Apr 29, 2022
Whether we are a parent, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt or
uncle, we'd all love the children in our lives to grow up healthy
in every way. We likely have thought a lot about their physical and
emotional health, but how often do we consider their spiritual
health? Spiritual development definitely goes hand in hand with
emotional development, encouraging children to recognize what they
are feeling, be able to verbalize it, and to learn techniques for
grounding themselves during the storms of life that surely come for
us all, with children being no exception.
But more than emotional maturity, wouldn't it be wonderful to also
help them develop ways to become more whole-hearted, expansive,
joyful, and life-embracing at each stage of their development?
Whether we want to use terms associated with religious traditions
or not, it is important to provide them with help recognizing and
being able to name what it feels like to be completely loved and
grounded in the more subtle aspects of life, such as being in
communion with nature or whatever else that fosters a sense of deep
connectedness with things beyond their immediate field of focus.
There are many benefits of having children develop and come to
trust their "inner compass" as an aid in making choices in their
lives, even when they are complicated.
This episode features two wonderful guests, Jon
Ogden and Amanda Suarez, who are both
grounded spirituality and also immersed in understanding child and
human development. They are two of four founders for an
organization called "Uplift," which provides resources for parents
and others who want children to experience spirituality in healthy
ways that open them to the world's widest contexts. Throughout
their conversation with LDF host Dan Wotherspoon,
they discuss approaches for developing these qualities and
awarenesses for three age groups: teens, kids, and "littles." As
children in each age range have different capacities, Uplift
provides ideas, videos, art, and ideas for helping convey
spiritually expansive things at a level that each child can
understand.
The discussion has many touchstones to Jon and Amanda’s work with
Uplift, but it is geared to be something interesting to all
listeners rather than just a pitch for what their foundation
provides. It's a great episode. Not one to be missed! So
don't!