"Rather than trauma being something that has happened to the child, it mistakenly becomes embedded in the child's identity. The child is then seen as a set of symptoms and behaviors that need to be controlled and managed rather than a person who is an asset to be loved, cherished, and nurtured."
A person is not their diagnosis.
A simplistic comparison -
In class this week we discussed the ideas of transactional living and transformational living. This built upon a previous lesson idea that compared the paradigms of love and fear: living from the lens of love considers what is possible; living from the lens of fear considers what isn't possible. These same ideas could be considered as educational paradigms: Transactional education v. Transformational education.
A simplistic comparison -
Transaction (give and take):A person holds the door open for you and instinctively we say: 'thank you.'
Transformation (a space deeper than the exchange):
You leave the coffee shop and it's cold outside. You realize you don't have your car keys. A person walks out behind you and exclaims: Excuse me! Did you leave your keys? (as they are holding the keys out toward you). And you say: 'Thank you!'
In the transaction we respond in a mechanistic sort of way. In the transformation there is a deeper, more organic recognition; an integrated feeling of gratitude.
Recognizing this difference can open us up to an awareness of reacting to life (cause and effect) and reflecting to life (noticing the pause between cause and effect). Is there a difference between strategic living and living from or as a state of being? Does fear based living lend itself to strategic living? As opposed to love based living which vibrates from a deeper state of being. Jeddah Mali describes this feeling of love as the essence of expansion, light, and harmony.
Working memory is a term used to describe one of many learning attributes. One definition for working memory: the mental scratchpad our brain uses to keep information for several seconds so it can be accessed and manipulated to solve problems, make decisions, and send to long term storage. A poor working memory leads to increased reactivity. Stress affects working memory. ADHD and PTSD affect working memory.
Perhaps using the term 'working memory' is a fancy way of describing or defining this space between cause and effect. When we allow time for stillness and align with mind, body, and spirit we open ourselves up to this feeling of expansiveness that lets us function in the ebb and flow of life. The noticing of this space and this feeling of expansiveness could be considered awareness of 'attention'. So maybe a deficit of attention is contributed to a lack of awareness of this space.
If attention and working memory are the cornerstones to learning, is it wise to practice stillness in schools to open our students up to align with this space? When we approach education from the lens of love we open ourselves up to a deeper trust in the capacity of a human being. As parents and educators, the more we practice 'Self' care (by taking the time for stillness in our own lives) the more we align with our own space; and love becomes a state of being, and exchanges become transforming.
"Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care of itself. You do not tidy up a dark room. You open the windows first. Letting in the light makes everything easy. So, let us wait with improving others until we see ourselves as we are and have changed. There is no need to turn round and round in endless questioning; find yourself and everything will fall into its proper place."
-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Transformation (a space deeper than the exchange):
You leave the coffee shop and it's cold outside. You realize you don't have your car keys. A person walks out behind you and exclaims: Excuse me! Did you leave your keys? (as they are holding the keys out toward you). And you say: 'Thank you!'
In the transaction we respond in a mechanistic sort of way. In the transformation there is a deeper, more organic recognition; an integrated feeling of gratitude.
Recognizing this difference can open us up to an awareness of reacting to life (cause and effect) and reflecting to life (noticing the pause between cause and effect). Is there a difference between strategic living and living from or as a state of being? Does fear based living lend itself to strategic living? As opposed to love based living which vibrates from a deeper state of being. Jeddah Mali describes this feeling of love as the essence of expansion, light, and harmony.
Working memory is a term used to describe one of many learning attributes. One definition for working memory: the mental scratchpad our brain uses to keep information for several seconds so it can be accessed and manipulated to solve problems, make decisions, and send to long term storage. A poor working memory leads to increased reactivity. Stress affects working memory. ADHD and PTSD affect working memory.
Perhaps using the term 'working memory' is a fancy way of describing or defining this space between cause and effect. When we allow time for stillness and align with mind, body, and spirit we open ourselves up to this feeling of expansiveness that lets us function in the ebb and flow of life. The noticing of this space and this feeling of expansiveness could be considered awareness of 'attention'. So maybe a deficit of attention is contributed to a lack of awareness of this space.
If attention and working memory are the cornerstones to learning, is it wise to practice stillness in schools to open our students up to align with this space? When we approach education from the lens of love we open ourselves up to a deeper trust in the capacity of a human being. As parents and educators, the more we practice 'Self' care (by taking the time for stillness in our own lives) the more we align with our own space; and love becomes a state of being, and exchanges become transforming.
"Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care of itself. You do not tidy up a dark room. You open the windows first. Letting in the light makes everything easy. So, let us wait with improving others until we see ourselves as we are and have changed. There is no need to turn round and round in endless questioning; find yourself and everything will fall into its proper place."
-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Check out this short clip on Purpose with words by Jim Carrey that my brother Dan sent me:
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