“To understand everything is to forgive everything.”

– Latin saying

Most, if not all, religions suggest forgiveness as a curative for anger, hatred and other long-held negative emotions that eventually harm our physical, mental and spiritual health. Forgiveness, therefore, is a gift of healing that we give ourselves and is not really about the “offender”.  It is not about pardoning; it is about inner healing. We cannot achieve inner peace without the practice of forgiveness

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else but you are the one who gets burned” — The Buddha

Forgiveness for those without a spiritual outlook can be viewed, alternatively, as a psychological necessity.

(http://www.apa.org/international/resources/forgiveness.pdf)

The stress that builds from little resentments towards those that create “hassles”—the irksome driver, the inefficient server, the petty bureaucrat—can lead to chronic illness that a simple dose of forgiveness can quickly cure.

“Social scientists are beginning to recognize the powerful practical and therapeutic benefits that forgiveness offers in a broken and isolated world.”

— Katheryn Rhodes Meek

Forgiveness cannot be forced. It is either the natural possession (emotion) of a developed soul or a practiced discipline (behavior). When someone has committed violence, cruelty, a crime or atrocity against us or mistreated us, or visited injustice upon us, or even a created a petty annoyance, it is natural to be not only offended by the offender, but to feel anywhere from exasperated to wounded to infuriated to crushed to annihilated, resulting in a range of feelings such as resentment, anger, fear and hatred.

It is unhealthy to repress or suppress such feelings. They can run a natural course and expire. For some people they never expire. For those who achieve forgiveness, it is an end product of a long process. This is probably normal and necessary, unless one is already an evolved human or a saint in whom forgiveness is a lifelong attitude. Forgiveness is not easy, but it can be accomplished, sometimes over the long course of time, sometimes instantaneously.

Nelson Mandela, after 27 years of imprisonment, taught forgiveness and established a philosophy and political practice of unity with those who persecuted and imprisoned him.

Resentment is like a glass of poison that a man drinks; then he sits down and waits for his enemy to die. —Nelson Mandela

Ghandi has been reported to have said “Ram-Ram” (the equivalent of “God-God” in English) at the moment that he was murdered. This was the submission of a saint to the will of the Creator, akin to Jesus on the cross uttering, “Thy will be done.”

“….the weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.” — Mahatma Ghandi

It is also possible to find many instances of individuals and groups forgiving great injustices and great injuries; for example mothers who forgive the murderers of their sons; and about six years ago when an Amish community—where forgiveness is a way of life—immediately forgave the man who murdered five of their young women and injured six others.

Having witnessed many people find the strength to forgive others, I remain astounded by how difficult it is for many to forgive themselves. I believe this is a mistaken or distorted sense of strength or righteousness (read: ‘false ego’) that says somehow I am better (or should be better) than everyone else; and, therefore, “I am not worthy of forgiveness.” This seems a backwards way of saying, “I am above forgiveness.”

There is a tremendous strength in admitting that I am faulty; that I—as a possessor of a human soul—am capable of the same annoying behaviors, mistakes, failings, weaknesses, mistreatments and even atrocities that have been committed by others. I may not choose to give the worst of these capacities safe harbor within me, but that is not to say that they are not within my potential.

This is also not to say that I am “sinful”; instead this says that I am fully human—free to make choices, prone to the inevitable mistakes and errors—that are inherent in the gift of freedom. In freedom lies the ability to do wrong, to be wrong, to have a shadow self.

Acknowledging and forgiving the shadow self unleashes its tremendous forces and makes those forces accessible for transformation and transmutation. Ironically, admitting to being weak is strong.

“We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies.” —Voltaire

True forgiveness of others can only be achieved when one forgives oneself and vice versa. This human experience is messy. We need to be kind, empathetic and compassionate to our developing selves and to others if we are ever to evolve into psychological and spiritual wholeness.

It is very easy to forgive others their mistakes; it takes more grit and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed your own. —Jessamyn West

“Love yourself—accept yourself—forgive yourself—and be good to yourself, because without you the rest of us are without a source of many wonderful things.” —Leo F. Buscaglia

As a Waldorf teacher, I was trained to “ensoul” the classroom. The environment was ever so much important as the curriculum. The colors needed to reflect the child’s age and development, the contours of the building to be carefully designed.

The following article relates the affect of structures (apparently) designed intentionally to affect the brain. “The findings indicated that at 110 Hz the patterns of activity over the prefrontal cortex abruptly shifted, resulting in a relative deactivation of the language center and a temporary shifting from left to right-sided dominance related to emotional processing and creativity.”

If you don’t think the environment you and your child experience is important. please read this:

Source: http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/march-2012/article/ancient-builders-created-monumental-structures-that-altered-sound-and-mind-say-researchers

Came across this video and it dazzles. Just had to share.

Source: Published on Apr 16, 2012 by Hofmeester http://youtu.be/RtyqS68ViWk

I filmed my daughter every week, from birth up until she turned 12 years old an then made this time lapse edit in FCP.

A photo from the Orlando conference and a video after the San Mateo conference.

Can anyone wonder why I love MNRI?

Parker tongue twister (MP4 format)

As involved as I am with bodies, it is inevitable that I stand in awe of a process that cannot be fathomed by the human mind.

By some wonderful mystery an innate intelligence, a spiritual/physical wisdom, an energy, a vital force, an organic intelligence ignites a spark—and, from a state so unlimited and expanded that it cannot be imagined—a human being (a soul) arises, joined as an individual personality to a comparatively limited physical state of being known as a body. It takes perhaps a nanosecond for this union/communion to occur. Over the time of the gestation period, the growing embryo’s given genetic potentials will be filtered through a watery uterine experience determined in part by the free will choices of the parents (the mother in particular, but certainly not limited to her alone) and in part by the seemingly arbitrary environmental events of its life. There will be constant interplay of nature and nurture, of chance and choice—the minimizing or maximizing of predetermined genetic potentialities. – (from my forthcoming book, Children at Play in ‘the Field’)

Having written the above excerpt, originally, nearly a decade ago, I was reminded of it by the following video:

If you’ve noticed that there haven’t been any posts to this blog lately, there are a few reasons for that. First, there were the holidays. Then I really didn’t feel inspired to say anything, and I’m averse to writing just to fill up space. Third, and the most significant factor, was that both my computers, the at home laptop and the travel netbook were infected by Trojans within a week of each other. I was leaving for a work trip the day after the laptop became infected, so I didn’t have time to get it fixed until a couple of days ago; and the netbook became infected with a different version of the same type of malware while I was away. This left me with two computers that I was reluctant to use for anything but the most basic functions and certainly nothing involving passwords.

So-called fake alert Trojans are rogue software that hijack your system. The malware involved in my case introduced itself as a security system and informed me, the user of the system, of all kinds of dangers and problems, promising to fix them (for a price). Warning after warning popped up and prevented me from accessing anything real or worthwhile on the computer.

Fortunately, I didn’t fall for the fake and the only thing it cost me was bringing the computers into a shop to have them professionally cleaned.

Naturally, given my nature and way of perceiving things, I found the whole situation a great metaphor for life and the challenges of having a body.  We have a built-in physical alert system (i.e. brain and nervous system) that is designed to warn us of any threats. But our system becomes compromised by “fake security alerts” that warn of us apparent dangers when there are none in reality. Myriad thoughts pop up – literally hijacking our minds and energy – repeatedly warning us that something bad might happen.

We are nagged by conscious thoughts that may start out with a question such as, “What if?” We project failure, ruin, disaster and calamity. We worry about our future, getting older, being sick; we worry about our children, our parents, our jobs, money, etc. And, it is not only the conscious thoughts that get us. Subconscious patterns of fear and dread lurk (like malicious software running in the background, beneath the visible programs), expressing themselves in dreams or disorders. Habitualized tensions tighten our bodies, rendering them inflexible and uncomfortable.

How much pain they have cost us, the evils which have never happened.  ~Thomas Jefferson

We need to clean our systems of rogue programs—of physical/mental/emotional/spiritual viruses and malware—of Trojans that present themselves in the guise of some sort of protective gift, pretending to keep us from hurt, when in reality, there is no danger present and they are only keeping us from a thriving life. Sometimes we can root out the problems of anxiety, of unwarranted worries and concerns, ourselves, through retraining our thinking, through prayer, contemplation, meditation, or a physical exercise program, such as yoga or qigong. Sometimes we need outside help in the form of spiritual or psychological counselors, self-help books, support programs or teachers. Brain Gym or MNRI are great tools to get to the “rootkit” (the programs that run below the visible mental/emotional programs—those things that live deep in the background—in the cells and tissues. Whatever it takes, it is of the utmost importance to identify conscious, subconscious and unconscious (physiological reflexes and reactions) that inhibit our growth and development. Once identified, they need to be removed from the system and replaced with a security system that truly works, one that attends to real and present dangers or problems and effectively and efficiently handles them to keep our system running at its best.

 That the birds of worry and care fly over your head, this you cannot change, but that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent.  ~Chinese Proverb

Just think of the things you could do with the time and energy currently consumed by chasing false messages. Imagine what your life could be if the fears and tensions, the patterns of inhibition, were released and you were free to experience life fully. Who would you be?!!

 There are more things, Lucilius, that frighten us than injure us, and we suffer more in imagination than in reality.  ~Seneca

 Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out. ~ Karl Augustus Menninger

Just one of the things that I love about the work I do, is that it re-educates the nervous system so that the “lies” (inaccuracies) of the body/mind are diminished or deleted entirely, and the great truths (original purpose of protective mechanisms) are retrieved and restored, to the extent possible, for any given body/mind system, freeing people to live fuller, more successful and happier lives.

Now for a little fun with phonics, as if there wasn’t already enough.

How do you spell fish?  > Answer: ghoti  (gh as in enough; o as in women; and ti as in nation).

Passing a bit of time early this Christmas morning, I was watching a squirrel in the backyard and felt inspired to poetry. Three words into the poem, my teaching experience jumped up and hijacked the poem [see poem below] because I had already encountered three spellings for the same phoneme. The poem gave way to intentionally finding the inconsistencies in English phonetics.

Because of the inconsistencies, and because, by many, phonics is considered meaningless, rote learning, there is often debate in teaching circles whether phonics should be taught at all; and, if so, why, when and how.

WHY > What is wrong with rote learning? Who hasn’t benefited from memorizing the times tables? And, despite the phonemic inconsistencies of the English language, there is a significant correlation between reading and phonemic awareness. Children who have targeted, clear instruction in phonic decoding are far more likely to read better than their untrained counterparts.

“In the largest, most comprehensive evidenced-based review ever conducted of research on how children learn reading, a Congressionally mandated independent panel has concluded that the most effective way to teach children to read is through instruction that includes a combination of methods. The panel determined that effective reading instruction includes teaching children to break apart and manipulate the sounds in words (phonemic awareness), teaching them that these sounds are represented by letters of the alphabet which can then be blended together to form words (phonics), having them practice what they’ve learned by reading aloud with guidance and feedback (guided oral reading), and applying reading comprehension strategies to guide and improve reading comprehension.”  [Source: nichd.nih.gov]

Strong evidence of the effectiveness of two programs emphasizing phonemic awareness was also reported in An Educator’s Guide to Schoolwide Reform, 1999

WHEN > Research indicates that phonics should be systematically taught to the beginning reader and continued for the next two or three years.

HOW > Phonics is taught by using a planned sequence that starts with the most common consonant sounds and adding short letter sounds, most commonly beginning with short a–as in at, mat, pat, sat, cat. Gradually, more vowel sounds, including long vowels (silent e), and vowel blends are added, as are consonant blends. Children learn to decode and then encode new words based on consonant sounds (rhyming). Later, context clues help children using their phonics skills to read unfamiliar words.

IMPORTANT > In my opinion, phonics is best taught after, and in conjunction with, a whole language approach, so that children have the basis of a rich vocabulary, adequate auditory training to hear letter and word sounds accurately, and a love and appreciation for language and story. This gives the learning of reading a deeper meaning, and a sense of joy in discovery. I would liken this to knowing music before learning individual notes. Imagine having to study notes without knowing that they make music. How boring would that be?

And now for my phonemically inconsistent poem:

Frisky squirrel scamper

On roof, through tree

And newly fallen leaf

Be seen a thief, of sudden lurch

And raucous shriek,

Who steals away the arbor space

That they, thy neighbor birds

Would have, who, hasty, flee their

Wooded perch, to take to sky

To search,

To light upon another birch.

So what’s all the fuss about touch (the tactile system)? According to Hemholtz (the famed 19th century German physician, physicist and philosopher, famous for his many contributions):

“….everything occurs on the skin.”

In Psyche, Volume 16, number 1, (Alberto Gallace, Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca and Charles Spence, Department of Experimental Psychology, Crossmodal Research Laboratory Oxford University)  Touch and the Body, the introduction says :

 “Traditionally, studies of the awareness of sensory information in humans have focused on visual awareness  ….This is rather surprising when one considers that touch, the first sense to develop in the womb in humans, might be the matrix upon which the awareness of ourselves as individuals, separated from the external world, starts to form.”

Gallace and Spence state that an estimated 18% of our body mass is composed of skin and its tactile receptors. Their schema illustrates tactile’s complicated role in human perception and movement:

From the earliest moments of conception, touch plays preeminent role. In the first few days, the embryonic cells that eventually become a full body divide into three layers:

1. endoderm (inside layer) which develops eventually into the internal organs

2 mesoderm (middle layer) that forms muscles and bones

3. ectoderm (distal layer) becoming the skin and nervous system. The nervous system and skin come from the same layer  and develop together before birth and into the first year of life.

Research has indicated that touch plays a crucial role in infant development and the formation of healthy social relationships. Tactile stimulation impacts nerve transmission, infant weight gain (especially in premies), response and performance, healthy immune response and sensory-motor integration.

The MNRI Tactile Integration program (which I teach as a member of the MNRI faculty )”… uses neuro-tactile techniques to stimulate different receptors in the skin, working to appropriately engage and integrate the tactile sensory system within the complete mind/body system. When the tactile system is integrated, the brain stem relaxes defensive reflexes and opens the entire system to an experience of safety in which emotion and behavioral regulation improves and healthy motor, communication, and cognitive development can proceed.”

I have been to two Body Worlds exhibits and one lesser-quality Chinese knockoff.  If Body Worlds comes anywhere near to me in the future, I will go again. Some of my more squeamish friends have not been as enthusiastic as I am. Body Worlds displays some 200 or more real human (and occasionally animal) bodies that have been preserved by plastination for the purpose of teaching anatomy, physiology and health. According to Body World’s Educator’s Guide, “Plastination is a process that replaces the natural fluids in the body with a type of flexible plastic. The use of plastics for preservation means that the specimens are odourless and completely dry. Plastination allows the bodies to be fixed into life-like poses, illustrating how our bodies are structured and how they function when performing everyday activities.” The bodies are posed to accentuate various anatomical features. All are skinless.

The one pose that has stayed in my mind in vivid detail is the one of a man carrying his own skin  (on page 9 of the link). [WARNING: Images of Body Worlds are graphic and may offend some people.] It would be a terrible pun (but that has never stopped me) to say that particular exhibit really got under my skin.

We could not live without our largest organ, the skin. Look down at the skin on your arms and hands. Count for 60 seconds. Did you see the shedding of approximately 30 to 40 thousand skin cells?

Like the other organs of the body, the skin is composed of tissues of various thicknesses and the tissues are composed of different kinds of cells. The visible layer of the skin–the epidermis–serves as a barrier without which our vulnerable  inner tissues would be  exposed to endless dangers. Because the outer skin layer takes a constant beating it is always being replaced. New skin is continually made in the bottom layer of the epidermis to replace the top layer. Additionally, the epidermis has pores to release toxins, shafts that contain hairs, and holds melanin creating the skin pigmentation necessary to shield against UV light produced by the sun. Between the first layer (epidermis) and third layer (hypodermis) that insulates us with its collagen and fatty deposits lies the very important and active middle area (dermis).  It is the dermis where the blood vessels, lymph channels, the sensory receptors and nerve fibers are located. The cells of the epidermis receive their nourishment and waste disposal services from the underlying dermis. Tiny blood vessels (capillaries) carry nutrients to the skin. Any bacteria that has succeeded in passing through the epidermis must be captured and handled by the dermis.

Within the dermis tactile (somatosensory) receptors include:

• Free Nerve Endings that lie at the uppermost level of the dermis (occasionally reaching ever-so-slightly into the epidermis) and convey pain and temperature.
  
• Merkel cells, located on the fingertips at the junction of the dermis and the epidermis, having texture sensitivity and responding to slow vibrations and steady pressure.  (Though their function is still not well understood, they are thought to have a neurosensory and  multifunctional capacity in that they communicate with neurons).
  
• Ruffini’s corpuscle, a heat-gain sensitive tactile receptor present in large numbers in the dermis of the hairy regions; reacting especially to firm continuous pressure and high vibration.
• Bulb of Krause, a heat-loss sensitive tactile receptor.
• Meissner’s corpuscle, a tactile receptor located primarily at the level of the superficial dermis (just below the epidermis) of the hands, feet, lips and genital organs, sensitive to light touching and slow vibrations such as fluttering and stroking.
• Vater-Pacinian corpuscle, a deep pressure and high vibration sensitive receptor located deep in the dermis and even the hypodermis (and other visceral organs).

Uploaded to YouTube.com by photoprotection on Jun 8, 2010