It's All Inside You

This lovely drawing from Sketches in Stillness captures the true meaning of self-acceptance.  By being willing to look inside and explore your inner world, you honor who you truly are.   Three ways that you can inspire your children to look inside are:

(1) Ask questions that draw out your child's inner guidance.  Avoid questions with concrete or 'yes or no' responses.  If your child brings home a report card with some low grades, ask how he feels about his grades and which grades he would like to improve upon, how he would like his grades to look, how he can accomplish that the next time, and what assistance he needs from you.  

(2)  Avoid over-scheduling and schedule down/leisure time for your children.  Looking inside requires slowing down.  

(3) Use encouragement over praise.  Rather than focusing on the end result, focus on the journey.  If your child has an improved grade on his report card, say that he must be very proud of himself and let him know that you noticed the way that he achieved the improvement (by practicing daily, by getting tutoring, by reading more, etc).  Give him usable feedback.

The more your children are comfortable with their inner journey, the more their light will shine!

Let it Flow Through You

I love the messages and sweet drawings from Sketches in Stillness! This one is particularly meaningful for parents.  All of our emotions are simply energy.  If you notice your emotions - because they are insightful messengers - and allow them to run through you, you may then act based on what you value and on who you are.  This is a terrific lesson to teach your children.  Begin by being accepting of their feelings without judgment.  Often, a parent's knee-jerk reaction to their child's anger is to suppress it or to respond with equal anger in return. Instead, teach your child to identify his feelings, to let the anger flow through him, and then to behave based on what is in his best interest rather than from the big energy of his anger. The best way to teach this is to model it yourself.  That's the bad news and the good news!