Fear, Love, and Who We Are
It almost sounds silly to start an advocacy that would initiate a new first level element of childhood education on what it actually means to be human. Yet, when you stop and think about it, children are being instructed on the nature of the physical world in which they exist, but they are not receiving early insights into the nature and potential of their beingness.
Children receive more sex-related “education” in the form of fearful do’s and don’ts that allow the possibility of disease to overshadow the closeness, pleasure, and healing that sexual expression also represents, than they do about their natural human nature itself.
Children are taught about their ethnicity and culture. They are taught about their class and “ranking” in the social order. They are taught about their “race” in a way that supports a positional, hierarchical, stratified perception. These practices foster behaviors that keep them looking “up” or “down” at others, relative to what they think their “place” in the social order, and their abilities may happen to be.
Rarely are children encouraged to look straight ahead, not at others, but into the mirror, at self, so that they can see, appreciate, and get to know the first true friend that they can, and must rely on through all of their days. If they do not develop a healthy love of, and trust in Self, they will not develop the internal compass that is necessary to read the signposts that they will encounter in their life journey. More so, they won’t know that they are the creator of the signposts, and of the opportunities that each of their experiences portend.
Currently, children are taught who to be wary of and not to trust. Fearful situations are introduced to them, often without asking, that they are told to fear and avoid. When “something bad” happens to someone in some other part of the world, concerned parents and neighborhoods prepare for the worse even in the absence of its happening to them, believing “it could happen to us.” They do not appear to understand that by so believing, they increase the likelihood of the manifestation.
Children are not taught that we are creators of our life experiences because that is not the predominant idea that we associate with being human, yet. They are not given instruction on the reality and importance of energy and thought, how one is made up of the other, and how they permeate every “thing” that we conceive, both seen and unseen. They are not taught about the power of thought, and our ability to choose which thoughts, and hence, the reality that we want to create and experience in our lives. These ideas are not taught because they have not yet been recognized by enough people as the true nature of things. But I suspect that this too shall change.
Fundamental to a class in Human and Self Appreciation would be to convey the idea of oneness, as the natural and foundational state of humanity. We are one in the bio-spiritual componentry that makes up our being.
While copious data exists about the workings of our biological components, and much exists about the nature of energy and spirit, precious few have synthesized the role of thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and motives as causal elements and attractor fields in the formation, development, and eventual unfolding of our experiences.
We do not instruct children on how we use our unseen components of beliefs, attitudes, and faith (or doubts, skepticism, and cynicism), to “spin” our experiences in certain ways. They do not know that each has said components, and that they work the same way for all, in that being fearful or resentful, will limit and reduce their power, while being loving and grateful will expand and extend it. Of course, such truths are not taught by instruction. They are taught by experiential demonstration.
As it was before sex education (and after), children piece together their own cosmology on how the world works, not knowing that it is actually how their world will work. How someone else’s world works depends on how that individual uses and expresses their human beingness.
Generally speaking, after a period of social interaction, children often assume that they are not worthy, and what they think and do does not matter, when nothing could be further from the truth. Guess what, they get such ideas from us, to the extent that we embody them.
During the course of a lifetime we may very likely change our friends, partners, friends, residences, professions, beliefs, religions, and even countries that we pledge allegiance to. However, the tools, ways and methods that we use to create our life experiences won’t change.
Inspiration (love) or desperation (fear) will continue to be elements available to us by which to “color” our desire, which will continue to influence the thoughts that occur to us and those that do not. Thoughts will continue to precede our actions, including what we say and do. We will continue to have the power to choose, as we have always; to be loving or fearful. We will always attract that which resonates with our inner state and way of being.
We cannot take instrument measurements of the health of one’s “sense of Self.” However, it doesn’t take an Einstein to understand that most behavior that we see as destructive, that leave apathy, fear, desolation, and dis-ease in its wake, are indications of misaligned, unhealthy or discordant being. A human, who is being unhealthy in his or her thoughts, beliefs, and way of thinking, will create life experiences that reflect this inner state. If we observe another with this knowledge in place, we can determine the possible need for, and value of early “self-perceptual correction”. The remedy is simple; give love, for that is what is being called for.
Fundamental shifts of this type need not be difficult. The difficulty lies in all that has led to the unfolding of this understanding. As we start “living by being,” and as humans being our loving best, let us feel the power of a new, but familiar Presence that has always been here, and is always ready to touch the Now. Let us familiarize our children with said Presence before they suppress this Great Power by entering the great slumber that is social conformity.
Genius is natural to Who We Are, if we allow, embrace, and celebrate its expression. As children see and experience our appreciation of the simple Gift of their being, they will be more inclined to nurture it, let it grow, and share. They will be less inclined to hide it from our judgment. We will then see the many social issues, such as disparities, gaps, “ceilings” and other forms of delineating walls, disappear.
Diversity is real. However, it is realized by expressing the oneness of spirit that can only be revealed when we embrace the love that is always within, that yearns for expression through us, as us.
Curtis-
I’m just making the rounds for the first time. As you’re both literate and cogent, I thought I’d drop by and say, Hi.
I’ve figured out two things. They’re pretty important, but I’ll let you ruminate a while before deciding for yourself.
1) The moral imperative of life is to live a life that detracts not at all from the lives available to those who will follow us into this world. That is human truth.
(That shoots the hell out of the selfish Utilitarian ideal, the best for the most.)
2) No matter the problem, no matter the solution, if it’s an exclusively empirical solution applied to the real world, the resulting biproducts of the processes of empirical reason will give rise to problems tenfold that of the original problem. (Robertson’s law.)
(Yes, this is an almost total condemnation of the 1st place given to science in our truth-priorities-list.)
So. Sleep on it. If it is something you can deal with right now, my site is listed below. The book I’ve written is an expose’ on where we took a wrong turn and missed civilization by a mile or two.
Best, but don’t trash the place! Someone else is coming in here after you and I leave.
Don Robertson, The American Philosopher
Limestone, Maine
An Illustrated Philosophy Primer for Young Readers
Precious Life – Empirical Knowledge
The Grand Unifying Theory & The Theory of Time
http://www.geocities.com/donaldwrobertson/index.html
Very true, and well said!
Curtis, it’s always gratifying when you find someone who agrees with your point of view enough to express it, but it’s also a pleasure to acknowledge it. It would be unproductive for us to speculate on whether current educational methods are deliberate, or by design, but the effects are pretty clear. Becoming clear of the effects, may be enough for us to realize that we can’t continue to live with that, to the extent that we’re willing to change it.
Another excellent post.
I believe, both from personal experience and observation, that institutionalized early education as well as education in the home often consists in restriction above empowerment. Obviously I want to be careful not to over-generalize (which is awfully hard to avoid). I’m currently closing out some research into public education in the US, research which has brought me to the conclusion that what I view to be a backwards philosophy of education in the industrial world was and is being implemented through conscious design moreso than faulty doctrine or planning, if that makes sense—although it may ultimately futile to try to disconnect the causes from one another. That is, the problem you have eloquently voiced can be viewed as a byproduct of the culture from which it is begotten; but I feel it is instructive to look at just how the prevailing views on what constitutes education came to dominate in the first place.
Great post. Among my favorite statements is:
“Generally speaking, after a period of social interaction, children often assume that they are not worthy, and what they think and do does not matter, when nothing could be further from the truth. Guess what, they get such ideas from us, to the extent that we embody them.”
As always, thanks for the chance to comment.