Today, we need to plant some “seeds of change.” Change for the better! Let’s expand the message from the teaching tale, “Jack and the Beanstalk” to help you and your child consider how Jack allowed magic to permeate his life with his use of ingenuity to prosper. We need to prosper, in the sense of doing well and flourishing, growing strong in our health- mind, body, and spirit.

In so many ways, intention is about creating magic. Intention is the energy of manifestation. We all have the potential to use our inner vision to see a world we want to live into! Creating magic by “holding an intention of what we want” is empowering. Ask, “what do I consciously want to create?” The choices we make will determine the quality of life on our planet. Now is the time to decide. Let’s create a new world rather than be diminished by fear.

Mindful seed planting builds self-esteem, creativity and generosity. Furthermore, selecting seeds for growing herbs that calm you is an additional measure of body/mind wisdom. For example, chamomile and lemon balm make soothing teas, perfect to drink in the late afternoon or right before bed.

Let’s show kids that our minds are like gardens. We can grow either thorny weeds by holding negative, fearful thoughts or we can grow beautiful, tender flowers by holding positive, kind and courageous thoughts. When we focus on ways to motivate our child to live fulfilling lives, we build their confidence, guided by an inner moral compass, an inner impulse to choose wisely.

But what does “choose wisely” really mean? It means you’ve taught your child about the interconnectedness of all life. That everything is energy and we all affect each other. No man is an island. In fact, we affect the earth and water. And the earth and water affect us, too.

We can be positive contributors to our world when we use the wisdom tools we’ve been practicing. Everything is energy. The use of your own energy through your thoughts and feelings (intentions)- will strengthen you. Being peaceful in your consciousness,transmits peace to your child.

We must model for our children the ways to hold our emotions contain our thoughts and generate good vibrations. This is the way of an educated heart.

Many teens and pre-teens are asking for help to cope with feelings of frustration, anger, fear and sadness during this pandemic with the order to shelter in place.

Our youth are stressed- some believe they won’t have a future to live into; some are unable to cope with their stress, while most struggle with an inability to manage their emotions and display behaviors such as irritability, impulsive outbursts, defiance and withdrawal. Disconnection from emotions may also be exhibited in physical symptoms such as headaches, changes in eating and sleeping patterns and lowered immune system. These conditions are distressing to our teens but also, parents.

Scientific findings in the mind/body studies assure us, we all have a built-in mechanism for regaining calm and balance when we learn life skills to tap the body’s wisdom.

At this time, it seems the most common reaction to stress is to ignore the warning signs of overload, missing the opportunity to restore well-being using natural methods.

Furthermore, parents, themselves, must find within their own apparatus the spontaneous ability to parent with power, calm themselves, rather than rushing to get their kids on prescription drugs thinking this will help. Other teens are smoking marijuana to decompress.

What’s happening to our kids? Our culture is promoting numbing out. I believe many teens have already been struggling with their life experiences and the trance of unworthiness even before this pandemic became a global phenomenon. Missing is the skillful management and establishment of inner strength, security and confidence.

Now, more than ever, if you learn how to face uncertainty, you’ll find a valuable part of yourself in the process.

Our mind/body connection is an innate asset for building resilience because given the proper conditions, we have the capacity to cope on four levels: physical, mental. emotional and spiritual. In my doctoral studies of cross-cultural healing practices, the discovery of the power within, convinced me to develop strategies designed to help young people help themselves. The first step, requires we understand that looking outside of ourselves for solutions to anxiety is not as effective as our inner stress-proofing system. Once you learn these skills, you’ll be able to manage any kind of discomfort confronting you in your life.

The four-fold way to find interior stability during times of uncertainty:

1. Mental Level: Wisdom of the Mind

2. Emotional Level: Wisdom of the Heart

3. Physical Level: Wisdom of the Body

4. Spiritual Level: Wisdom of the Soul

We are all going through an extraordinary time right now. It is a time of the old falling away and the new has not yet come into being. Allow me to offer you a perspective you may not have considered.

These days we may have to dive deep to find our peace.

Did you know in the wild, this beautiful nautilus usually
lives in the ocean of the tropical Indo-Pacific and will move to deeper depths such as 600-2,000 feet deep to avoid chaos?

Here’s a way to practice being peaceful…

When you realize you are energy – a living energetic being – youʼll be more likely to use your energy intentionally before you enter a room, speak a word, write a letter or begin to take action of any kind. If you donʼt believe me, run a little experiment and try this for a week. Become a “Human Sparkler!”

Kintsugi (pronounced-keen tau gee) is the Japanese art of golden repair. When growing up, I oftentimes broke a cup or plate while trying to help set the dinner table. If a mechanical thing broke apart, I’d figure out how it worked and put it back together again. In the end, although I was upset I broke something precious, my parents gave me a way to feel proud of my efforts. Many years later, I read about kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken vessels by sealing the cracks with lacquer and carefully dusting them with gold powder. The
Japanese believe the gold cracks make the pieces even more precious and valuable.

I believe the Japanese art of golden repair is a beautiful way to explain to children how to see the broken, difficult and painful parts of our lives as valuable making us stronger
and better than before. When we can adopt an attitude of acceptance. allowing things to be just the way they
are instead of hiding them or resisting, then we can grow into our magnificence with all the golden cracks radiating a new kind of beauty. Unfortunately, many kids today demonstrate little capacity for difficulty and discomfort.

When you realize you are energy – a living energetic being – youʼll be more likely to use your energy intentionally before you enter a room, speak a word, write a letter or begin to take action of any kind. If you donʼt believe me, run a little experiment and try this for a week. Become a “Human Sparkler!”

Relaxation of the mind, body and spirit is essential for everyone. Join me on an Audubon Sanctuary walk of Shinrin-Yoku: Forest Breathing on Saturday, June 27 by tapping into the earth’s energies as a powerful way to recognize the aliveness and interconnectedness of all living things, reinvigorate yourself and release stress.