We All Need Heroes

As a huge portion of the world sits watching how Irma and all her offspring will leave parts of the world when they are finally gone, while others are still dealing with Harvey's aftermath or the fire damages, I want to talk to you about something we all need.
Heroes. They come in different shapes, forms and intentions, but I want to encourage you to take a moment, breathe deep, and consider yours for a moment... yours, and your children's.

See my son finally sat down and watched Superman with the family.

No, not some violent, dark film where it's confusing to figure out who's fighting who... but the real Superman. The Christopher Reeves man of steel, who wants truth and justice, who never lies and sends half his income to his silver haired mother. The hero who inspired my generation to be better people... and not hurt others... only create a better world.

I've been eager to show my son this movie, but since he accidentally saw some scenes of the newer Superman a couple of years back, he's adamantly refused to watch any superhero movies... and who can blame him.

So, why, you ask. Why am I happy to finally get him to watch Superman?

Because, as much as  Postman Pat, Little Bear, and good ol' Christopher Robin create a beautiful world for my boy I've been feeling that he also needed some heroes to shine a light forward as he grows and expands in life.

Life is full of contrasting experiences for all of us. We experience challenging times to discover our inner strengths, desires and yeah... our inner heroes. (That's why we create stories about them in the first place. Without challenges, no storybook hero would have a chance to exist.)

My son wants a pretty world in his head, but let's face it, there's a lot of fear in the world and a lot of things we "don't want". I want him to know stories of good, kind, strong men and women, who shine their light and see the best in all. I will never force him to learn of them, but I'm happy when he opens up to them. I want to be able to hold that image as an instruction manual in times of need. How would Superman react in times of crisis? (and no... not just the fly around and save the day sort of way... the compassionate, caring and loving way.)

The world made a little more sense to my son yesterday when he watched Superman with his classic cape and bright red boots. He works for justice and refuses to hurt anyone.

We all need heroes.

Awhile back I was discussing heroes with someone and they were asking what the point of having heroes was. I mean, in some ways people could see it as a form of idolization or mimic to look to someone else and hold them in high enough regard to garnish the term “Hero.” Others use the term as “Modern Day Heroes.” Someone who got the job done did what was right. Fought for others.

But I have another view of heroism.

We choose our heroes as those who have perfected qualities we want to foster within ourselves.

They are more than people we admire, rather we have an intuitive pull within us when we find a hero, as we know we have witnessed or seen the world through the eyes of someone we want to be more like, they emulate our ideal self and in doing so, they can help us get a better sense of how we can practice that.

If you've studied self-help at all, you know the power of visualization. You have probably heard the concept of the Ideal Self (Hey, if you've worked with me or are enrolled in the Stepping into Your Light Course, you've worked on that concept already.) Well, a hero can give us a good platform to work from when designing that concept, because by witnessing their actions and how they carry themselves we get an intuitive snapshot of what we resonate with ourselves.

My mom's hero was Marmee March from Little Women. The quintessential mother, who raised her daughters to stand strong and think independently. This concept of a hero helped shape my mother's life for a very long time.

I've had many heroes over time.

Probably a steadfast one is Madeleine L'Engle, who wrote A Wrinkle in Time as well as so many others. She wrote because she had to, it was in her soul. She had to get the words to paper. She wrote what she lived, what she loved and she shared so much wisdom with the world.

Anne, from the Anne of Green Gables, reminds me of fiery spirits and the power of the imagination.

Larry from The Razor's Edge... reminds me of letting Spirit guide you to a sense of empowered individualism.
Elizabeth Gilbert for her Authenticity...
Louise Hay for her embrace of life and contribution of love. (We'll miss you, Louise. <3 )

Perhaps, as a mother, I resonate more with Marmee March than I thought I did...

I think it's time we all put thought into our heroes.

A Hero casts an image, a framework, which we can try on and see if it feels like a comfortable fit. It then can help us remember ourselves in darker times, and give us direction to find our inner compass when we think we've lost it.
(Remember the phrase and trend WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) Asking ourselves what our heroes would do in any circumstances can give different insight and direction.

Now, as someone who continually talks about our inner guidance systems and trusting your own spiritual connection, I'm in no way suggesting you simply act like someone else. Rather, our heroes actually can remind ourselves of the best parts of us.
They remind us that we aren't alone and, like my son experienced, they tell us that there are others who have high ideals and peaceful intentions. That it is true power to be kind and the light is incredibly strong indeed.

 By the way, The Stepping into Your Light Course is open for enrollment for only $77 at the moment. The course really supports your high self, helping you discover your inner light and help it shine, releasing what holds you back in the shadows. We will be having a group study of the material within the private Facebook Community in a couple of weeks which really gives you support and accountability through the whole 4 weeks of the course.

Also, if you would like to chat about your heroes, helping your children discover their heroes, or even just about Spiritually Aware Parenting and how to use it to resolve any challenges you may be having, feel free to book a connection chat with me. It's a free 20-minute session where we dive deep and explore what's holding you back and what you can do to break free.

Teaching Our Children to Love and Live in a Time of Fear.

A few days ago we woke up to a scared nation.

Even if I don’t live in America, I could feel the panic, the fear and the shock ripple through social media and worldwide. Through my groups and clients, I felt that fear in parents come in two focuses.

How do we protect our children from being victims of hate; sure that was definitely there. But mostly, the fear was in asking how to pass on to our children that it’s not ok to hate. How do we pass on love and tolerance, acceptance and compassion, when it looks like intolerance is tipping the scales and that’s what our children are around?

I see it in my own son’s eyes sometimes lately. He’s been around a lot of talk and then after election night, he was hearing stories of people’s worries and fears. He doesn’t say anything, occasionally takes part in a conversation, but you can tell there’s an uncertainty there and I wish he wasn’t hearing so much. (A teenage sister who is homeschooling and is fascinated by politics... it’s going to happen.) He hates violence or seeing any signs of aggression or nastiness.  I think this is more common with children now. Children around the world are sensing a shift and they don’t want the aggression. It’s not just America that is being given these extreme choices of love versus fear. Children across the world are witnessing polar perspectives. They might slowly become desensitised to it, but if kept aware of how they feel, they can sense that they want to feel more joy than anger. That the pursuit of happiness is an instinctual motivation.

So, how do we prepare our children and pass on tools of love and compassion? How do we offer them the space to feel Off, to feel upset or angry, without worrying that they will grow up intolerant? How do we offer them the space to get to know themselves and also attune ourselves to our own sense of love, so that we can radiate what we want... not what we are scared of.

Because remember, we attract one of three things; What We Love. What We Hate. And What We Fear.

So, where does that leave us with our children, in a time ripe with fear?

Take a step back. Breathe and note that the sun is shining, the birds are singing and yup... it’s that time of year... here in Nova Scotia snow is forecast.

Are you breathing deeply? Are your children playing?

Grab a cup of coffee and appreciate something.  There it is. A sigh, a release and a shift from holding up what we fear.

Now, listen to me gently.

You have no control over what your child grows up to experience. You can only offer them tools of awareness; awareness to how they feel, awareness to how other people feel, awareness to a sense of feeling like themselves and an awareness to getting caught up in a crowd.

Because let’s face it; fear loves a group. Fear loves to spread and get people talking.

Love is sown well in quiet, in that peace which is created within, when you shift perspective to a Whole Sense of Self.

And what is sown, we radiate. What we radiate, we attract more of. It’s law.

So, then it also comes down to us. To our example and our experience. If we are filled with worry and fear, then it’s not our children who reap from that. We are the ones holding up that fear... it is our experience in the process of creation. We are filling our home with a vibration, which our children pick up on and in that process mirror. Like seeds scattered, some take root.

Therefore, to answer the question on how to help our children through this time of fear?

I say, radiate love and talk often of wellbeing with your children.

Show love and compassion to those who need it.

Offer tools for emotional and spiritual awareness to your children.

And trust wellbeing. Trust that life expands and grows, that the positive always balances the negative.

There are so many ways to offer tools of awareness to our children. Let the question sit with you. Instinctually you will be told what your child needs. If you find centre within yourself, you will feel what way to go. If it helps,  I am offering a video Series in Raising Mindful Children next week. It has three FREE videos with exercises, tips on creating space for mindful living and a free gift. You can sign up here. I’m really excited how it’s coming together.

And (drum roll) as of November 21^st The E-Course,, Spiritual Kids; building foundations for a spiritually aware family will be on sale . The course is 6 parts filled with crafts, activities, stories and exercises for your children as well as videos and meditations for you so that spirit can flood your home and create easy opportunities to become more spiritually aware. I suggest signing up to the newsletter or joining the Facebook group to make sure you hear about the release. 

I am so excited to be able to help you pass on spiritual tools to your children. Because we can turn this time around. Rather than seeing it as dark we can choose to radiate the light. Rather than feeling like it is a heavy time and filling our heads with what others tell us, we can step up, show up and make love happen.  It’s the perfect time as our children are experiencing a true extreme to the spiritual love they FEEL is the true way of living. I hope that we can shift the tide and create a time of pure love together.