Holistic education is a philosophy of education based on the premise that each person finds identity, meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community, to the natural world, and to spiritual values such as compassion and peace. Holistic education aims to call forth from people an intrinsic reverence for life and a passionate love of learning.  Wikipedia.

What if we take holistic education even further into allowing open curriculums in schools that allow each child to use and nurture their innate strengths?  Sir Kenneth Robinson, an expert on  creativity and innovation asks the questions, says schools kill creativity.  See www.Ted.com.  Rather than allowing children to find and use their gifts, we make them conform to an educational system that requires everyone to be the same, conforming, and excelling in standardized tests.

Recently a friend, who recently entered a Masters Degree program in holistic education, discussed her views with me.  her voice vibrated with passion as she discussed what she thought were opposing ideas:  the professor’s idea that change will be made through changing our internal intentions versus my friend’s premise that change will be made when the language is create a new paradigm.

After listening intently, it became clear that both ideas would work.  Embracing one without embracing the other would be like throwing the baby out with the bath water.  Change could perhaps be effected more efficiently by creating a new language that reflects a new intention.  Spiritually a core change must be reflected in the material world.  Language is part of the material world.  The conflict arose between my friend and the professor were but growing pains.

The growing pains of conflict are but the labor pains attendant to every birth.  The new thought leaders in education and even the educators of the old paradigm are but midwives birthing a new system of education.

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Language is the means of getting an idea from my brain into yours without surgery.  ~Mark Amidon

There have been a number of weddings and receptions at our private retreat in Ohio.  Some have been for family and others have been for friends.  There have been small weddings and large weddings, not to mention other weddings that we have been involved with in the past.  In all my experience with weddings, one important thing stands out:

The more time there is to plan, the larger and more stressful the wedding becomes.

Long engagements with no wedding date are not the same thing as long engagements that allow for 12 months to plan for the wedding.  For wedding planning purposes, the less time there is to plan the smoother things will go.  And less time usually means less money.

In 12 months' time, a wedding expands exponentially from a location, simple reception, flowers, music, dress, tux (or not) and a few guests into a monster that includes a four piece quartet, hand-made origami cranes for each of the 200 guests, flowers both in the chapel, for the bride, for the bride's mother, the groom's mother, grandmothers, and Aunt Harriet's second cousin, Sally!  In 6 months' time the guest list is shortened, invitations are simpler, favors are skipped, flowers are cut back and the whole planning process becomes much simpler.

The simplest plan of all is to use an all inclusive wedding service that does all the work for you or elope to Las Vegas.  Only invite the people who are important to you; the people who will share your life, not just your wedding day.

A few moments of positive daily affirmations will not work when the core message we  send out into the Universe is filled with negativity and contradiction.  The deep inner changes needed to create the life we desire don't happen as a result of carefully applying make-up.  They must come from a place deeper within us.

Joe Nunziata in his book Spiritual Selling begins addressing the blocks we have to abundance and prosperity at a deeper level.  Joe correlates chakra healing with creating the life you want.  Louise Hay in her book, You Can Heal Your Life, gives wonderful suggestions about how to uncover and heal the old thought patterns that block your success.

In my experience, the message of attraction that we send out into the Universe comes from a place so deep within that we may be totally unaware of it.  Most, if not all, of my beliefs came from my adopted mother.  She was born in 1911.  She lived through the depression and lived with depression all of her life from unresolved issues related to being raised by an alcoholic father.  Her beliefs about money were passed on to me at a very young age and became embedded in my subconscious.

What did I learn about money as a child:

• It's easier for a camel to enter the eye of the needle than a rich man to get into heaven.  (Rich people don't get into heaven).
• Rich people are fake.
• The pursuit of money is a sin.
• Money doesn't grow on trees.
• We're poor but good.
• Poverty equals humility.

It wasn't until I was well into my forties that those beliefs radically changed!

By my early forties, I had been introduced to Louise Hay and the Law of Attraction.  Still my financial situation wasn't changing.  I had lived all my life struggling financially.  Every time I accumulated a little money, it would disappear as fast as it came.  When I was single mom raising three children on a shoe-string budget, I received $25.00 in the mail from an anonymous friend.  That very same day, I received notice that my checking account was overdrawn and it took exactly $25.00 to correct the error.  Why?  Because I didn't believe I deserved it.  Money always scared me so badly that I could never receive it!

The radical change came years later after I had been searching spiritually for a number of years and was attending a group of like-minded people on a regular basis.  At every meeting an older member named Jake would lower his voice and softly make a comment reflecting wisdom and spirituality.  After one particular meeting of this group, a young man commented that Jake was such a humble person.  Jake lived in a simple apartment on an alley.  He made a living in a dry cleaning store, making a low salary.

I knew Jake on a more personal level than the young man.  I knew that Jake's financial situation was a consequence of his past.  I had witnessed Jake's humble behavior evaporate when he verbally attacked other people.  At that moment my core belief changed:  poverty did not equal humility!

As a result of this radical change in my core belief system, my financial situation changed.  Within three months I was recruited for a position that increased my income by thirty percent.  For the first time in my life, I had enough money to not only pay my bills but to have cable TV, a cell phone, and buy new couch.  But it wasn't the material benefits that were my true prosperity.  It was freedom from the fear.

Since then I have worked with someone who had a great deal of wealth.  Karen had a great job that paid well.  Even with the recession, she retained a large part of her retirement.  Her spouse, children, grandchildren and friends adored her.  She lived in the home of her dreams.  Even so Karen was plagued by worry and fear of not having enough money.  In spite of watching The Secret, doing affirmations, using Emotional Freedom Technique, and a variety of other methods, Karen became deeply depressed.  The facts of her situation were hidden by her fear of the future.   She could not allow all that she wanted into her life.  She had a broken receiver.

There is a solution.

You can unearth the core beliefs that keep you from attracting prosperity in all areas of your life.  The first place to start is taking a look at what you learned from your family.

• What cliche's about money, work, happiness did you absorb from your parents?
• What is your default, zero or thousands, even millions?
• Do you struggle because of a lack of self worth?
• What is the theme of the running commentary in your mind on a daily basis:  not enough or plenty for everyone?
• Where do you physically feel financial fear?  In your gut?  In your head?  On the tops of your shoulders?

Once your core beliefs about money and prosperity are unearthed, you can begin to release them.  Releasing these beliefs means being willing to change and doing the work by letting go of the belief at a cellular level through body/mind therapy and energy psychology, practicing gratitude consistently, saying affirmations persistently, and surrounding yourself with loving support of like-minded people.

Photo courtesy of PenguinCakes, Creative Commons License

Have you ever tried to push an idea or action on someone and had them push back?  So you pushed harder.  She pushes back.  And the pushing continues until a full-blown conflict ensues?  The harder you push, the harder the push-back.

Have you ever felt pain or heartache because you saw someone drowning in the quicksand of one of life's problems, threw her a rope  and she threw it back in your face?  Confused and hurt, you became consumed with worry and anxiety by trying to help someone who doesn't want help.  Not only does she not want help, she doesn't see any danger.  At times like these, it's time stop pushing and start leading.

You cannot save someone who is drowning in quicksand by jumping in yourself.  That action just causes two people to drown.  You could stand on safe ground and throw a rope for the drowning person to grab and pull herself to safety.  But what if she doesn't know she's in danger?  The rope will be thrown back into your face, leaving you with feelings of pain and resentment.

In my experience, the best action to take is to stay on firm ground, standing in the light and wait for the other person to ask for help.  Trying to push solutions only makes YOU a part of the problem.  It may give you a temporary feeling of self-righteousness but it rarely helps the other person.

Stop pushing solutions and start leading by the clarity of your example.  Remaining strong and staying in the shining light of spiritual well-being, peace and authentic happiness is the most powerful action you can take.

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Even in your rightness about a subject, when you try to push your rightness toward another who disagrees, no matter how right you are, it causes more pushing against. In other words, it isn't until you stop pushing that any real allowing of what you want can take place.

--- Abraham

This morning it was time to pay some bills - not a lot of bills, just a few.  The money is in the account but I still found myself dreading writing those checks.  I managed to procrastinate for awhile by checking my email, writing a letter and generally dancing around the whole bill paying thing.

Finally, I made myself do it.  The first check I wrote was to the dry cleaners.  After the envelope was sealed and addressed, I turned it over and wrote a big 'THANK YOU!' on the back of it.  It made me smile so I did it for every bill I paid.

For today, that simple act changed my whole attitude about paying bills!

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"The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money."  ~Author Unknown