Guest guest Posted July 26, 2002 Report Share Posted July 26, 2002 7/26/02 Dear Friends, Occasionally I receive feedback that seems to indicate that Ananda is being placed high atop some kind of pedestal of purity and perfection. Today, I feel very moved to address this. The truth about Ananda is that she is no more special than your child or you or me or anyone. Her beauty, innocence, and innate wisdom are actually what lie in the core of our natural selves. All of us. What is perhaps unique about her is that she has been raised with as little interference of her natural expression as possible by those around her. Because this is so utterly critical to us, we tend to lead a rather radical lifestyle; however, each of us absolutely adores how we live. It wasn't always this easy. In Ananda's early life I had put her on that same pedestal that I mentioned previously. This was probably some kind of rebellion to the way that I and many of us were brought up: not truly seen, heard, or appreciated for our natural, "uncivilized" goodness, but regarded more as something which needed to be taught, molded, or trained. Determined not to do this to my new baby, I placed her up on that pedestal and do you know what happened? By serving her every desire, I utterly wore myself out in exhaustion, became physically ill, and I was very bitter. I ended up with a child who had become dependant on my service, attention, and affection and she was showing signs of being manipulative and demanding (and she wasn't even talking yet)....all because I had ceased to recognize and honor that same original beauty and purity in myself. So, I just wanted to communicate as clearly as possible that I am not living with an angel, a saint, or a sage. I am living with a child. When there exists a mutual recognition of our inherent (and often wondrous!) nature, we have what can be called an easy, flowing and incredibly fulfilling relationship in which we learn from each other every day. Sincerely, Kheyala Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 2002 Report Share Posted July 26, 2002 Those of us who are parents already knew this, of course! Just remember, "God" makes it very easy for us to avoid our parents' mistakes -- that way we get to make our very own mistakes and thereby possibly learn something! On Fri, 26 Jul 2002 14:57:18 -0700 "Kheyala" <kheyala (AT) neteze (DOT) com> writes: 7/26/02 Dear Friends, Occasionally I receive feedback that seems to indicate that Ananda is being placed high atop some kind of pedestal of purity and perfection. Today, I feel very moved to address this. The truth about Ananda is that she is no more special than your child or you or me or anyone. Her beauty, innocence, and innate wisdom are actually what lie in the core of our natural selves. All of us. What is perhaps unique about her is that she has been raised with as little interference of her natural expression as possible by those around her. Because this is so utterly critical to us, we tend to lead a rather radical lifestyle; however, each of us absolutely adores how we live. It wasn't always this easy. In Ananda's early life I had put her on that same pedestal that I mentioned previously. This was probably some kind of rebellion to the way that I and many of us were brought up: not truly seen, heard, or appreciated for our natural, "uncivilized" goodness, but regarded more as something which needed to be taught, molded, or trained. Determined not to do this to my new baby, I placed her up on that pedestal and do you know what happened? By serving her every desire, I utterly wore myself out in exhaustion, became physically ill, and I was very bitter. I ended up with a child who had become dependant on my service, attention, and affection and she was showing signs of being manipulative and demanding (and she wasn't even talking yet)....all because I had ceased to recognize and honor that same original beauty and purity in myself. So, I just wanted to communicate as clearly as possible that I am not living with an angel, a saint, or a sage. I am living with a child. When there exists a mutual recognition of our inherent (and often wondrous!) nature, we have what can be called an easy, flowing and incredibly fulfilling relationship in which we learn from each other every day. Sincerely, Kheyala http://come.to/realizationhttp://www.atman.net/realizationhttp://www.users.uniserve.com/~samuel/brucemrg.htmhttp://www.users.uniserve.com/~samuel/brucsong.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 2002 Report Share Posted July 26, 2002 Kheyala, We lived (and are still) with our son (Emanuel) as radical as you are with Ananda (radical = from the root up) . He is 25 years and a fully functioning being, a computer programmer, hiker, nature lover, fun maker, lover and beloved..., as realized as a flower or a tree or a rock... or what we used to call a saint or a realized being. An intent face... a friendly face, handling very difficult situations as well as easy ones, knowing how to distantiate himself from them while handling them freely, not losing himself... He is direct... I never saw him "think" but "de-liberate" he always does... No pedestal... not needed when people are "well rooted and well branched out", or to say it different again "grounded" as well as "sky-ed" with a firm connecting trunk... Is he what some nowadays call an "Indigo" child... of course not! Indigo children are a concept from this society very often pointing at children with a certain "problematique"... Have you noticed that? Emanuel was never a rebel but "radical" he is, he never sacrificed himself but always has his arms wide open. There was never any risk involved in his growing up... He is exactly what he would have been if nothing would have gone astray, and ... nothing did go astray... We interfered as little as we could know, and even very well parents do interfere, but "as grass grows by itself"... so does a child. Just be as unconditional as natural life... Natural life IS CONDITIONING, but CONDITIONAL IT IS NOT. In the divine human life of divine nature, nothing is conditional upon approval or disapproval. It was actually neat yesterday in Toronto, Pope John Paul II said, and I paraphrase a bit as he spoke this in French, Adam and Even where born in Eden, a heavenly state on earth. Jesus as God Man showed that man and woman will be God again... Sure, maybe a somewhat archaic language, but not an archaic truth... Live in joyous love and truth... Sat Chit Ananda. Wim (Oh Kheyala, you will also later, so enjoy the talks with your daughter(s)... Emanuel is older of course, but pretty well every Saturday when he comes over, the amount of tea we drink in the morning cannot express the joy that flows between all of us... Oh and he likes good coffee too...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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