Friday, May 11, 2012

How to Raise Spiritually Balance Kids


Having opened a yoga school 3 years ago, working day and nice with fierce passion, finally finding what feels like my dharma, up to this point anyway….a few things have been neglected. For example, romantic vacations with the hubby where we lay in the sand half naked and drinking margaritas all day. now involve me teaching yoga in tropical places,  having discussions on dharma, artha, kama, and moksa, and entertaining a group of yogis all week long.  Great stuff but can take a little of the spark away! Family vacations have also fallen to the wayside, and my 6 year old was starting to question this, reminding me, that we promised we would go back to Disney when she was 6 and her sister was 3, three years ago. She was right on schedule, and I wanted to be truthful to her, because to me, the number one rule in parenting, is to follow through with your word.  I looked up from my computer and told her to pray about it because we didn’t have enough money right now, but if she prayed and believed it would most likely work out. 
Less than a month later we have our room booked and we are driving to Disney next week. Wow, powerful manifestor, these little ones are. I want to teach her to have faith and that she is a co creator, but how do I make sure I do not cross the lines into the spiritual materialism many of us have encountered over the past decade. 
Other comments I have heard this week are “Me and God did this.”-Cool she sees herself as a co-creator!! And then… “Mom, some kids don’t know Jesus…. Or Santa Claus..”
STRIKE. There is was, the confusion that I knew would kick in at some point coming from a family of Yogi/Philosophers who are more spiritual than religious, having an evangelical Christian grandmother, and an Atheist Grandfather who was mocking me in my head since I heard the statement comparing Jesus to Santa Claus.
I went from teaching her to have faith and being a co-creator, to teaching that God is like Santa Claus, oh and by the way you will find out once day that all adults are big LIARS.  Even though my #1 parenting advice is truthfulness.  All I could in that moment, surrounded by the image of my family (in my mind) laughing, shaking their heads in disapproval of what a lousey mother I was, was to look her deep in the eyes, lump in my throat, and say,” well honey they are not really the same thing.”  Thankfully the comments stopped there, for now. 
I have since decided that all I can teach her is to be strong in her relationships. Her relationships with Faith, with God, and with the Gifts we receive. 
I paid off my car last week and received an overpayment check of .02 Cents. My husband laughed, and almost threw it away. To me it was important to make the trip to the bank and deposit that check because it represents my relationship with receiving gifts and abundance in my life.  We shouldn’t reject the gifts that come into our lives, we should go to the source of the gift with Gratitude weather it is from Santa, the Bank, or the Divine.   It always goes back to the Divine. I will continue to teach my daughters the Truth, and that is, when we are Grateful and Faithful we just may discover our strength and feel a glimpse of just how much we are Loved. As for the Santa Myth, I will deal with that later.