educational function of schools as a vehicle to transform the life of the child.
The Awakening to the Nature of Reality.
Therefore, if we really want to observe ourselves and find out what we are, we are really beings of energy and vibration, radiating our own unique energy signature -this is fact and is what quantum physics has shown us time and time again.
Day 5
Mindfulness Journal
Mindfulness as a form of Self-Therapy
I’ve been on a quest since Junior College trying to find answers to life. As if a young women would go against the norms and question the very meaning of her being . A philosophical question was posed. What if there was no God? This went against everything I had been taught. My father, a Methodist Minister was who I admired. All we four siblings ever knew were the teachings of the Bible.
All that was about to change when at twenty-one I would have it my way. I put on the back burner everything I was taught, including the teachings of the Bible. Furthermore it never made any sense to me. This began my questioning of the rules made by the ruling class. I looked under rocks, swam across the vast ocean, stood on a cliff and jumped, knowing there was a bottom, but not knowing when I would land.
I was running on automatic pilot. As if there was a being inside of me pushing all the buttons, kicking down the door, running at high speed. From the outside I looked like junkie looking for the next fix, an addiction that would never be filled, trying to feed a hunger, not giving my life what it truly desired, feeling like there was this big question and I had to find the answers.
I would never stop hitting a brick wall. When I did, I would retrace my steps, make a slight detour and move on. Not standing still for too long. Knowing very well water become polluted if it is not flowing. I was like a sailor taking on the challenge to cross the vast ocean to get to the other side. Not knowing where I would land. The sheer excitement of the voyage was what I was after. I found that and more, such has been the essence of my life.
Always wanting to be accepted, but never did I find the refuge in the heart of the other. In the past this troubled me. I would implode and make the same choice. Knowledge is what I devoured trying to find myself. I have come to the conclusion that I had better love and accept myself. Love whom I have become, appreciate the decisions I made, glance over my shoulders and move on.
I have been a tiny spark that grew into a mighty flame, burning a pathway to happiness. A passion inside of me for answers to the meaning of my life. I am worthy I accept this as fact.
Photo by Caio Resende on Pexels.com
Winter of Discontentment
This cold, freezing temperature has me frozen solid unable to move, to distinguish what is solid and what is flowing water.
This ache in my belly; this unfamiliarity has me stuck as waves of biting cold lull me into a deep sleep, sort of like a coma that I seem unable to wake from.
The the claws of fatigue drag me into an unproductive stupor; a kind of holding place before I am swept out into the open sea.
Out into the middle of the sea, the frigid water take my strength away as wave upon wave crash onto me. I hold tight to as the hammering continue.
In a bewildered state I see familiar faces and words that I reach and try to grab a hold of which has held me to the bottom of the sea and given me a sense of inner security.
My arms start to flail as find a rhythm that will keep me afloat.
One long deep breath and I am swimming across the surface of the sea.
Days I drift until shore seems approachable.
Nearing the shoreline I see people wave; two males swim out and greet me.
I lay limp as they drape a life vest around me and pull me to shore.
On solid ground I open my eyes to the bright sunshine; to the winds brushing across my cheeks; to the smiles and laughter that greet me; to the arms that embrace me; to the love surrounding me; to the open waters that have cleansed me.
I turn and take one last look at the vast waters that I have just emerged from.
A smile crosses my lips; a copper glow emits from my skin…
My insides have been emptied into the depths of the vast sea.
The desire for power corrupts, destroys people and undermine their psychological health.
On the New Earth
Their is a new understanding of what is good.
A new understanding of knowledge,
Living well,
Happiness,
Well being,
Wisdom,
Courage,
Self-Discipline,
Justice,
How you want to live?
We have kissed the feet of Angels.
walked the dark pathway to the Heavens.
sat with the babies!
nursed the sick.
tended to those who have lost their way.
we have stood on the top of the heap!
looking down at the destruction.
saw bodies lying in the streets,
pools of blood collecting at their feet.
i sat looking deeply in a mirror reflection.
at an image that no longer resembles the heart.
a reflection dark and decaying
from a slow death.
i watch as ashes fall to the ground
nourishing the earth.
into fertile ground
that nourishes the soul.
which has taken root.
begins to push through the soil
into bright sunlight.
reaching,
she lives.
her life gives life.
her energy restores,
her community
thrives and flourishes.
her voice heals.
her presence encourages
others in the midst
of theses challenging times.
IE Teaches the Empowered Woman Course To Change Makers and women who do not ascribe to maintaining the status quo, who want to create a better world for children, students and all of Humanity.
She realizes she has lived in the shadow of her true self. She kept quiet because she did not want to rock the boat, be seen as an agitator, trouble maker or radical.
She knows her silence only reinforces more of the same. In 2017 the world begins to resemble the hell she fears most. She must do something lest she watch the world burn.
She searches for another way to be in the world. She has had glimpses of a greater self, evolving in the shadows, growing stronger in the dark, un-hampered by those who would destroy her spirit.
She believes in the power within to meet any resistance and transform it into something that will propel her forward on her path to the sea.
Her vast potential laying dormant, like a molecule of water that once aligns with the sea begins to crash and wash over anything in its’ wake.
Education As a Moral Undertaking
The position of the educator/mother as feminine leader and sovereign obliges you to act in an ethical manner. Not only do women mother and teach, but you also have the moral responsibility to sustain the continuity of human life. As mother/educator, you impose the social norms and values both through formal and informal education.
The Current Focus in Education
The emphasis on testing and learning the ABC’s has pushed to the rear more important courses that young people need to learn. Examination of facts and numbers have shaped the culture in schools. This has led to a decline in the purpose of education and of human life.
Grades and Self-Esteem
Just recently a study was conducted on the correlation between student grades and self-esteem. It was found that a student’s self-esteem is tied to the grades she or he makes. Thus, student’s self-worth becomes measured by a test. A test which oftentimes is biases towards white.
Cultural Images for Children and Society
In the role of cultural keeper, women teach young people how to behave socially in everyday life. In the past the role of mother/educator has been used by the state and women have been willing partners in maintaining the status quo. I want to challenge you to become a believer in young people. Ensuring that their interest and needs come before the demands of the state.
Personal Experience
I had the opportunity to work with a teacher in Florida. I was a Para-professional. I thought I would be a teaching partner, but instead I was a teacher assistant. Roles sometimes become blurred in the classroom.
Granted I am a seasoned teacher and could have provided valuable support to the teacher. I was not utilized as a support but used as someone who carried out the demands of the teacher.
She once told me to run a personal errand for her. I would have, but it was the attitude of this teacher that I could not bear. She once told her students, “if I tell you to walk around the table three times, no matter how ridiculous it may be, just do it.”
Schools Have Become Unsafe
In the elementary school where I taught, fighting was a normal thing. There was violence and bullying, disrespect and fights. School was an extension of the neighborhood children came from. Instead of teachers and the administration shaping the culture in school. It was students who shaped the disruptive climate in the classroom and made it impossible for them to learn.
Blind Obedience
The days of blind obedience to authority is over. The teacher isn’t always right. Just because of your position you do not have inevitable rights. The teacher must utilize moral guidance when she relates not only with students, but other adults in her classroom.
A Means of Control
Unfortunate, most teachers are on a control trip. In my twenty years in education there were few peers that I could relate to. Most teacher used teaching to an end. Which was a way to exercise personal power and to dominate the lives of children. This is the one problem I see with education that does an enormous disservice to both young people and the world.
Changing the Purpose of Educating Young People
Even though the society that we live in set the standards, women have the power to impart the lessons that are valuable for the full development of young people. In education and as your child’s first teacher you can transform learning into a process of empowerment. A style of coaching that inspires a new generation of young people who want to change the world.
A Heart to Heart Exchange
It is the art of teaching that touches the heart of young people. It is more than a mere passing along of useless facts. You can create the environment that becomes the perfect place to practice democracy. Regrettably, it is only taught, but not actually lived.
Holistic Teaching
When you teach with your whole self-young people get the best of you. Oftentimes because of the nature of teaching, most teachers are stressed. There is a tremendous demand of your time. In addition, parents want you to teach their child and give her the best. Lastly, the city and state want you to produce loyal subjects who can pass a test and not question, but only follow the orders that are given to them.
Teacher Professionalism Integrates Moral Purpose.
There are plenty of opportunities for professional development for teachers within education. Most teacher, in addition to earning a degree can have letters and citations added to their name. This does well for professionalism, but there is a need for personal development.
Personal Development is not offered in educational training. Schools and universities have steered away from the morality of teaching. Oftentimes confusing it with religion values. One’s religion is personal, but on the other hand, there are universal values that we all can ascribe to, such as honesty, integrity and compassion. These values are left out of teacher development schools. I want to propose that teachers seek out Personal Development independently of a formal education.
Personal Purpose are Fundamental to the Future of Society.
A moral purpose keeps mother/educator of children close to the needs of children and youth. A moral purpose for education is key to changing the course of the world. Currently our world is on a trajectory headed toward the edge of a cliff. We educator/mother of children must impart to young people a desire to do good and find meaning and purpose in life.
Morality is also Core to Educational Renewal
You are central to the direction the world will take for the next one hundred years. When can find meaning and purpose and disengage from the state you become an Agent of Change.
Creating a Culture that Empowers Young People
Culture is created in schools and in the home. In the way we women allow young people the freedom to be themselves. It is how we interact with children that must be changed if we want to change the world.
Oftentimes we want young people to conform which puts the woman in charge. We want control. This does not go as planned and young people rebel.
Children’s violence and disrespect reflect the decline of the purpose of education and human life. I propose that the learning environment becomes one of sharing. Both the teacher and student, parent and child learn, develop and grow. It becomes a shared partnership. Where each one has something to give and share.
