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Serving a community of private individuals and professionals
who have the desire to cultivate a life of clarity, compassion,
and creativity. Your feedback is encouraged. Please
contact us at seishindo@seishindo.org.
1. Starting Line:
The dreams of childhood determine the future of the world
When I was in grammar school, we had to take an extensive reading
test every year. When I was in the sixth grade, myself and
several other members of my class got the highest possible
ranking on this standardized test.
By the end of the following year, I had pretty much given
up on school because I found the methods of teaching so constrained
and rigid. It was very clear to me at the time that teaching
children how to learn, and express their unique talents, was
not what was important in the minds of the people that set
the education standards at that point in time.
One member of my sixth grade class named Roy was particularly
brilliant. He answered every single question on the three
hour exam correctly! Two years later when it was time to go
to high school Roy wanted to go to a vocational school and
major in auto mechanics. His plan was to learn about cars
from the inside out, and then go on to become an automotive
engineer. In those days in America vocational high schools
were perceived to be for the students who weren't smart enough
to go to college. His school advisors and his parents wouldn't
allow him to "ruin" his chances for success. They
forced him to go to an academic high school. About six years
after high school graduation, I was sitting around my local
bar, and in walked my brilliant friend from grammar school.
It turned out that he had not even graduated from high school,
and that he had instead done two tours of duty in Vietnam
as a Marine, and was partially disabled due to the injuries
he received there.
He and I shared more than a few drinks that night so I can't
recall the exact conversation we had. What I do recall was
my friend having a clear sense of the world running amok,
and that the road ahead for him would be fraught with further
hardships, contradictions, and mindless constraints. From
a young boy who had such beautiful and magnificent dreams,
he had become a young man with a very bleak view of what lie
ahead. The inability of the education system to recognize
and encourage his particular brand of brilliance, had led
him to give up on himself. At the age of twenty three he was
already a man with a depressive past, and no future.
Many talented people in the world share a similar fate with
Roy. Rather than creating education systems that adapt to
the special talents and needs of our students, all too often
we still tend to force our students to adapt to the constraints
of the education system. If you are able to think in the same
manner as the people who create the educational standards,
you are rewarded and deemed to be "intelligent".
If on the other hand, because of your brilliance you find
it painful to dumb yourself down and adapt, you are made to
feel that something is wrong with you, and in many instances
these days, you wind up being medicated. I feel for each and
every child that gets lost in an education system, as I myself
know this to be quite a painful experience. Beyond the personal
pain, for each and every child that gets lost in the educational
maze, the world loses many wonderful inventions, products,
services, and dreams. Still to this day, I wonder about the
many wonderful advances in automobile technology that the
world will never know because Roy badly stumbled and lost
his way in an educational system that was not able to feed
his spirit and support his dreams.
2. Musings
I have been away from Japan and working in
the United States since June 25th. One of the main themes
that has popped up during this series of work, is the learning
environments that many people grew up in during childhood.
As I speak to people and ask them what it is about their life
that really excites them, it is sad to hear that many people
have given up on their dreams just like Roy did. Girls were
told that what they wanted to do was only for boys. Boys were
told that what they wanted to do was too frivolous. Most everyone
was told to sit still, "keep your nose clean", and
everything would work out fine.
I guess that much of what we were told could have been predicted
by sociologists since so many of our parents had grown up
during the depression or during World War II. But in the process
of valuing "security" over a sense of fulfillment,
many people have become stuck in a high calorie low nourishment
life of more, more, more. When asked exactly what this "more"
is that they are chasing, everyone I spoke to wound up shaking
their head and saying that they didn't know. Almost everyone
said that they realized that they were compulsively chasing
an undefined dream, with no clear goal or ending in sight.
Now please don't get me wrong here. I am not at all saying
that people should be indulgent and do whatever they want
without considering the consequences. What I am saying is
that the world would be a better place if we took more care
in helping children to pursue their dreams. Ballerina, poet,
opera singer, jazz musician. All of these professions are
just as important as being a doctor, lawyer, or accountant.
It is not necessarily important that we actually fulfill our
dream, but it IS important that we at least have the opportunity
to try our best. As a British friend of mine said recently,
"If you have trained hard, done all of the necessary
preparations, and tried your best, there is certainly no shame
in losing the game." Take a moment and think about a
marathon runner preparing for a world championship. Mile after
grueling mile they push for more as they attempt to fulfill
their dream. If people were told that they needed to become
a marathon runner in the same way that people are told that
they need to get a high paying job, I am quite sure that the
world record for a marathon would be considerably slower than
it is today. Dreams can be a very powerful force in helping
to motivate us to become all that we are capable of. Dreams
can help us to accomplish more than we think is possible.
Our personal and collective dreams add a very necessary spark
to life. Striving for a hard to reach goal, dreaming about
a goal that seems impossible, somehow triumphing against all
odds. These are activities that enrich even those that only
read about such events. Support in following one's dream adds
to the life of each person that the dreamer somehow touches.
Diversity in careers, beliefs, and lifestyles, are important
factors in determining a healthy society.
Please help to determine the future of our world. Help support
the dreams of our children.
3. Practice: Active Dreaming
Today’s practice is one that is quite accessible to everyone,
and at times this exercise has helped to facilitate profound
experiences for people. Depending on the relationship you
have with a particular child, and the clild’s age, you
might try offering this dreaming activity to a child you know
and love.
Active
Dreaming
4. Links
http://www.louandbruce.com
Lou and Bruce Stewart are
two friends of mine. Using practical approaches to the task
of self-development, Lou and Bruce assist clients in creating
viable solutions for their personal, professional and family
environments. They teach and consult internationally, have
written many professional articles and are currently finishing
a book on their work.
Here is a description of two of their current products.
(Seishindo does not earn a commission on such referrals.)
"Journey with the Elements
CD"
Explore the principles of the Five Element system used in
the practice of Feng Shui and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Learn why ancients sages of many traditions observed nature
and its essential qualities. Included in this CD is a creative
visualization meditation that takes you on a nurturing journey
with the Five Elements. Travel along a lush green wooded
path. Float effortlessly in a calm lake. Meet a group of
inner advisors and gain clarity. May you enjoy the journey
home.
"Moving From Your Center"
CD Set
Lou and Bruce also have a 3 CD set entitled "Moving
From Your Center." The set is filled with essential
T'ai Chi/Silk Reeling exercises and was filmed outdoors
in our country setting. Each CD teaches simple yet powerful
exercises for increasing balance, flexibility and congruency.
Please visit their site to learn more.
5. Suggested Books and Music
Book: "The Legacy of Milton H. Erickson: Selected Papers"
by Stephen Gilligan
This book is a fantastic introduction to the world of hypnosis,
hypnotherapy, and the world beyond. Stephen Gilligan is a
leading practitioner of Ericksonian Hypnotherapy and you will
find his writing to be highly educational, soulful, and well
thought out.
CD: "Joshua Judges Ruth" Lyle
Lovett
Every once and a while I find an album that knocks my socks
off. This is just such an album. This CD is both souful and
rocking. Lyle Lovett seems to be to me, a country boy that
has really broken loose in a great way.
I particularly love tracks 2, 3, 4, and 12.
6. Endnote
Every week new people are signing on as subscribers. We are very
glad to meet all of you, and hope that you will find a home
here. We now have more than 3,000 subscribers and our continuing
growth depends on all of you. Please continue to pass our
newsletter along to others. Thanks so much!
7. Copyright
Unless otherwise attributed, all material for the newsletter
"Pure Heart, Simple Mind"(tm) is written and edited by
Charlie Badenhop ©. All rights reserved.
You may reprint, copy, or distribute "Pure Heart, Simple
Mind” (tm) provided you: a. Receive our written permission
(which is likely). b. Attach the above copyright notice
to our material. c. Do not sell our material to others.
d. Keep the content of our material intact without any
editing whatsoever.
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