The Seven Spiritual Laws for Parents
Guiding Your Children to
Success and Fulfillment
by Deepak Chopra, M.D.
"A child's reason for being here can be put in simple, everyday terms, such as how did I make a difference today? What talent did I uncover? What came to me--a gift, a lesson, a beautiful experience--that made me feel special? What did I do to make someone else feel special?"
* * *
- To order, 'The Seven Spirtual Laws of Success for Parents.
The deepest desire in a parent's heart is to see one's child achieve success in life, yet how many realize that the most direct way to success is through spirit?
The success we want our children to achieve has to be defined in many non-material ways.
It should include the ability to love and have compassion, the capacity to feel joy and spread it to others, the security of knowing that one's life serves a purpose, and finally, a sense of connection to the creative power of the universe.
Human beings are made of body, mind, and spirit. Of these, spirit is primary, for it connects us to the source of everything, the eternal field of consciousness.
The more connected we are, the more we will enjoy the abundance of the universe, which has been organized to fulfill our wishes and desires.
The divine intention is for every human being to enjoy unlimited success. Success, therefore, is supremely natural.
The language of the Seven Spiritual Laws has to be different when spoken to a child, less abstract. Fortunately, the same laws can be phrased so that even a young child is able to carry them around in mind and heart.
First Law: Everything is possible.
Second Law: If you want to get something, give it.
Third Law: When you make a choice, you change the future.
Fourth Law: Don't say no, go with the flow.
Fifth Law: Every time you wish or want, you plant a seed.
Sixth Law: Enjoy the journey.
Seventh Law: You are here for a reason.
On the day I wrote down these simple sayings, I didn't pause to think about them much, but afterward it hit me: if I had been taught just these seven sentences as a child, my life would have been profoundly different.
I would have known something precious and practical at the same time, something that would not have faded as a childhood lesson, but would have ripened into mature spiritual understanding year by year.
A child raised with spiritual skills will be able to answer the most basic questions about how the universe works; she will understand the source of creativity both within and outside herself; she will be able to practice non-judgement, acceptance, and truth, which are the most valuable skills anyone can possess for dealing with other people; and she will be free from the crippling fear and anxiety about the meaning of life that is the secret dry rot inside the hearts of most adults, whether they can admit it or not.
The deepest nurturing you can give your child is spiritual nurturing. Every child has a spiritual life already. This is because every child is born into the field of infinite creativity and pure awareness of spirit.
Spirit must be cultivated; it must be nourished and encouraged. With spirit we are all children of the cosmos; without it, we are orphaned and set adrift.
The Seventh Law says: 'You are here for a reason.' A child's reason for being here can be put in simple, everyday terms, such as
How did I make a difference today?
What talent did I uncover?
What came to me--a gift, a lesson, a beautiful experience--that made me feel special?
What did I do to make someone else feel special?
These are simple variations on the basic question: 'What am I about?' A child who has not learned to look for meaning in simple ways will one day have to try to find a purpose in life under much more difficult circumstances.
From the day your baby is born, you are a teacher of spirit. If you create an atmosphere of trust, openness, non-judgment and acceptance, those qualities will be absorbed as the qualities of spirit.
In a perfect world, parenting would come down to one sentence: Show only love, be only love.
The frailties of our own spiritual lives comes out in the way we decide to parent.
There is no escaping this, and even when you try to be loving and gentle with your children, there are bound to be times when your own doubts will be triggered.
Being a spiritual teacher goes beyond how you behave; you are here to impart real truths about the spiritual life.
From very early in our children's lives, my wife and I found that we were instinctively following certain practices that only later jelled into principles:
* We taught our children to take spirit as a reality, to believe in an infinite source of love that held them dearly. This way our working definition of God.
* We put no pressure on them to achieve conventional success. This was our way of telling them that the universe cherished them for who they are, not what they do.
*We never felt the need to punish them, although we let our children know very honestly when we were disappointed, angry, or hurt. This was our way of teaching by reflection instead of rules.
* We always remembered that our children were gifts from the universe and let them know that we felt that way. We told them how privileged and honored we felt to help raise. We didn't own or possess them.
We didn't project our own expectations onto them. We never felt the need to compare them, for good or bad, with anyone else. This was our way of making them feel complete within themselves.
* We told them that they had gifts that could change other people's lives. We also told them that they could change and create anything they wanted in their own lives.
* Finally, we encouraged their dreams. This was our way of telling our children to trust their own desires, the royal road to the inner world.
As parents, if you really want to impart spiritual laws to your children in a practical way, you need to know whether you are being successful or not.
The easiest way to tell is to see if your children are inspired and enthusiastic. Inspiration, enthusiasm, and delight are spiritual qualities. Without them, there is no spiritual life at any way.
All these practices can be boiled down to one precept: Every child needs as much mature love as you can give.
* Excerpt from the 'Seven Spiritual Laws for Parents' by Deepak Chopra, M.D. Reprinted by permission of Harmony Books. For more information on Deepak Chopra, please call 1(800) 858-1808.
- To order, 'The Seven Spirtual Laws of Success for Parents.
from:
http://www.committment.com/dchopra.html
Guiding Your Children to
Success and Fulfillment
by Deepak Chopra, M.D.
"A child's reason for being here can be put in simple, everyday terms, such as how did I make a difference today? What talent did I uncover? What came to me--a gift, a lesson, a beautiful experience--that made me feel special? What did I do to make someone else feel special?"
* * *
- To order, 'The Seven Spirtual Laws of Success for Parents.
The deepest desire in a parent's heart is to see one's child achieve success in life, yet how many realize that the most direct way to success is through spirit?
The success we want our children to achieve has to be defined in many non-material ways.
It should include the ability to love and have compassion, the capacity to feel joy and spread it to others, the security of knowing that one's life serves a purpose, and finally, a sense of connection to the creative power of the universe.
Human beings are made of body, mind, and spirit. Of these, spirit is primary, for it connects us to the source of everything, the eternal field of consciousness.
The more connected we are, the more we will enjoy the abundance of the universe, which has been organized to fulfill our wishes and desires.
The divine intention is for every human being to enjoy unlimited success. Success, therefore, is supremely natural.
The language of the Seven Spiritual Laws has to be different when spoken to a child, less abstract. Fortunately, the same laws can be phrased so that even a young child is able to carry them around in mind and heart.
First Law: Everything is possible.
Second Law: If you want to get something, give it.
Third Law: When you make a choice, you change the future.
Fourth Law: Don't say no, go with the flow.
Fifth Law: Every time you wish or want, you plant a seed.
Sixth Law: Enjoy the journey.
Seventh Law: You are here for a reason.
On the day I wrote down these simple sayings, I didn't pause to think about them much, but afterward it hit me: if I had been taught just these seven sentences as a child, my life would have been profoundly different.
I would have known something precious and practical at the same time, something that would not have faded as a childhood lesson, but would have ripened into mature spiritual understanding year by year.
A child raised with spiritual skills will be able to answer the most basic questions about how the universe works; she will understand the source of creativity both within and outside herself; she will be able to practice non-judgement, acceptance, and truth, which are the most valuable skills anyone can possess for dealing with other people; and she will be free from the crippling fear and anxiety about the meaning of life that is the secret dry rot inside the hearts of most adults, whether they can admit it or not.
The deepest nurturing you can give your child is spiritual nurturing. Every child has a spiritual life already. This is because every child is born into the field of infinite creativity and pure awareness of spirit.
Spirit must be cultivated; it must be nourished and encouraged. With spirit we are all children of the cosmos; without it, we are orphaned and set adrift.
The Seventh Law says: 'You are here for a reason.' A child's reason for being here can be put in simple, everyday terms, such as
How did I make a difference today?
What talent did I uncover?
What came to me--a gift, a lesson, a beautiful experience--that made me feel special?
What did I do to make someone else feel special?
These are simple variations on the basic question: 'What am I about?' A child who has not learned to look for meaning in simple ways will one day have to try to find a purpose in life under much more difficult circumstances.
From the day your baby is born, you are a teacher of spirit. If you create an atmosphere of trust, openness, non-judgment and acceptance, those qualities will be absorbed as the qualities of spirit.
In a perfect world, parenting would come down to one sentence: Show only love, be only love.
The frailties of our own spiritual lives comes out in the way we decide to parent.
There is no escaping this, and even when you try to be loving and gentle with your children, there are bound to be times when your own doubts will be triggered.
Being a spiritual teacher goes beyond how you behave; you are here to impart real truths about the spiritual life.
From very early in our children's lives, my wife and I found that we were instinctively following certain practices that only later jelled into principles:
* We taught our children to take spirit as a reality, to believe in an infinite source of love that held them dearly. This way our working definition of God.
* We put no pressure on them to achieve conventional success. This was our way of telling them that the universe cherished them for who they are, not what they do.
*We never felt the need to punish them, although we let our children know very honestly when we were disappointed, angry, or hurt. This was our way of teaching by reflection instead of rules.
* We always remembered that our children were gifts from the universe and let them know that we felt that way. We told them how privileged and honored we felt to help raise. We didn't own or possess them.
We didn't project our own expectations onto them. We never felt the need to compare them, for good or bad, with anyone else. This was our way of making them feel complete within themselves.
* We told them that they had gifts that could change other people's lives. We also told them that they could change and create anything they wanted in their own lives.
* Finally, we encouraged their dreams. This was our way of telling our children to trust their own desires, the royal road to the inner world.
As parents, if you really want to impart spiritual laws to your children in a practical way, you need to know whether you are being successful or not.
The easiest way to tell is to see if your children are inspired and enthusiastic. Inspiration, enthusiasm, and delight are spiritual qualities. Without them, there is no spiritual life at any way.
All these practices can be boiled down to one precept: Every child needs as much mature love as you can give.
* Excerpt from the 'Seven Spiritual Laws for Parents' by Deepak Chopra, M.D. Reprinted by permission of Harmony Books. For more information on Deepak Chopra, please call 1(800) 858-1808.
- To order, 'The Seven Spirtual Laws of Success for Parents.
from:
http://www.committment.com/dchopra.html
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