Tag Archives: learning

Ethical Parenting: Finding Out About Love, Starting With Ethics

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What does it mean to Love our children?

 What would love do every moment and in every interaction we have with our partner, with children, with others?

How do we know what love would do?

 Have you heard of ‘The Golden Rule’? A Biblical term referred to by Jesus as, ‘treating others as you would like to be treated’. Notice it is not ‘how you are treated, or how you treat others’ but rather how you would ‘like’ to be treated. Or you could take it one step further and say ‘treat others as God treats me’. This is what I understand ethics (very basically) to be. The beauty of ethics is that it is easy and simple to see based on the above premiss: treat others as you would like to be treated, and in most situations this will give a good indication if you are engaging in a loving manner or not.

For me it is a process of discovery about how God treats me. I am needing to unravel a lot of false beliefs about God and have so far only heard the Truths about God not fully experienced them for myself. So I am beginning with ethics, treating others as I would like to be treated. You can do this with or without God.

What does it mean to parent ethically?

I feel we have a heap of double standards as adults especially with children. If we asked of ourselves what we ask or demand of our kids I can guarantee we would be outraged. We would feel controlled, belittled, interrupted, confined, isolated, shamed, unimportant, ignored, entitled, and probably a heap of other things not mentioned here that you probably felt yourself as a child.

I notice often that I treat kids differently to adults.

Grownups when I was a kid said things they didn’t mean, they lied and hid behind ‘nice’ facades which are not really that nice, sometimes downright terrifying. They said one thing and meant another, they didn’t explain, were dishonest and said they knew or would do things when they didn’t, wouldn’t or forgot, they made promises they couldn’t keep. Kids got in the way, were not as important as adults, didn’t get the same attention. They didn’t know what love was because they had been mis-informed and mis-educated about it also. Sometimes I wonder why people have kids if they don’t want to love them, but it seems there are many parents having kids for other reasons than love.

 I realise what I say could be very confrontational. I feel it is true though. I have been looking at my own reasons for having children, they were not pure and to love the children unconditionally. I am having to learn how to love and grow a sincere desire to want to love. I have had a screwed up version of love and a screwed up perception of parenting and I am going through a process of re-education. It feels uncomfortable often and I am coming to terms with the fact that I have not wanted to love. Rather I have wanted to be loved, to be cared for, to be seen as a ‘good mum’. I have wanted the children to demonstrate ‘good’ things about me because I have felt so bad inside of myself.

I feel sad about this because it means I have not allowed the children to just be themselves and love them for it. I have demands, expectations and investments in them. I want from them, rather than to give to them. I have manipulated, moulded and groomed them into what I want them to be, to fit my mould, rather than what God created them to be as they are.

At first I didn’t want to see what I had done. I was in a lot of denial (still am on certain issues and subjects). There are many ways to justify, minimise, deny what we have created and what we do as parents, but honestly we need to get real, get honest and see where we are unethical, where we are out of line in the treatment, especially of children, but also our partners and our brothers and sisters (other people) in general.

Many people think it is okay to shame, condescend to, belittle, hit, hurt, abuse, rage at, violently treat children to varying degrees or under certain circumstances. We say it is ‘for their own good’, ‘we have their best intentions in mind’, often we even say it is because we ‘love’ them. We blame children and excuse ourselves for all sorts of hurtful actions, not seeing that it is us who our children are reflecting in the first place and we are punishing them because we don’t want to be reminded and feel our own pains and hurt parts. It is us who children mirror and they highlight our lack of love.

Children learn so amazingly. They lean quickly and they learn from feelings not words. They reflect our true feelings not the ones we want everyone, including ourselves to believe are true about us (our facades – what we want to believe we are rather than what we actually are at this point in time).

We are responsible, we create so much of the pain in our children’s lives*** – especially when they are very young (as they get older they act out upon the injuries created by us and use their will either in harmony with love or out of it – often dependent on what we taught them until they learn or discover otherwise. Even so their actions come from things that we did to them in the first place, because we chose not to forgive our parents for their actions.), we create it by not allowing our own pain to flow and be released. We create it by suppressing our children, by teaching them to be what we want them to be, rather than be who they are as God created them. We teach our children that they are not okay as they are, they need to be something else – something we approve of, and they do that, or they rebel which ever will cause us to feel the most, and often instead of being humble and feeling our feelings we suppress and punish the child some more. What we need to do is to feel. To own how we feel as we feel it and to feel it responsibly, without taking it out on another soul. It is that simple. Feel and heal – without involving your kids, without involving others, just you and God, if you desire. That is how it is done.

We teach children that parental approval is love. I am saying it is not. Parental approval is nothing in comparison to love, it is a substitute and a poor substitute at that, and yet even as adults we are striving for it rather than seeing that the how we would like to be treated and what we would like to feel (love) from others is mostly not what we are receiving.

 

I feel that a massive, world wide, re-education program is needed that begins with Love – God’s version not ours. We need to re-educate ourselves with God’s Truth rather than the lies our parents and environment taught us as kids and the lies we continue to tell ourselves as grown ups, reinforcing our erroneous childhood educations, that keep us locked up as damaged children. We need to re-educate ourselves first and automatically this will educate our children about God’s Love and God’s Truth through example rather than theory.

If we really want to love we can begin with ethics, we can begin with treating our children as we would ‘like’ to be treated. We can stop controlling them and begin to love them. We can stop shouting at them and withholding approval of what they do or don’t do and be soft with them, teach them about love, self discovery, self responsibility and ethical behavior themselves.

We need to do this through our actions and behaviour not our words. Words are cheap and meaningless when they don’t match the real feelings coming out of us. Being honest, truthful and real is important for real relationships and friendships. To be ethical we are going to need to first be honest and see what we are doing, how we treat others and ourselves and be honest about how it actually feels. So-often we are conditioned to accept unloving behaviour and we come to feel it is ‘normal’ or ‘the only way’ or even the ‘right way’ I am suggesting there is another way (God’s Way of Love) and that we can start right now, with a first step being by simply practicing and treating others as we would like to be treated.

That means stop blaming others, including your children for your own personal pain. For example, stop getting angry at children and own your feelings as yours, find out why you are angry and what you are angry about. I guarantee that you you don’t enjoy people shouting at you, punishing you, condescending to you, controlling you, having double standards and telling you lies so why are we doing it to others, especially children. Children are honest with us, until they are taught otherwise, so why are we not honest with them?

I am noticing that how I was treated as a child is often how I treat children and it is only as I soften to the hurts within me that I am discovering that naturally and without effort I begin to treat our children and others more softly, acceptingly, compassionately. While I am hard and punishing with myself I am also hard and punishing with others.

I encourage you to explore your own behaviours and how you treat your children, I encourage you to be real and self reflective no matter how painful it feels and find out the truth of what you feel, feel it without harming others or yourself and your life will change if you are doing this sincerely. It is beautiful and a gift to both yourself, your children and those around you.

Give it a go, experiment, discover, explore ethics and see what you discover…

* For more information on Ethics and Morality go to the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mybby95f3vs

 ** I say ‘your’ children, though I would like to suggest that they do not belong to you at all, but are rather God’s children and your brothers and sisters. I find it helpful to think about this as I treat brothers and sisters very differently to children who I feel I ‘own’. Children are not property, though we have for many generations believed and told them they are. Children are not to be owned, enslaved, brought or sold. Rather children are a perfect gift born from desire and are the most amazing creation and perfect reflection of our soul condition, where we are at and the areas that we need to heal in love. They are a blessing and a gift and our only ‘job’ is to teach them about Love, God’s Truth and God’s Love, God Herself, and allow and enable them to discover for themselves…

***We harm children by mis-educating them about Love, Truth, God and not being truthful about so many subjects. Including not being truthful  about our own feelings and thoughts, creating addictions with children, demanding and expecting of them, inhibiting their freewill and not correcting unloving behaviours in a loving way.

Parents have a lot to answer for. I am also beginning to get glimpses though of what an incredible gift being a parent is and if we ‘parented’ more as God intended it would be friggen awesome all round – that is what I aspire to and get excited about! Children are a gift and a very fast way to learn about love, if you are willing and have a sincere desire to love, in a real way.

Frost Crystals

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20140627 First frost - beautiful ice crystals

20140627 First frost – beautiful ice crystals on a tree with lichen

20140627 First frost - beautiful ice crystals

20140627 First frost – beautiful ice crystals, looks like an ice caterpillar

Pete and I were commenting yesterday that we hadn’t had a real frost this year yet and how warm it is at the moment in comparison to other years. We have sunflowers about to open and even tomatoes that had flowers on the bushes. Last night we had the first big frost of the year. So we will see if the sunflowers open or not over the next few days. (The tomato flowers got ‘burnt’ last night.) And we had a magical morning of ice crystal discovery, exploration and wonderings about how, what, where, why, when, purpose, intention, etc of God’s creations.

20140627 First frost - beautiful ice crystals, look like they have been licked

20140627 First frost – beautiful ice crystals, look like they have been licked

We went out on a discovery expedition when we woke up ( I recommend warm clothes and gloves if you try it for yourself some time) and found all sorts of amazingly beautiful creations! We noticed there are different types of ice crystals and that each ice crystal is different from the next. Each plant the ice forms differently on and some plants even have multiple ice formations. Different areas have denser quantities of ice and each one makes a different pattern.

20140627 First frost - iced clover

20140627 First frost – iced clover. Interesting how the edges and centre vein of the plant has stand up tall ice crystals, between the veins are lots of little crystals and the veins on the leaf itself are still ‘green’ without any crystals. The clover looks very pretty covered in ice and creates heaps of questions, heals the earth by growing, gives all sorts of other fabulous things to the environment, air, soil etc, feeds animals and humans… It is a truly remarkable creation!

feeds animals/humans, and

feeds animals/humans, and

When you go exploring there are so many questions that come up – a few are below:

Why does moisture freeze in different shapes? How come different plants have different shaped ice crystals? How does ice form? Does Ice draw up moisture from the ground? Why does ice/cold make certain plants die and not others? What actually happens when things freeze? What is the purpose of freezing? How come God made every ice crystal different? And many, many more….

20140627 First frost - beautiful ice crystals

20140627 First frost – beautiful ice crystals, they are swirly and spiralling. How come it forms like this on this leaf and differently on the one beside it. Every question must have an answer…

Heading out in nature to discover things is pretty amazing and I reckon God made it specifically to encourage us to ask questions so we can develop desire to know and learn.  I often find that it feels automatic like I suddenly have all these questions that I didnt think about before and now I want to know about. My curiosity gets sparked. In my humble experience everything in nature causes a flood of questions and wonderings within me that I want to know about. I was recently reading a couple of chapters in The Life Elysian, by Robert James Lees*, that speaks about children learning in the spirit world which I was reminded about with my experience this morning.

(For more images go to the gallery page in the menu bar or click here – click on one of the images to get full screen viewing).

20140627 First frost - beautiful ice crystals

20140627 First frost – beautiful ice crystals on the bark of a log with lichen. Notice how the exposed wood with no bark has much less frost crystal formation. I wonder why…

20140627 First frost - all the little crystals forming on the top of the tree guards

20140627 First frost – all the little crystals forming on the top of the tree guards

20140627 First frost - beautiful ice crystals, it looks like it has been dipped in sugar

20140627 First frost – beautiful ice crystals, it looks like it has been dipped in sugar

20140627 First frost - beautiful ice crystals

20140627 First frost – beautiful ice crystals. amazing how these ones only grow around the edges of the leaves

 

* Chapters referred to:

XI. A Lesson in Creation

XII. Cushna At Home

Click here for link to a PDF of the Life Elysian or go to  www.divinetruth.com 

Furphies

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Furphies* are something I was introduced to some 6-7 years ago by my gorgeous man Pete. I thought he was making the word up at first and then I found out it meant rumour/gossip/ ‘lies or lying’/stretching or diminishing the truth depending on what you want others to believe or hear or telling untruths {bull s#@t*} – I have adopted the word in a big way as I think it sounds pretty cool. (It is Australian slang. Note about Australian slang, it has some pretty funny words and sayings in it and I still don’t really ‘get it’ so have to have the ‘joke’ explained to me quite a lot – actually come to think of it, most jokes I need to have explained as I don’t seem to ‘get them’).

Anyway the thing about furphies is that I have noticed how many I tell myself and then tell others attempting to convince them and myself I am telling the Truth and am a really Truthful person. What I see in myself is that actually I have not been true to myself, others or you often (if you have read this blog) I have wanted or momentarily felt something, blogged it and then not followed through to the cause of it and really made the heart changes. Or I have loved the thought and momentarily feeling and it has been there but not permanently.

I have blogged a bit about a few things that I felt I had ‘gotten’ or ‘understood’ but to be quite frank I have realised it is all a furphy. I have no real true experience in many areas what so ever. I have done a lot of talking, a lot of thinking and a lot of talking and thinking about experimenting and actually I have no idea really about how to go about the experiment as I am still writing it all down in my journal rather than trying it for myself and taking actions. (It is not quite true I have no idea about experimenting, it is just I haven’t really truly conducted the soul experiments – Yet).

So why i share this rather speilish speil. I was in a batch of bad self punishment for four days last week, totally high flying with my chocolate cake and everything around me as I sit typing looks like a bomb site (I would photograph it for you and stick it up here but my camera has broken and I feel pretty embarassed about how bad it gets). It felt terrible too for myself and everyone around me, bar the spirits who were laughing at me for doing what they wanted without any protest from myself what-so-ever.

During this very negative soul degrading time I was sitting on the loo**  reading Brene Brown’s ‘The Gift of Imperfection’ (I felt the title indicated the book was personally for me as one who feels they should*** be perfect NOW and I felt that I ought to find out what was good about being imperfect so that I might strive for perfection while accepting that I am imperfect right at this time in God’s view) and she was talking about play and fun. Now reading it I felt VERY uncomfortable! In fact I decided to almost skip the chapter. Then I reflected to myself ‘wow you have some big issues with play and fun’`. The thoughts have been sitting there all week and I was talking to a therapist and what does she come out and say to me? ‘Eloisa how much do you have fun? Do you play with your kids often? Do you schedule time with your man to just have fun and play?’

Well what do you know? I said ‘funny you mention that as I have been thinking about it quite a bit this week, I even looked up the institute of play‘ (thinking I could intellectually get some sort of play instructions and tips- hee hee). I just felt depressed about it to be honest and had the feeling that I didn’t want to play, I didn’t want to have fun, it was all a waste of time and I didn’t have a fun, joyful feelings in me what-so-ever, so what was the point? (Imagine a really pouty version of myself standing in a really fun-to-everybody-else-place stamping a little foot and saying, ‘fun, I don’t do fun, my life is not FUN, it is too serious, I am too bad to have fun, I can only have fun when – this, when-that…very grumpy little rumpled-stilt-skined type)  I can get pretty negative pretty fast about things.

So I gave up trying in my head. In fact I gave up thinking about it and then just like that, last night these really cheeky feelings started creeping in. I wanted to write things honestly but with some humour – because really they were quite funny in hindsight, I actually giggled and annoyed Pete by telling him jokes that were not funny. And I blogged a pretty hilarious comment on Mary’s blog that cracked her up (I was a bit shocked someone else found me amusing too) and cracked me up as I wrote it – but were true and what I have literally been doing. And suddenly it dawned on me that somewhere inside of me there might be a bit of funny-ness and that it could be a possibility in my personality and that I have been missing out somewhat BIG time on all the great feelings (I am not too excited as all the horrid feelings haven’t been released yet BUT I felt some HOPE which has not been there for what feels like a very long time). I have to say I am still feeling a bit shocked and scared it will disappear and I will be left all depressed again.

And here is what I realised. I don’t know how I got there or why it came up, I want to be able to ‘replicate’ it and ‘bring it on’ but I don’t actually feel feelings are actually like that now I am investigating my own feelings for myself. The only thing I can link to this is a few days ago when I was trying to make nice with my brother rather than be truthful I sat down on the couch and said:

‘Eloisa how do you really truly feel about this? how do you really, really feel inside of yourself, not what you think you should feel, not what others have told you you should feel or told you is the right way to feel, but what do you feel?’ And I felt it. I was angry, bitter, hateful, and then really… really… really… sad. And that was true. It still is – for now.

So I wrote how I really felt as lovingly as I could and it was like magic, the self punishment stopped and I was able to get a bit of perspective and then some hours later the fun bit of me came out and I hadn’t even ‘tried’ for anything. All I had been was real with myself and stopped telling myself the furphies about how great it all is, how well or not well I am doing, how dedicated I am and that it will all work out and what a fabulous relationship I have with my family – ‘cos the truth is I don’t have a relationship with them at all at this time and there is really no point in pretending I do as that is one big furphy!!

So to sum it all up, I am going to set my intention to get real about how I feel and catch those little, big, fat and thin, nasty and pretending to be nice furphies that I send flying about and examine them closely, find out about them and why I want them so bad in my life. Why I want the furphies instead of the Truths and see if a little bit of that cheeky, fun, funny part of myself can come and play again.

*I thought it was spelt pherfie, sounds like ‘fur – fee’ turns out to be officially

Furphy (Definition from Australian Dictionary link)

Also spelt, furfie: a false or an unreliable rumour or a yarn. [bull shit]

Just for interest (noun a rumor; Derived from the battle fields of World War I, where rumors seems to follow the water carts which were manufactured in Australia by the Furphy company. The US Navy term: “scuttlebutt” also defines a water keg as well as a rumor. Aboard ship was the water keg, where seamen would at times pass on the latest rumors and news amongst each other as they took time to refresh themselves with a drink. )

**I do a lot of reading on the loo as it is pretty much the only time I make for myself on some days.

*** the perfect I feel I should be is perfect for mum, dad, family and what they think I should be and my extremely critical inner judgemental self who thinks nothing I do never ever good enough (she doesn’t believe God loves her much or that God can help her out). I am more than a bit annoyed at what was created in me when I was a kid right now and am harbouring some dark emotions so feel I will leave that for some time in the future when I have actually done something about those and give you some helpful information in surrender and overwhelm.

Right now I can’t give you anything in any of those areas as I haven’t personally experienced them and I don’t think in my heart I even feel like they are such a good idea sometimes. (Imagine a very shrewed shrewish person sitting looking out of my head probably with pointy nose and glasses (looks like me but pointier nose and VERY studious and know-it-all-ee) saying, with a very elocuted accent ‘eloisa quite frankly I don’t think you need any overwhelm what so ever in your life, controlled, steady, just breathe, you are F-I-N-E…’ This is the unhelpful person I listen to often.

On the other side is this lovely gentle soft beautiful creature who lovingly and firmly reminds me, with a joke or two, and many loving smiles that I need to allow myself to be overwhelmed and surrender to all that comes up and allow it out and that way I will heal (she wholeheartedly believes in God, loves God and has God’s love in her soul so she actually KNOWS about it and is telling the Truth). She also tells me that I CAN receive God’s love and God DOES love me and all I need to do is grow some faith and pray much, much more and grow a true desire for God in my heart. It’s that simple anyone can do it!!! Absolutely anyone and that includes yours-truly – ME!

Video Link

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I was sent this link some time ago and it entered my mind today as thoughts about learning were passing through.
I don’t endorse everything on this video personally but when I watched it there were some parts that I found really exciting and made me think about how much I love learning new things, finding out about new things and also possibilities that I didn’t and don’t feel apply to me (due to some false beliefs I need to let go of.)
Anyway I thought if you are interested in education and learning you may enjoy watching this too.
If the link doesn’t work below I have also added the link you can put in the URL bar and search for it too: http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_build_a_school_in_the_cloud.html?source=email#.UTo5KoN1Bis.email

Have a wonderful learning, playful* day!!

* I write that purposefully as it makes me feel uncomfortable. Playful? what is that? I realised sitting on the loo reading Brene Brown’s ‘The Gifts of Imperfection’ that I don’t play much and I am not very comfortable playing. Pete has also highlighted this to me. I feel I need to investigate this somewhat.

‘sMothers’

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Thoughts of mine on Mothers or ‘sMothers’:

I have been thinking about ‘mothers’ and what a mother is. What did God intend the role of a mother/parent to be? I have been thinking about the ideal that I have about a mother and the reality of my own experiences – of my own (surrogate) mother/s and being a ‘mother’ myself and how different they have been to what I thought and anticipated. I have also been noticing in myself how reluctant I have been to share my feelings and thoughts honestly about mothers, mothering and how I feel. 

I see how far removed I am, and I feel general society is from what I have heard about God’s intentions and design of mothers and the family structure. (I would like to know more in my heart about what  parenting as God intended is like, and how God truly designed it to be in a state of Divine Love and Divine Truth. I feel the first step would be to actually get to know my True Parent and Creator God personally).

I feel that as a generalisation there are ‘Smothers’, ‘neglecters’ or a combo of both. (I am sure that other people have written screeds of intellectual information on all of these things. I merely have a few thoughts and feelings of my own about it from my own experience. Many of these have been angry, disappointed, disillusioned, deeply sad – which are still there to work through, and more). 
 
I feel that many women (including myself) who think they are ‘mothers’ should really be called ‘smothers’ because they don’t really allow the little soul’s in their care to be themselves, grow as God intended them too or allow the child’s own free will. It is sort of like ‘mothers will’ and then you will get approval or what often is thought of as ‘love’. 

‘Mothers’ I feel have quite a bit to examine if they were open to it and then see how that actually affects the children. (Probably fathers do also. I talk of mothers as I speak of myself in this post, my own experiences and my experience of ‘mothers’ but maybe where one reads ‘mother/s’ you could substitute ‘parent/s’ ‘caretakers’ – because often they are taking not giving).
 
In my own experience I have at times felt overpowered and smothered by my mother’s anger, fear, expectations, demands, investments, needs, neediness and being made liable for many of her emotions. I have also seen the immediate results of myself doing this with the children in our care – almost identically (though I wish I could say I was different, I am not). I have experienced feeling neglected. Feeling like I had no-one I could share painful experiences with, no one to listen to me, no one to protect me or care for me, that what I said, did, or was, was of no importance or significance to anyone, that I was embarrassing and shaming. This may not be how others saw it but this is what it felt like for me as a child. I have also had this reflected to me by ‘our’* children.
 
I have been reflecting on this feeling of being a ‘good mother’ and how I use it to hide just how bad I feel about myself and what a ‘bad mother’ I actually feel I am. I demand emotionally from people, and especially from the children in our care, and set up a facade of being a ‘good mother’ to hide how I truly feel about myself. I am highly invested in ‘our’ children and examining this brings to light all sorts of interesting discoveries for me about myself (many of which I do not like, judge, and really don’t want to be part of me. As an observer I think they are be most interesting as they basically highlight why I behave as I do).
 
This is an addiction and a damaging place to live (‘I’m a good mother’ place, it is also demanding and angry) I am just wanting everyone to tell me how good I am to avoid the real feelings that come up of feeling so terrible and like such a ‘bad’ mother/bad person. I project out to the world ‘think I am a great mum’ in order to get approval, feel like I have a ‘job’ a ‘worth and get attention for something that really I did not create and that I actually have no idea how it was created. I mean if you think about it, I had sex and that was it. I didn’t actually ‘do’ anything else to make a child. God created it to happen so beautifully, seamlessly and effortlessly, it is truly a miracle. 
 
God took care of the whole thing and no person (I know of) actually fully understands and knows how a baby is created and why the body does what it does and how it does it. We know a few things but really have no idea. We can’t replicate it and yet we feel we are super intelligent. I don’t doubt when we are as God made us that we are super intelligent (though often we don’t act like we are in our current conditions) but I do feel we have a lot of arrogance to claim we know more than our creator about things. God knows best. God always has known best and always will know best, that’s just the way it is**, God made us, it’s logical she would. 
 
From what I understand (intellectually) God is our real parent and as a parent on the earth plane I am but a ‘surrogate’, my role really being only to disclose what I have learnt about God’s version of Love and Truth and God, and convey what I have learnt on ‘How to connect to God…’ to the little souls in our care and then they will have the tools to discover the rest***. (I think there is a really great FAQ question session on Parenting coming up on the Divine Truth YouTube FAQ channel if you are interested I know it will be worth a look!!!)
 
I am experimenting with this at the moment and finding it challenging to my own belief systems, my opinion of myself and how I view what a ‘good mother’ is and ‘should’ be. The self examination and self reflection also brings much joy for me. I think for the first time in the children’s lives they are allowed to be themselves a little bit once in a while. I feel that I am still interfering a lot, allowing spirits to interfere a lot and notice when I put damage and beliefs into them often immediately now. It is pretty amazing how transparent the process is when I want to see the affect I am having on them. 
 
And wow do they learn fast, both (as I judge) ‘positively’ and ‘negatively’! They grow when they are loved and learn tactics to avoid punishment, rejection, pain or things that will make mum angry or ‘upset’ when not loved. They actually now tell me blatantly that they feel no love from me. Or that I am ‘not listening’, angry, or that I love this one or that one more and I can see how they feel that. I see how my actions show them these things.
 
Recently I was writing to a friend that had made some lovely comments about his children and I felt sad that it is not always how I feel about having the gift of three beautiful souls in our care. I was reflecting that if I had allowed myself to be more real and spent some time truly getting to know myself I think I might have waited a while until I had children in order to be more open to loving and giving to them because I desired to love and give to them, rather than take, need, demand, expect and smother them. 
 
I have not really enjoyed being a mother/parent to be totally honest. It is not as I imagined it to be and it has been really challenging. It has not been ‘perfect’ and it has highlighted a whole lot of stuff that is not ‘nice’ in me and that does not fit the facade and opinion I had created of myself for myself and for others. 
 
I remember vividly being pregnant and how ‘wonderful’ I thought that was because I got so much attention for having a life growing in me. I was ‘loved’, a kind of ‘pregnant goddess’, I felt I had a superiority to others because ‘I was having a baby that was mine‘, a desire in me for the whole world to know I was pregnant and how ‘important’ I felt because of it. I was about to become a ‘real’ woman, a true ‘female’. 
 
I cringe remembering these feelings and I still have a grief in me about when our first little darling emerged into the world and everyone ‘smothered’ her and I felt totally ignored. I cried. I felt sorry for myself. I felt lonely and ‘used’. I had thought becoming a mother would change my life into a perfect 1950’s movie script and somehow make me more important or more of a woman or more something and it did none of those things. I was still the same but with a baby to love and care for. I was overwhelmed – how could I love a babe when I hated myself and wanted everyone to love and care for me?**** I was being abruptly confronted with myself, my real motivations, intentions, feelings, thoughts and belief systems about a whole heap of things that before I had been able to strategically avoid through various methods. I decided to continue to avoid and jump out of body, sleep and ‘get away’ as much as possible. I demanded those around me care for me and the new soul in the world.
 
In the last couple of months I feel I am beginning to enjoy having children more and more – finally. To be honest it has taken a while (years) and examining my motivations has been pretty confronting (this has only just begun and I have a long way to go and much to heal from the actions I have taken). I did not have the children to just love and give to and aid them in anyway I can to guide them to learn, grow and know God if they want to. I did have children for very selfish reasons and to fill ‘gaps’ and make me feel loved, special, wanted, important, to meet my demands and so on. 
 
I have what feels like a lot to feel through in these areas but some things have shifted and I am enjoying the children more and releasing some of the desire I have for total control in order to avoid my fear. I am still fearful, angry, and very controlling, realizing that it is about me not them and if I can own that, then it seems to have a more positive affect upon them ( I am also seeing how much my fear and willingness to honour it harms them, literally, emotionally, spiritually etc). They challenge many things in me constantly – naturally, smile – Charlie brought me a baby snake thinking it was a lizard. They ask me about death, about what happens if you get shot, about why people want to kill each other, animals or themselves. They ask where God lives, what God looks like and how God created everything along with a whole heap of other questions to which I do not know the answers. 

They show me their ‘flying’ underpants in the wind grinning; wombat testicles that look like love hearts; rainbow lizards; miracles in God’s garden that I have overlooked. They tell me about the magic and their dreams – to fly, to have every kind of animal, bird, reptile, creature you can imagine, that is alive, extinct, endangered all living in our garden;  every flower in the whole world. To have EVERYTHING and all of it, and the beauty is they believe it is possible (Which it is, but I have cynicism, anger, fear and grief – I suspect, to work through about it too), the children are unlimited in their desires. They remind me to believe and dream and giggle at things, to notice the small creatures and the feeling inside myself in the moment. They expose my fears literally. Fear is a pretty powerful emotion for creating ‘negative’ effects, more work and messy situations, of which I have experienced and still do regularly and will until I release the fear I suspect.
 
Children are reflectors and show up immediately anything that we (parents and the environment around them) are denying, avoiding, unaware of. I have found this frustrating, confronting and pretty helpful as I can see now that they are not ‘bad’ or ‘behaving badly’ or that there is anything ‘wrong’ with them. If I can just own my stuff I notice they express themselves and then head off and play. If I choose to remain in denial they seem to expand in what ever they are doing (generally what I feel to be negative – like demanding or fighting or hitting each other etc to show me my injuries and how I am out of harmony with love and truth in that moment. Sometimes it might be due to me being ‘off with the fairies’ (as mum used to say) or out of body, when I am self punishing, or avoiding how I really feel and going into guilt instead. Guilt is really fear and in my experience it brings about ‘fearfilled’ situations such as the children falling over, or being physically hurt.) and it just goes down the crapper very rapidly.
 
I feel strongly that there are ways to bring up children differently to our own experiences. I believe we are able to love them and be truthful with them as God is with us. I believe if we are willing to be self reflective, self examining, willing to FEEL, look at the emotional investments we have in our children, own our emotions rather than projecting them and feel through all the pain and hurt we have experienced or done to others (forgive and repent); and if we treat everyone including children as we would like to be treated (even if we just did this one thing and stayed present/in our bodies all the time no matter what I feel it would change a whole heap of things!), we can change the world rapidly and ensure generations of children who FEEL really loved. Children who can easily know God personally if they want to or may automatically because they will be open to feeling, will receive divine love and live the principles of God’s Love and Truth from conception. How different our world can be! How exciting it is that it is possible!*****
 

* I always find it interesting how I refer to the children in our care as OUR children, like I own them and they BELONG to me. I actually feel that they do belong to me, and I have some kind of ‘rights’ over them often. It is frequently demonstrated in how I act towards them and the decisions I make involving them. I have been corrected and intellectually know that actually we are all God’s children and every other soul on the planet is our brother and sister but how often do I REALLY TRULY feel this?
 
**Really we ought to stop arguing, get out our note pads, pay attention and learn as much as we possibly can from the entity that created us because I feel it is safe to assume that my creator would know more about me than I do at this time so why not ask and find out the ‘fast’ way.
 
*** I feel that our role as surrogate parents is to guide children by demonstrating what we know about God’s Laws, and God’s Version of Love and Truth. I feel as a general rule if we treated our children as we would like to be treated and gave them scope to discover the world and God for themselves I feel this would be really great. I don’t agree with ‘freerange’ parenting. I have tried it and it does not teach a child about love or truth, it creates in my experience an opening for a lot of mischief and spirit influence and an excuse for me as the parent to take no responsibility for anything at all. I feel that there are consequences for every action we take – loving or unloving, and God has a beautiful system that teaches us this. We can also show children how this Feedback system works through our own actions. (I think the above is true, but I am hypocritical in my actions. I think I have been told the above rather than felt it in my heart at this time.)
 
**** To be honest I feel this is one of the reasons I actually had a child was to feel loved by somebody because I didn’t feel that. I feel that this is a demand that many parents have on their children and it causes a lot of damage for the child throughout their lives. I believe we as the parents are the ones supposed to love and give to the children around us and in our care, it is up to us to give to them not demand them to give to and love us. If they desire to love us what a beautiful gift but they actually don’t have to love us or do what we say or be what we want them to be, yet I know in myself I expect many of these things, in fact I often DEMAND them. In my opinion there is something that I need to look at here and explore and work through so that the children in our care can be ‘free’ of their mother and make their own decisions based on God’s (their true parent) version of Love and Truth (if they desire).
 
***** For your interest and information, some really great information on parenting that I have found most helpful can be found at: http://www.divinetruth.com  go to > Downloads > Audios and Videos Indexed > 20090307 Human Relationships – Parenting Children S1 & 20090308 Human Relationships – Parenting Children S2, There is an outline, audio and video file. Also keep checking out the YouTube FAQ page as there is an interview on Children and Parenting coming up and should be posted soon which I have no doubt with be awesome and could be challenging.
  

SummerFest in Kentucky, 2012

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We have been planning and are organising for an exciting event in a couple of weeks: 

 
Kentucky SummerFest 2012 Project
 27th November – 4th December 

Below is an idea of what will be happening at SummerFest, a Day visitors Guide. You are also welcome to camp and there is another document to read with more detailed information which you can go to by following this Link if you desire to camp and/or attend the entire week (press on ‘link’ and it will take you there or visit www.divinetruth.com go to What’s New on the Left hand side and then look at the SummerFest at Kentucky and there are documents underneath that you can click on).
 
 
Note: This document is designed to provide a brief overview of the event. If you plan to attend it is essential that you watch or listen to the orientation materials, and see the full facility and event schedule details at God’s Way Of Love Event Schedule (http://www.godswayoflove.org/PDF/Org/GWOL%20Event%20Schedule.pdf).
 
SummerFest is a week long ‘festival’ to be held at Kyabra Station, Kentucky, NSW. The week is designed to give participants an opportunity to experience hands-on experimental techniques for farming, land re-generation, and home gardening, based around principles such as:
 
•Teaching about the land and how quickly we can change it to become more fertile, abundant and balanced.
 
•Empowering people to do it themselves in a new way 
 
•Educating People who are passionate about the land/environment etc, globally 
 
•How to put love back into eco-systems, and to support eco-systems as the most effective and loving way to regenerate nature
 
ORIENTATION MATERIAL
 
1. If you plan to attend on any of the days please read, watch or listen to the orientation presentations found in the following link:
(Kentucky SummerFest Orientation Material) http://www.divinetruth.com/HTML/whatsnew.htm)
 
This information is designed to give you a good overview of the principles behind activities we will be undertaking during the days at SummerFest. If you are pressed for time the audio files give an overview. If you are interested in a broader scope and examples of the main principles in action watch the youtube videos. If you do not have the chance to watch or listen to these materials prior to arrival at SummerFest there will be a daily orientation session where you will be able to watch these. It is important that you watch or listen to this material before joining us in the field so that you have a good understanding of our ethos.
 
2. OTHER SUGGESTED WATCHING MATERIAL:
Chernobyl Life in the Dead Zone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVv1vsZxV00
 
3. Please RSVP Via Email: event@godswayoflove.org
Or Phone: Peter & Eloisa Lytton-Hitchins ph. 02 6778 7458
 
4.OVERVIEW OF WEEK’S ACTIVITIES 
 
* 28th November – Swales, Systems & Contour Planting
 
We will begin the week in a large paddock (around 100 acres) focussing on large scale soil improvement and water management. Methods to be demonstrated and created include: using contours and ponds to redirect and retain water, and building living eco systems to provide fertility and regenerate soil, and seeding of grasses to prevent soil erosion.
Contour/water management site

*29th November – Re-generation and restoration of swampy land

 
Activity on this day will using some alternate methods to reduce water logging down from the paddock worked on on day one. We will focus on improving water take up through building living systems above ground and planting shrubs and bushes to absorb water.
 
*30th November: Swales & Living Systems
 
Work on this day will build upon swaling that was completed at last year’s ‘Octoberfest’. We will tend to the planting from last year incorporating living systems into swales to create fertility and improve soil.
swales & living systems site
*1st & 2nd December: Various Activities To Choose From
There are three activities to choose from on both Saturday and Sunday. You can choose a different activity each day and have the opportunity to swap between activities during the day at 11.30am.
*Activity 1: Waterless Home Gardening– demonstrating several techniques including fibonachi system to maximise sun and water usage of any area, designing waterflow in your garden, techniques to minimize or completely remove the need for watering, mixed planting incorporating natives both flowering and mulching, fruit trees and vegetables.
waterless garden site
 
*Activity 2: Nature boxes – positioning boxes for animals and birds according to their particular needs, providing shelter close to food and water. Scouting for suitable locations and some tree climbing will be necessary.

nature boxes

*Activity 3:Creating reptile habitat – Reptiles are often forgotten or even shunned members of vital ecosystems. This activity will focus on providing habitat for reptiles by placing shelter, food and water in close proximity, providing safe transit zones. We will utilize above ground living systems to incorporate suitable living shelters and abundant insect life. There will also be planting for protection and mulching.
Reptile habitat site
*3rd December: Unfinished Projects & Possible Green House Construction
The day’s focus will be on completion of any unfinished projects plus green house construction and waterless seedling propagation. Full details TBA on the day.
Kentucky Summerfest 2012
Detailed Information
 
House Rules:
 
The Lytton-Hitchins family request that no meat, cigarettes, alcohol or drugs are brought onto the property. Any persons not respecting this request will be asked to leave.
Also, the family asks that each person comes with an attitude of treating others in the same manner each person who attends would like to be treated themselves.
 
Arrival:
 
Please arrive by 7.30am. Day Parking is available by the woolshed
 
Daily Briefing:
 
Daily briefing and orientation will start at 7.30 sharp in the woolshed. (Follow the signs from the front gate to find the woolshed
 
Times:
 
Activities concerning the environment will run from 7.30 am to 2.30/3pm each day
 
Evenings:
 
Every evening there will be an activity in the woolshed that you are welcome to attend if you desire. Activities may range from a concert, dancing, karaoke, sing-a-longs or various presentations about spiritual matters. See the noticeboard in the camping ground for details on the day.
 
What to Bring:
 
Food & Snacks:All food and snacks for self and own family
 
Water bottles:There will be facility to refill water bottles throughout the day but we request that each person bring 2Ltrs for
themselves to start Hats & sun protection
 
Tools: Picks, Shovels, Forks, Rakes, and Gloves
 
Evening Meal:
 
There will be a share meal on the first night and Saturday night. Please bring a plate or pot of vegan or vegetarian food to share on these occasions if you wish to join in.
 
 
*Thank you to Jesus and Mary for putting all this information together and taking the time to organise so much of this event! We are grateful for your time, energy and efforts!

If We WANT To…

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  1. I found this interaction From Mary Magdalene’s post, Wednesday, October 24, 2012,  ‘ Bound’  in the comments section between Amanda and Mary to be most helpful today. (Link for entire blog and all comments can be gone to here. )
    It is so easy to get bogged down in all the negatives. I do often.
    It is also so easy to make decisions towards God, get on with it and make the changes IF WE WANT TO!!! 
    If it is to be, it is up to me…(I heard that somewhere and it feels quite relevant right now.) And including God will make it way more fun, joyous, fabulous, easier and faster – from what I have heard, smile, and also the ‘pockets’ I have experienced I know this to be true for myself.
    I feel the ‘conversation’ below sums it all up better than I could say it, as I have not fully experienced this yet and still have tentacles of addiction in to things being ‘hard’. But I feel that what is said is inspiring.
    I hope you feel a spring in your step to move forward and ENJOY this process of transformation, Love, Truth and getting to know God!!! I pray this for you, for me, for EVERYONE!!! 

    Love Eloisa

     

     

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