If you have a kid, you MUST watch this video. Especially if they're in their teens.
To Your Enlightenment Experience!
Craig
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Showing posts with label Prepared Environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prepared Environment. Show all posts
Is Masculine Initiation Really Necessary?
For millions of years men have initiated boys into manhood in their early teens.
Women have a built-in initiation - menstruation is a clear demarcation of that life transition. For men, it requires a trial, a challenge that forces a young man to face something within himself and claim that sacred masculine force within. Then he can return to his village, his tribe, his mother with a new sense of identity. He has individuated, or begun the process.
We've lost that sacred ritual in our culture... I mean, what mother do you know that would willingly let her son go off in the woods to have his tooth knocked out or his face tattooed, or go alone for a week with no food or water in the wilderness... zero.
Initiation is dangerous, and it must be for it to have the psychological impact a young man requires in order to understand the sacred masculine within. It's also crucial, and the African proverb says it best, "If we don't initiate the boys, they will burn the village down.
Today, the Mankind Project initiates men who have sought out that ritual in every which way but a healthy, mature one. Prison, armed forces, gangs, drugs, and all sorts of other rights of passage have sprung up in the shadows to accommodate this genetic need in our DNA.
But there's a problem. Frederick Douglas said it best, "It's easier to raise healthy boys than to repair broken men." So, the Boys to Men initiation experience has arisen to meet that need.
If you have a son, or are an uninitiated man who is called to the sacred masculine, these organizations offer some of the most profound, modern initiation weekend trainings on the planet. They are both international organizations and well worth the investment.
If you have any interest in either of these weekends I would be more than happy to answer any questions for you.
I was initiated in MKP at age 18. Boys to Men did not exist then, though it would have been a better experience for where I was at around that age. That's why I am so stoked that we are finally giving young men their birthright and initiating them at the appropriate age, before they spend decades seeking the experience in every place but the right one - with healthy, initiated men who can guide and mentor them to their true power.
Contact me with any questions - you'll be glad you did.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Women have a built-in initiation - menstruation is a clear demarcation of that life transition. For men, it requires a trial, a challenge that forces a young man to face something within himself and claim that sacred masculine force within. Then he can return to his village, his tribe, his mother with a new sense of identity. He has individuated, or begun the process.
We've lost that sacred ritual in our culture... I mean, what mother do you know that would willingly let her son go off in the woods to have his tooth knocked out or his face tattooed, or go alone for a week with no food or water in the wilderness... zero.
Initiation is dangerous, and it must be for it to have the psychological impact a young man requires in order to understand the sacred masculine within. It's also crucial, and the African proverb says it best, "If we don't initiate the boys, they will burn the village down.
Today, the Mankind Project initiates men who have sought out that ritual in every which way but a healthy, mature one. Prison, armed forces, gangs, drugs, and all sorts of other rights of passage have sprung up in the shadows to accommodate this genetic need in our DNA.
But there's a problem. Frederick Douglas said it best, "It's easier to raise healthy boys than to repair broken men." So, the Boys to Men initiation experience has arisen to meet that need.
If you have a son, or are an uninitiated man who is called to the sacred masculine, these organizations offer some of the most profound, modern initiation weekend trainings on the planet. They are both international organizations and well worth the investment.
If you have any interest in either of these weekends I would be more than happy to answer any questions for you.
I was initiated in MKP at age 18. Boys to Men did not exist then, though it would have been a better experience for where I was at around that age. That's why I am so stoked that we are finally giving young men their birthright and initiating them at the appropriate age, before they spend decades seeking the experience in every place but the right one - with healthy, initiated men who can guide and mentor them to their true power.
Contact me with any questions - you'll be glad you did.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
The New Puppy Downstairs Keeps Howling!!!
The guy downstairs got an adorable new puppy. Half doberman, half husky. It's howling all the time when he's not around, and I just started working from home!
Here's the thing about dogs. They are born into one social matrix that is very comfortable and familiar to them. Then they are transplanted to a completely foreign situation that they must adapt to in order to thrive as an organism.
If you've been around trained dogs, you know that the master/dog relationship enhances their lives greatly. When a dog is well-trained and it understands how to behave and receive praise from its master it is infinitely happier than a dog who is constantly given shifting expectations and intermittent punishments.
How does this relate to education and children? Well, to a certain degree, I believe raising young children is a lot like training a new puppy. The child has little if any higher reasoning and consistency is the key to all trust in the relationship.
Once we get older, however, we venture into the world. In the world, expectations and rewards are constantly shifting. It's hard to adapt ourselves to that social matrix without latching on to a sub-culture within it that is easier to navigate. Church tells us how to live. Being cool means dressing like this... Like a small harbor where our boats are safe... but that's not what boats were built for.
Listen, I don't know how to get to the point elegantly, so I'm just gonna cut to the chase.
If the world is full of shifting expectations, and it's our responsibility as parents to give our children a quality experience of life - where expectations are not shifting. Where they are safe and they know they can consistently receive love and compassion and sustenance...
How do we prepare them internally to have the fortitude to thrive out there?
Principles.
Teach Principles.
Don't teach them 2+2=4
Teach them what numbers are, how they work, what plus and equals means, drill them on it and let them go about their lives doing math. The principle of numbers, arithmetic don't change just because the world shifts its expectations. Cling fast to principles and teach your children to do the same. Chaos is all about, so be certain the light-houses of truth that you use to guide you are steady and grounded in reality. Teach your children to do the same.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Here's the thing about dogs. They are born into one social matrix that is very comfortable and familiar to them. Then they are transplanted to a completely foreign situation that they must adapt to in order to thrive as an organism.
If you've been around trained dogs, you know that the master/dog relationship enhances their lives greatly. When a dog is well-trained and it understands how to behave and receive praise from its master it is infinitely happier than a dog who is constantly given shifting expectations and intermittent punishments.
How does this relate to education and children? Well, to a certain degree, I believe raising young children is a lot like training a new puppy. The child has little if any higher reasoning and consistency is the key to all trust in the relationship.
Once we get older, however, we venture into the world. In the world, expectations and rewards are constantly shifting. It's hard to adapt ourselves to that social matrix without latching on to a sub-culture within it that is easier to navigate. Church tells us how to live. Being cool means dressing like this... Like a small harbor where our boats are safe... but that's not what boats were built for.
Listen, I don't know how to get to the point elegantly, so I'm just gonna cut to the chase.
If the world is full of shifting expectations, and it's our responsibility as parents to give our children a quality experience of life - where expectations are not shifting. Where they are safe and they know they can consistently receive love and compassion and sustenance...
How do we prepare them internally to have the fortitude to thrive out there?
Principles.
Teach Principles.
Don't teach them 2+2=4
Teach them what numbers are, how they work, what plus and equals means, drill them on it and let them go about their lives doing math. The principle of numbers, arithmetic don't change just because the world shifts its expectations. Cling fast to principles and teach your children to do the same. Chaos is all about, so be certain the light-houses of truth that you use to guide you are steady and grounded in reality. Teach your children to do the same.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
What Can You Teach with Two Rocks?
Today was a long day. I just got back from hiking in Letchworth State Park here in the Finger Lakes Region of Upstate NY. It was gorgeous.
We hiked down in the river bed, and up to the top of the waterfalls. There's even a train trestle that I refused to walk across, because I neither bungee jump for pleasure, nor did I have a bungee cable on hand to keep me from plummeting to my death. So I just stayed near terra firma.
The gorges in Upstate NY (think: Ithaca is Gorges) are some sort of shale or slate stone that chips off easily into thin, jagged fragments too sharp to skip - sharp enough to skin a hide with when freshly broken off. I selected a stone from the river bank to represent the freshly broken off masculine energy that is cutting its way through the world.
On the other hand, in the river bed, there are rocks that have broken off many many years ago, and have been washed downstream for miles. They are not nearly as jagged and many of them are worn smooth from their interactions with other rocks, and nature in general. I selected one of these rocks to represent the feminine energy that is gently softening all the other rocks around it.
These two rocks are a simple example of a natural process that occurs in a mind pre-disposed to see patterns in the world. It could have been anything.
Today, it was two rocks and the energies they represented on opposite poles of the masculine-feminine energy continuum.
Are you more jagged or smoothed over?
I know I'm mellowing with age, but I certainly still have an edge or two to smooth over.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
We hiked down in the river bed, and up to the top of the waterfalls. There's even a train trestle that I refused to walk across, because I neither bungee jump for pleasure, nor did I have a bungee cable on hand to keep me from plummeting to my death. So I just stayed near terra firma.
The gorges in Upstate NY (think: Ithaca is Gorges) are some sort of shale or slate stone that chips off easily into thin, jagged fragments too sharp to skip - sharp enough to skin a hide with when freshly broken off. I selected a stone from the river bank to represent the freshly broken off masculine energy that is cutting its way through the world.
On the other hand, in the river bed, there are rocks that have broken off many many years ago, and have been washed downstream for miles. They are not nearly as jagged and many of them are worn smooth from their interactions with other rocks, and nature in general. I selected one of these rocks to represent the feminine energy that is gently softening all the other rocks around it.
These two rocks are a simple example of a natural process that occurs in a mind pre-disposed to see patterns in the world. It could have been anything.
Today, it was two rocks and the energies they represented on opposite poles of the masculine-feminine energy continuum.
Are you more jagged or smoothed over?
I know I'm mellowing with age, but I certainly still have an edge or two to smooth over.
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
How To Get Your Child Thinking Entrepreneurially...
I think a lot of parents, especially those who had it rough growing up, tend to try to make life easier on their kids.
To a certain degree this makes sense. On the other side of the scale, what's wrong with teaching kids about the 1st Noble Truth: Life is Suffering. We can't always get what we want, and if we are conditioned as children (as we almost all are) to become attached to the outcome we desire, it's only going to set us up for frustration and failure in the end. Teaching kids that they can always get what they want - crying or otherwise - is a recipe for disaster as they grow up. Better to suffer and understand the nature of suffering by adulthood than to grow up sheltered and then be hit by reality after school.
What about teaching kids a work ethic? I mean, I know there's a lot of advice about allowance and I admit I haven't read all the research. I've been told kids should get a certain amount of money regardless of chores. The thinking goes: Kids need to learn how to spend money... or something to that effect.
I take a very different approach. To me, money has to be a reflection of what my child has done to consciously go out and obtain money. Washing the dishes, sweeping the floor... these are just part of being on the team. Corrina likes to eat, she likes a roof over her head... there's nothing wrong with chipping in a little with the mealtime chores, and making her bed. I don't get paid to feed myself and take care of my kid. Maybe people on welfare do. Maybe that's a welfare mentality - that someone should provide for me simply because I'm breathing and taking up space. Not my kid.
She used to blog every week - she would listen to something by Jim Rohn or Brian Tracy and then blog about the simple idea or Principle and translate it into kid-speak (www.markiding.com). When she felt like stopping I agreed because, as far as I know, every labor contract in America is "at will" so there's no use in forcing her to do something she doesn't want to do. It's not realistic - it's not preparing her for life in capitalist America.
(Whether the state becomes fascist in her life-time remains to be seen - so we'll prepare her for the best...)
Of course, she does not earn her allowance either. Her mom wants to waffle. She wants me to just give her the money anyway. I refuse. She may give Corrina money - and I feel that would be a mistake, but I also intuit that Corrina will start to se the contrast in philosophies and eventually make the right choice.
As for working kids too hard and not letting them play and be kids... well, for thousands and thousands of years kids grew up milking cows and tilling soil and getting eggs from the hen house before the crack of dawn. There was no Sponge-Bob, there was no Cartoon Network or Doritos or Pop-Tarts.
To me, it's red flag when parents are losing the Humanity of their children for the convenience of television and snack foods. Our bodies are wired up the same way they were for millenia before these recent products became available.
So, toss out the kiddie-crack and give your kid a broom and then when they come begging for a quarter tell them it's part of being on the team, and they'll lend a hand if they want to be fed tonight (feed them vegetables and whole foods)... then kick them outside to play in the sun and tell them not to ask for money until they come up with something over and above the basic chores they should be doing anyway. Reading a book is good - if it's a challenging book and maybe if they write a book report. Washing the car, completing some additional math or grammar equations... anything more than they are expected to do. Anything to get them thinking entrepreneurially - looking for opportunities to serve and contribute more than they are asked.
As Zig Ziglar says - there are no traffic jams on the extra mile.
As always - love to hear your feedback!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
To a certain degree this makes sense. On the other side of the scale, what's wrong with teaching kids about the 1st Noble Truth: Life is Suffering. We can't always get what we want, and if we are conditioned as children (as we almost all are) to become attached to the outcome we desire, it's only going to set us up for frustration and failure in the end. Teaching kids that they can always get what they want - crying or otherwise - is a recipe for disaster as they grow up. Better to suffer and understand the nature of suffering by adulthood than to grow up sheltered and then be hit by reality after school.
What about teaching kids a work ethic? I mean, I know there's a lot of advice about allowance and I admit I haven't read all the research. I've been told kids should get a certain amount of money regardless of chores. The thinking goes: Kids need to learn how to spend money... or something to that effect.
I take a very different approach. To me, money has to be a reflection of what my child has done to consciously go out and obtain money. Washing the dishes, sweeping the floor... these are just part of being on the team. Corrina likes to eat, she likes a roof over her head... there's nothing wrong with chipping in a little with the mealtime chores, and making her bed. I don't get paid to feed myself and take care of my kid. Maybe people on welfare do. Maybe that's a welfare mentality - that someone should provide for me simply because I'm breathing and taking up space. Not my kid.
She used to blog every week - she would listen to something by Jim Rohn or Brian Tracy and then blog about the simple idea or Principle and translate it into kid-speak (www.markiding.com). When she felt like stopping I agreed because, as far as I know, every labor contract in America is "at will" so there's no use in forcing her to do something she doesn't want to do. It's not realistic - it's not preparing her for life in capitalist America.
(Whether the state becomes fascist in her life-time remains to be seen - so we'll prepare her for the best...)
Of course, she does not earn her allowance either. Her mom wants to waffle. She wants me to just give her the money anyway. I refuse. She may give Corrina money - and I feel that would be a mistake, but I also intuit that Corrina will start to se the contrast in philosophies and eventually make the right choice.
As for working kids too hard and not letting them play and be kids... well, for thousands and thousands of years kids grew up milking cows and tilling soil and getting eggs from the hen house before the crack of dawn. There was no Sponge-Bob, there was no Cartoon Network or Doritos or Pop-Tarts.
To me, it's red flag when parents are losing the Humanity of their children for the convenience of television and snack foods. Our bodies are wired up the same way they were for millenia before these recent products became available.
So, toss out the kiddie-crack and give your kid a broom and then when they come begging for a quarter tell them it's part of being on the team, and they'll lend a hand if they want to be fed tonight (feed them vegetables and whole foods)... then kick them outside to play in the sun and tell them not to ask for money until they come up with something over and above the basic chores they should be doing anyway. Reading a book is good - if it's a challenging book and maybe if they write a book report. Washing the car, completing some additional math or grammar equations... anything more than they are expected to do. Anything to get them thinking entrepreneurially - looking for opportunities to serve and contribute more than they are asked.
As Zig Ziglar says - there are no traffic jams on the extra mile.
As always - love to hear your feedback!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Why I'm Stoked For My Young Friend!
Or "How to Cure Depression in Teenagers" This is a good read for anyone with a bitchy teenager hoggin up the couch all summer and aggravating you with their pent up teenage energy that just gets stuffed and strung out into a passive-aggressive depression.
Where do I begin...
A young man I know, recent new friend of mine, is a real sweet guy. He lives in a rural area with his mother and attends the local college. He's just starting to spread his wings - he chose to drop engineering to major in psychology. This is in response to an inner urge to understand himself, his emotional and mental states.
He meditates daily with Holosync, and he gave me the book in which Bill Harris explains the science behind meditation and how his product helps the brain meditate better. (My marketing mentor, Dave Dee, recommended I pattern Enlightened Child on this model - so I needed to read it, and here I receive a copy!)
Anyway - what I'm most excited about is my friends new job.
He is dealing with a low-grade depression which I recognize from what I experienced around his age. He's not sure of what he wants in life, he doesn't have a good support structure for his soul or his masculinity, and he is tired all the time because of it. Good recipe for a down-ward spiral.
Well, he recently started a new job. He mentioned it in reference to how it helps him get up and get ouf of bed in the morning.
Not only that, I'm fired up for him because it takes 30 days to make/break a habit and he's gonna have 3 months of daily yard and landscape work to occupy his days. Think of the benefits:
1.) He has a reason to get out of bed - that's a good first step to ending depression
2.) He is outside in the sunlight, breathing fresh air, working with his body - that'll change your neuro-chemistry
3.) He is working with his hands - he can stand back and say, "I did that - it's DONE!"
4.) He now has some cash resources and he's entered the economic marketplace - he can start considering how he wants to generate income... a perfect lead in to the Four-Hour Work-Week by Tim Ferris
5.) He can start to think about what he WANTS! I told him to think about spending $300 out of the entire summer income and put it towards something he really wants.
He had no idea what he wanted, so it has now become an opportunity to explore that. Solve that one, and he'll never be chronically depressed again.
So that's why I'm stoked for him.
If you know any teenagers - especially boys - explore initiation rites for them. Don't keep them pinned down in some "good-little-boy" mold until he's out of the house. Give him his birthright. Here are a couple places to begin your exploration. Feel free to get in touch with me using the email box on the right. I'll be happy to help in any way I can.
Why Your Teenage Son Needs a Rite of Passage - Jason Gaddis' Revolutionary Man Blog
Journeyman - Watch this movie!
Boys to Men - Find a Local Training Weekend
For Uninitiated Men - It's Time... time to clean up the residue of your boyhood and take full responsibility for your life (even the parts we hide, repress and deny)
I hope this information is helpful - and I'm super psyched for my new friend!
Go play in the sunshine ;-]
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Where do I begin...
A young man I know, recent new friend of mine, is a real sweet guy. He lives in a rural area with his mother and attends the local college. He's just starting to spread his wings - he chose to drop engineering to major in psychology. This is in response to an inner urge to understand himself, his emotional and mental states.
He meditates daily with Holosync, and he gave me the book in which Bill Harris explains the science behind meditation and how his product helps the brain meditate better. (My marketing mentor, Dave Dee, recommended I pattern Enlightened Child on this model - so I needed to read it, and here I receive a copy!)
Anyway - what I'm most excited about is my friends new job.
He is dealing with a low-grade depression which I recognize from what I experienced around his age. He's not sure of what he wants in life, he doesn't have a good support structure for his soul or his masculinity, and he is tired all the time because of it. Good recipe for a down-ward spiral.
Well, he recently started a new job. He mentioned it in reference to how it helps him get up and get ouf of bed in the morning.
Not only that, I'm fired up for him because it takes 30 days to make/break a habit and he's gonna have 3 months of daily yard and landscape work to occupy his days. Think of the benefits:
1.) He has a reason to get out of bed - that's a good first step to ending depression
2.) He is outside in the sunlight, breathing fresh air, working with his body - that'll change your neuro-chemistry
3.) He is working with his hands - he can stand back and say, "I did that - it's DONE!"
4.) He now has some cash resources and he's entered the economic marketplace - he can start considering how he wants to generate income... a perfect lead in to the Four-Hour Work-Week by Tim Ferris
5.) He can start to think about what he WANTS! I told him to think about spending $300 out of the entire summer income and put it towards something he really wants.
He had no idea what he wanted, so it has now become an opportunity to explore that. Solve that one, and he'll never be chronically depressed again.
So that's why I'm stoked for him.
If you know any teenagers - especially boys - explore initiation rites for them. Don't keep them pinned down in some "good-little-boy" mold until he's out of the house. Give him his birthright. Here are a couple places to begin your exploration. Feel free to get in touch with me using the email box on the right. I'll be happy to help in any way I can.
Why Your Teenage Son Needs a Rite of Passage - Jason Gaddis' Revolutionary Man Blog
Journeyman - Watch this movie!
Boys to Men - Find a Local Training Weekend
For Uninitiated Men - It's Time... time to clean up the residue of your boyhood and take full responsibility for your life (even the parts we hide, repress and deny)
I hope this information is helpful - and I'm super psyched for my new friend!
Go play in the sunshine ;-]
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Have You Seen the Enlightened Child Mandala?
When Corrina was born Jen's uncle gave us a family ToyBox, which I promptly turned into a canvas, adding the elements of astrology, the yin-yang and other esoteric symbols. Four years later, it looked like this:
Corrina just turned 8 and I am preparing to launch the whole "Enlightened Child Philosophy of Education" this year.
A big part of launching the philosophy is reacquainting myself with the tools and elements of the curriculum that I compiled in the original birthing of the ToyBox Mandala.
If you can't see it, the Mandala showcases esoteric representations for each number 1 through 12.
Recently, after cleaning the Yoga studio at the Zen Center, I found some old display panels that I thought to myself, "These would make a great canvas!"
To follow the saga of the Enlightened Child Mandala, check out my flickr site.
I'll post pics here from time to time as well. Or check back: flickr site.
Looking forward to hearing from you about what you're learning, or what you can teach about each aspect of the Mandala!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
Corrina just turned 8 and I am preparing to launch the whole "Enlightened Child Philosophy of Education" this year.
A big part of launching the philosophy is reacquainting myself with the tools and elements of the curriculum that I compiled in the original birthing of the ToyBox Mandala.
If you can't see it, the Mandala showcases esoteric representations for each number 1 through 12.
Recently, after cleaning the Yoga studio at the Zen Center, I found some old display panels that I thought to myself, "These would make a great canvas!"
To follow the saga of the Enlightened Child Mandala, check out my flickr site.
I'll post pics here from time to time as well. Or check back: flickr site.
Looking forward to hearing from you about what you're learning, or what you can teach about each aspect of the Mandala!
Cheers,
Craig
to see original post and all my social media links, visit: www.enlightenedchild.com
What Do Kids Need from Education in the 21st Century?
Communication.
It's no surprise that the internet is changing the lives of millions of people around the world.
Social Media sites like Twitter & Facebook (and the even faster, even funner applications they will no doubt become the great-grandparents of) connect people in organic webs by values and affinities. Marketing has taken a turn towards authenticity. Kids have great bullshit detectors, and within a decade I expect they will have torn down a great portion of the veil that shields companies from accountability in the global village.
Politics and health-care will no-doubt be affected as millions of Millenials rise up in a democratic vote with each post they make. Someone is gonna listen. Someone will meet the need. And it just might make our government a little more honest.
But what do these kids need to be empowered to stand up to the powers that be?
They need communication skills. They need to know how to get along with and influence others. They need a strong moral compass that considers the greatest good for the greatest number, and a spiritual connection to the source of truth.
They need resources and the ability to both garner and steward the resources and relationships necessary to carry out their vision.
Kids need an education that helps them become an apple tree if they are an apple seed, an oak tree if they are an acorn, a watermelon if they are a watermelon seed. And not a system of socialization that only recognizes and nurtures one type of seed.
Kids come with all the instructions already programmed inside them. It's just a matter of taking the time to ask. To give the child some orienting maps and a sense that what they want to do in their heart is a good place to start from, and to hold that passion out in front like a compass.
They need an education system that teaches them how to be free, sovereign individuals.
What do you think kids need?
Cheers,
Craig
It's no surprise that the internet is changing the lives of millions of people around the world.
Social Media sites like Twitter & Facebook (and the even faster, even funner applications they will no doubt become the great-grandparents of) connect people in organic webs by values and affinities. Marketing has taken a turn towards authenticity. Kids have great bullshit detectors, and within a decade I expect they will have torn down a great portion of the veil that shields companies from accountability in the global village.
Politics and health-care will no-doubt be affected as millions of Millenials rise up in a democratic vote with each post they make. Someone is gonna listen. Someone will meet the need. And it just might make our government a little more honest.
But what do these kids need to be empowered to stand up to the powers that be?
They need communication skills. They need to know how to get along with and influence others. They need a strong moral compass that considers the greatest good for the greatest number, and a spiritual connection to the source of truth.
They need resources and the ability to both garner and steward the resources and relationships necessary to carry out their vision.
Kids need an education that helps them become an apple tree if they are an apple seed, an oak tree if they are an acorn, a watermelon if they are a watermelon seed. And not a system of socialization that only recognizes and nurtures one type of seed.
Kids come with all the instructions already programmed inside them. It's just a matter of taking the time to ask. To give the child some orienting maps and a sense that what they want to do in their heart is a good place to start from, and to hold that passion out in front like a compass.
They need an education system that teaches them how to be free, sovereign individuals.
What do you think kids need?
Cheers,
Craig
An Open Letter to a Teenage Rockstar
then you should be a drummer in a band
that gets PAID, son
I gotta tell you kids... it's all about Marketing no matter what you do. I'm an artist at heart, and I'm only now just getting back to BEING an artist after 10 years of trying to figure out how to make a living at it.
School doesn't teach it.
Talent can't overcome it.
Until you learn how to sell yourself, you're never gonna be free. You gotta demand what you're worth, and get people to buy into you enough to pay it.
It's about self-worth. It's about doing it with class.
C
that gets PAID, son
I gotta tell you kids... it's all about Marketing no matter what you do. I'm an artist at heart, and I'm only now just getting back to BEING an artist after 10 years of trying to figure out how to make a living at it.
School doesn't teach it.
Talent can't overcome it.
Until you learn how to sell yourself, you're never gonna be free. You gotta demand what you're worth, and get people to buy into you enough to pay it.
It's about self-worth. It's about doing it with class.
C
What is Montessori Education?
Here is a great primer on Montessori for ages 3-6.
The actual Philosophy is much deeper, bordering on the mystical, but this gets you oriented with the classroom.
"Children are allowed to continue with a piece of work for as long as they desire. They choose activities that interest them and practice them until they feel a sense of Mastery. Then they move on." ~6:30
7:40 "Part of becoming Independent Learners is taking responsibility for oneself, and the classroom environment."
3:00 "As the child becomes comfortable with the basics, the materials becoming increasingly abstract and complex, helping the learner to understand first the patterns of addition, subtraction building from this foundation to the complexities of squaring and square root, cubing and cube roots."
3:40 "The materials provide a method for the students to check their own work, as well as, to visualize the problem in 3 dimensions.
What I want to study is the cutting edge human/childhood Developmental Science, Montessori and similar alternative educational philosophies, and the 12 Archetypes in the Enlightened Child book.
So I can develop materials that Leverage a child's developmental capabilities to learn Life Success Principles as enjoyably and early as possible.
The actual Philosophy is much deeper, bordering on the mystical, but this gets you oriented with the classroom.
"Children are allowed to continue with a piece of work for as long as they desire. They choose activities that interest them and practice them until they feel a sense of Mastery. Then they move on." ~6:30
7:40 "Part of becoming Independent Learners is taking responsibility for oneself, and the classroom environment."
3:00 "As the child becomes comfortable with the basics, the materials becoming increasingly abstract and complex, helping the learner to understand first the patterns of addition, subtraction building from this foundation to the complexities of squaring and square root, cubing and cube roots."
3:40 "The materials provide a method for the students to check their own work, as well as, to visualize the problem in 3 dimensions.
What I want to study is the cutting edge human/childhood Developmental Science, Montessori and similar alternative educational philosophies, and the 12 Archetypes in the Enlightened Child book.
So I can develop materials that Leverage a child's developmental capabilities to learn Life Success Principles as enjoyably and early as possible.
Are YOU Curious???
"...what the smartest and richest people in the world have done is turned off their televisions"
"...it's easy to underestimate how difficult it is for someone to become curious. For 7, 10, 15 years of school you are required to NOT be curious. Over and over and over again the Curious are punished..."
"...it's easy to underestimate how difficult it is for someone to become curious. For 7, 10, 15 years of school you are required to NOT be curious. Over and over and over again the Curious are punished..."
3 Reasons to Intern at Promark Electronics
Here's a link to the original blog page: http://internatpromark.blogspot.com/
How to make any recipe you want, for the rest of your life...
The thing about seven-year-olds is, they don't like fish, much. At least not my seven-year-old.
Before I get yammering about how many crazy dietary regimes I've endured since college, let me just say that I mostly eat fish these days, and I like it. It's protein-rich, doesn't weigh me down, and I can prepare a weeks-worth in an hour... when I was on a strict budget it kept my body fueled and I still had gas money to get to work.
Corrina hates it. She ate it for months, and even finished the bowl. She hemmed and hawed, she whined and moaned. I even got us a rotisserie chicken once, just to mix it up for her - for being such a little trooper. Because, I run my life like I'm on a ship. There's limited resources, everything serves triple-duty, or it goes over-board. By about that point, she had gotten it in her head that she's a vegetarian. Fine, then why are you still eating the crispy chicken skin? Oh - she says - I'm HALF-vegetarian.
I get it.
Efficiencies of regimentation (and a sincere belief that a father gives his child a set of clear, trustable boundaries that protect and support life) have essentially dictated my weekly schedule, including shopping and cooking. Once I worked out a diet that worked for me, I standardized on a handful of food groupings. Eventually, I refined certain recipes to the point of new-age military rations. For example:
Cold Fish Cakes
1 Bag - Frozen Salmon (skinless)
1 Bag - Frozen Tilapia
1/2 Cup - Frozen Peas
1 Cup - Rice, cooked
Oregano, Thyme, Salt
Basically I throw all the fish into a no-stick pan (even stopped using oil), cook until brown, then start hashing up the thawed filets, eventually adding the rice, peas and seasonings. I pack it into about 5 empty hummus containers and eat them throughout the week.
Did I mention Corrina hates it. Especially being a pisces... she made a flyer that says "stop ceching fish and let them have babies" after I showed her a you-tube video on over-fishing: Save Our Ocean Fish
Anyway, the other day we're at Lori's getting some Eco-Paks of whole-grain cereal - another staple she abides, though I'm sure she'd prefer Apple Jacks or Captain Crunch (hurl).
She gets snippy about the salmon "saaaaalmmmmooooooooooooonnn!!!" so I tell her to pick something out. She grabs rice pasta and we agree on a lentil-tomato package of prepared Indian food. She's stoked.
We get home and she wants to learn how to cook it. I've been teaching her how to cook things like eggs and (frozen... remember, we're on a ship) vegetables . I turn to her slowly from the fridge where I'm putting food away, and in my best Marlon Brando,
"You wanna learn how to cook? Alright, I'll teach you how to cook. I'll teach you how to cook anything you want, for the rest of your life. Would you like that?"
She nods compliantly. Mesmerized.
After a moment of letting that sink in for her, I break her trance with a flourish, dropping my tone and lowering my eyes at her with a cocky smile... "read the directions"
Before I get yammering about how many crazy dietary regimes I've endured since college, let me just say that I mostly eat fish these days, and I like it. It's protein-rich, doesn't weigh me down, and I can prepare a weeks-worth in an hour... when I was on a strict budget it kept my body fueled and I still had gas money to get to work.
Corrina hates it. She ate it for months, and even finished the bowl. She hemmed and hawed, she whined and moaned. I even got us a rotisserie chicken once, just to mix it up for her - for being such a little trooper. Because, I run my life like I'm on a ship. There's limited resources, everything serves triple-duty, or it goes over-board. By about that point, she had gotten it in her head that she's a vegetarian. Fine, then why are you still eating the crispy chicken skin? Oh - she says - I'm HALF-vegetarian.
I get it.
Efficiencies of regimentation (and a sincere belief that a father gives his child a set of clear, trustable boundaries that protect and support life) have essentially dictated my weekly schedule, including shopping and cooking. Once I worked out a diet that worked for me, I standardized on a handful of food groupings. Eventually, I refined certain recipes to the point of new-age military rations. For example:
Cold Fish Cakes
1 Bag - Frozen Salmon (skinless)
1 Bag - Frozen Tilapia
1/2 Cup - Frozen Peas
1 Cup - Rice, cooked
Oregano, Thyme, Salt
Basically I throw all the fish into a no-stick pan (even stopped using oil), cook until brown, then start hashing up the thawed filets, eventually adding the rice, peas and seasonings. I pack it into about 5 empty hummus containers and eat them throughout the week.
Did I mention Corrina hates it. Especially being a pisces... she made a flyer that says "stop ceching fish and let them have babies" after I showed her a you-tube video on over-fishing: Save Our Ocean Fish
Anyway, the other day we're at Lori's getting some Eco-Paks of whole-grain cereal - another staple she abides, though I'm sure she'd prefer Apple Jacks or Captain Crunch (hurl).
She gets snippy about the salmon "saaaaalmmmmooooooooooooonnn!!!" so I tell her to pick something out. She grabs rice pasta and we agree on a lentil-tomato package of prepared Indian food. She's stoked.
We get home and she wants to learn how to cook it. I've been teaching her how to cook things like eggs and (frozen... remember, we're on a ship) vegetables . I turn to her slowly from the fridge where I'm putting food away, and in my best Marlon Brando,
"You wanna learn how to cook? Alright, I'll teach you how to cook. I'll teach you how to cook anything you want, for the rest of your life. Would you like that?"
She nods compliantly. Mesmerized.
After a moment of letting that sink in for her, I break her trance with a flourish, dropping my tone and lowering my eyes at her with a cocky smile... "read the directions"
What are YOU gonna do in 7 years?
"Corrina, now that you're seven you have a new set of financial rights and responsibilities."
That's what I told my daughter before her birthday this year. We delineated a shift in our relationship - like no more carrying her in my arms, etc... One of the other important shifts was in her awareness of money and how it operates.
Money is an overwhelming subject. It shows up in so many forms and it's elusive in its abstractness. We have to have a grasp on the way money is used as one or more of these three forms or shapes it takes:
Money is a representation of Value when negotiating sales or evaluating a business to purchase.
Money is an organization's Fuel to reach its objectives.
Money is the Score-Card for the games you are playing in the Market. Gerber's "Quantification"
Wow! That's abstract as shit to 7 year old, let alone a 4 year old!
OMG, I have to digress and tell you this little snipit... When Corrina was 4 I was playing with her on the living room floor. Somehow we got on the topic of money and I took the opportunity to explain to her that her financial education would be shaped by these fulcrums or developmental leaps.
The First would be when she turned 7 years old. I said, "Corrina, I will pay for Everything for you until you're 7. Then, when you're seven, I'll continue to pay for your survival needs (ref: Maslow) like food, clothes, house, etc... so I'll still buy you lunch at Panera after Karate on Saturday, but you're on your own for matinees at the $2 theatre afterward. She nods. "And when you turn 14, then beyond your bedroom at home, you're on your own, kiddo."
She pauses.
She looks me in the eyes and runs to the kitchen shouting, "Mom! Guess what - dad said he'd pay for EVERYTHING 'til I turn SEVEN!!!"
And I've held to that. And she's learned a lot of great lessons.
Before she went to Milwaukee for the summer I renegotiated my agreements with Jeni so that I gave Corrina her allowance separately from what I give Jeni. Then I told Corrina she had to earn the $25/mo, and cleaning the house doesn't count. That's what we do when we're on the same team.
She had a meltdown at the Moe's burrito joint parking lot. I told her to shape up - she didn't even know what the chores were for earning her allowance. We had lunch and I explained to her:
"What motivates me to compensate you is learning. Going above and beyond "common knowledge" is an attribute that will bring you closer to what you want in life nearly 100% of the time. So I will pay you for following the principles of solid financial planning. Jim Rohn's 70/10/10/10 plan with Tithing, Saving and Investing coming off the gross. The rest I ask that you keep and accounting of how you spend it, here's how."
Now if she keeps a record at 7 I'll be shocked. But at least she's been exposed to it.
The seeds been planted. And it was planted last summer when we bought a cool Real Estate game at a garage sale. I made her keep a balance sheet and ledger for the entire game. It made it take twice as long, but she now multiplies numbers with lots of zeros behind them as easily as she does rudimentary arithmetic.
So, now that she sees how money comes and goes, we can start exploring how planning helps utilize the stream of money to get us closer to what we want in life. It's a good journey. I'm struggling with aspects of it even today - and my father is a CPA since outta college. Never once sat me down and walked me through how to keep a check book. I'm a little more proactive than that.
My aim is for Corrina to be 100% financially self sufficient by the time she can drive. So that she can tour the world and provide herself the optimal educational experience by visiting and participating in the content of the curriculum. Like how my parents took us to Boston when I was in 5th grade. I dumped tea into the harbor, saw Plymouth Rock, etc... and the timing coincided with my 5th grade text book. I would love Corrina to be able to go to Europe and visit these sites while she's learning about them.
Hell, I'd love to organize a Curriculum that patched together modules of student vacations...
Sign Me Up!
C
That's what I told my daughter before her birthday this year. We delineated a shift in our relationship - like no more carrying her in my arms, etc... One of the other important shifts was in her awareness of money and how it operates.
Money is an overwhelming subject. It shows up in so many forms and it's elusive in its abstractness. We have to have a grasp on the way money is used as one or more of these three forms or shapes it takes:
Money is a representation of Value when negotiating sales or evaluating a business to purchase.
Money is an organization's Fuel to reach its objectives.
Money is the Score-Card for the games you are playing in the Market. Gerber's "Quantification"
Wow! That's abstract as shit to 7 year old, let alone a 4 year old!
OMG, I have to digress and tell you this little snipit... When Corrina was 4 I was playing with her on the living room floor. Somehow we got on the topic of money and I took the opportunity to explain to her that her financial education would be shaped by these fulcrums or developmental leaps.
The First would be when she turned 7 years old. I said, "Corrina, I will pay for Everything for you until you're 7. Then, when you're seven, I'll continue to pay for your survival needs (ref: Maslow) like food, clothes, house, etc... so I'll still buy you lunch at Panera after Karate on Saturday, but you're on your own for matinees at the $2 theatre afterward. She nods. "And when you turn 14, then beyond your bedroom at home, you're on your own, kiddo."
She pauses.
She looks me in the eyes and runs to the kitchen shouting, "Mom! Guess what - dad said he'd pay for EVERYTHING 'til I turn SEVEN!!!"
And I've held to that. And she's learned a lot of great lessons.
Before she went to Milwaukee for the summer I renegotiated my agreements with Jeni so that I gave Corrina her allowance separately from what I give Jeni. Then I told Corrina she had to earn the $25/mo, and cleaning the house doesn't count. That's what we do when we're on the same team.
She had a meltdown at the Moe's burrito joint parking lot. I told her to shape up - she didn't even know what the chores were for earning her allowance. We had lunch and I explained to her:
"What motivates me to compensate you is learning. Going above and beyond "common knowledge" is an attribute that will bring you closer to what you want in life nearly 100% of the time. So I will pay you for following the principles of solid financial planning. Jim Rohn's 70/10/10/10 plan with Tithing, Saving and Investing coming off the gross. The rest I ask that you keep and accounting of how you spend it, here's how."
Now if she keeps a record at 7 I'll be shocked. But at least she's been exposed to it.
The seeds been planted. And it was planted last summer when we bought a cool Real Estate game at a garage sale. I made her keep a balance sheet and ledger for the entire game. It made it take twice as long, but she now multiplies numbers with lots of zeros behind them as easily as she does rudimentary arithmetic.
So, now that she sees how money comes and goes, we can start exploring how planning helps utilize the stream of money to get us closer to what we want in life. It's a good journey. I'm struggling with aspects of it even today - and my father is a CPA since outta college. Never once sat me down and walked me through how to keep a check book. I'm a little more proactive than that.
My aim is for Corrina to be 100% financially self sufficient by the time she can drive. So that she can tour the world and provide herself the optimal educational experience by visiting and participating in the content of the curriculum. Like how my parents took us to Boston when I was in 5th grade. I dumped tea into the harbor, saw Plymouth Rock, etc... and the timing coincided with my 5th grade text book. I would love Corrina to be able to go to Europe and visit these sites while she's learning about them.
Hell, I'd love to organize a Curriculum that patched together modules of student vacations...
Sign Me Up!
C
Concept: Montessori Method - Children teach themselves
"A child's work is to create the person she will become."
Maria Montessori pioneered a method of education that, even 100 years later, is still far ahead of the times.
The backdrop for her developments was provincial Italy at the turn of the last century. Passionate and determined by nature, she became the first female doctor in Italy in 1896.
Working with the impoverished and "retarded" youth of Rome's ghettos, she realized, "that mental deficiency presented chiefly a pedagogical, rather than mainly a medical, problem." She concluded that, "children build themselves from what they find in their environment."
Although her methods were criticized for being too detached, rigorous, and even harsh for the youth, they did seem to facilitate a more genuine, natural experience. She was often heard saying, "I studied my children, and they taught me how to teach them." Montessori was the first to view education in this manner.
She pioneered other attributes of what seems to be modern education today. She suggested that teachers see themselves as social engineers, and enhanced the scientific qualities of education.
The main concepts of Montessori Method include:
1.) The Prepared Environment - Unlike a typical classroom where students are subjected to the lesson plans a teacher has prepared for the entire class, regardless of each student's aptitude or interest level, a well-prepared Montessori classroom is designed for children to learn independently, at their own pace, through exploration of the activities that are most engaging to them according to the developmental needs each day.
2.) Materials - Each stage of a child's development requires different learning experiences, each stage building on the last. To ensure each child has mastered the lessons needed for the next level, Montessori materials are designed to be inviting and engaging, isolating the concept a child is to learn. Using patterns in color, shape, size, texture, etc... these materials assist the child in discerning each conceptual building block on their own, enhancing the confidence of the child delighting in personal accomplishment every time the material is mastered. Often, a child may return to the same materials at a higher developmental level to discover that the concepts they are now absorbing were alluded to years earlier in the more basic materials.
3.) Normalization - This word might be better explained as "Naturalization" or "Flow" in today's parlance. Here's what she says about, "the most important single result of our whole work."
"Only "normalised" children, aided by their environment, show in their subsequent development those wonderful powers that we describe: spontaneous discipline, continuous and happy work, social sentiments of help and sympathy for others. . . . An interesting piece of work, freely chosen, which has the virtue of inducing concentration rather than fatigue, adds to the child's energies and mental capacities, and leads him to self-mastery. . . . One is tempted to say that the children are performing spiritual exercises, having found the path of self-perfectionment and of ascent to the inner heights of the soul." (Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind
, 1949)
A Recipe for Enlightenment?
Sounds like a strong candidate for the foundation of an educational curriculum designed to streamline and strengthen a child's development toward Enlightened states of consciousness. Since the flow state experience is always available to us, even in our pre-rational years, it is important to emphasize your child's awareness of and affinity for this experience. The deeper the visceral memory of a spiritual state of consciousness is embedded from an early age, the stronger it will attract our children to return to it as life becomes increasingly complex.
My own daughter, Corrina, attended Montessori (AMI) from the age of 2-6. Her mom, Jen, is currently in training to become a Montessori primary (age 3-6) teacher. This year the school is training an elementary teacher, so Corrina is attending the local public school for 1st grade.
Personally, I'm grateful that she has the contrasting experiences to help her appreciate and value her Montessori training. She is consistently receiving awards for "best student," "most improved reader" (she's reading at a 4th grade level and writing long stories with illustrations in her journal). Teachers at the school constantly ask us where she went to kindergarten. Next year we plan to enroll her for the 2nd and 3rd grade elementary program.
Ultimately, wherever your child attends school, studying the Montessori Method will have a great impact on your understanding of your child's developmental needs, and how to best help your child grow according to his or her true nature.
For more information, check out these resources:
Maria Montessori pioneered a method of education that, even 100 years later, is still far ahead of the times.
The backdrop for her developments was provincial Italy at the turn of the last century. Passionate and determined by nature, she became the first female doctor in Italy in 1896.
Working with the impoverished and "retarded" youth of Rome's ghettos, she realized, "that mental deficiency presented chiefly a pedagogical, rather than mainly a medical, problem." She concluded that, "children build themselves from what they find in their environment."
Although her methods were criticized for being too detached, rigorous, and even harsh for the youth, they did seem to facilitate a more genuine, natural experience. She was often heard saying, "I studied my children, and they taught me how to teach them." Montessori was the first to view education in this manner.
She pioneered other attributes of what seems to be modern education today. She suggested that teachers see themselves as social engineers, and enhanced the scientific qualities of education.
The main concepts of Montessori Method include:
1.) The Prepared Environment - Unlike a typical classroom where students are subjected to the lesson plans a teacher has prepared for the entire class, regardless of each student's aptitude or interest level, a well-prepared Montessori classroom is designed for children to learn independently, at their own pace, through exploration of the activities that are most engaging to them according to the developmental needs each day.
2.) Materials - Each stage of a child's development requires different learning experiences, each stage building on the last. To ensure each child has mastered the lessons needed for the next level, Montessori materials are designed to be inviting and engaging, isolating the concept a child is to learn. Using patterns in color, shape, size, texture, etc... these materials assist the child in discerning each conceptual building block on their own, enhancing the confidence of the child delighting in personal accomplishment every time the material is mastered. Often, a child may return to the same materials at a higher developmental level to discover that the concepts they are now absorbing were alluded to years earlier in the more basic materials.
3.) Normalization - This word might be better explained as "Naturalization" or "Flow" in today's parlance. Here's what she says about, "the most important single result of our whole work."
"Only "normalised" children, aided by their environment, show in their subsequent development those wonderful powers that we describe: spontaneous discipline, continuous and happy work, social sentiments of help and sympathy for others. . . . An interesting piece of work, freely chosen, which has the virtue of inducing concentration rather than fatigue, adds to the child's energies and mental capacities, and leads him to self-mastery. . . . One is tempted to say that the children are performing spiritual exercises, having found the path of self-perfectionment and of ascent to the inner heights of the soul." (Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind
, 1949)A Recipe for Enlightenment?
Sounds like a strong candidate for the foundation of an educational curriculum designed to streamline and strengthen a child's development toward Enlightened states of consciousness. Since the flow state experience is always available to us, even in our pre-rational years, it is important to emphasize your child's awareness of and affinity for this experience. The deeper the visceral memory of a spiritual state of consciousness is embedded from an early age, the stronger it will attract our children to return to it as life becomes increasingly complex.
My own daughter, Corrina, attended Montessori (AMI) from the age of 2-6. Her mom, Jen, is currently in training to become a Montessori primary (age 3-6) teacher. This year the school is training an elementary teacher, so Corrina is attending the local public school for 1st grade.
Personally, I'm grateful that she has the contrasting experiences to help her appreciate and value her Montessori training. She is consistently receiving awards for "best student," "most improved reader" (she's reading at a 4th grade level and writing long stories with illustrations in her journal). Teachers at the school constantly ask us where she went to kindergarten. Next year we plan to enroll her for the 2nd and 3rd grade elementary program.
Ultimately, wherever your child attends school, studying the Montessori Method will have a great impact on your understanding of your child's developmental needs, and how to best help your child grow according to his or her true nature.
For more information, check out these resources:
- http://www.maitrilearning.com/downloads.html -
- Secret of Childhood
- especially recommended for parents. A history of what and how Montessori learned about the unique nature of the child, the problems that can arise when the child's nature is not properly nurtured, and the repercussions that proper and improper nurturing of the child have on society.
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