Parenting Pagan Dreamers

Life has recently reminded me how important it is for human beings to have something to strive for and yearn for and reach out to grasp. AS Human beings we must have dreams about how we would like our lives to be. Dreams and Visions are the source of inspiration and the spark that ignites our imagination.

As one great man stated eloquently many years ago "I have a DREAM!" this one statement ignited the hopes of the anti apartheid movement and brought about major cultural and political change. Dreams allow our subconscious to embrace the possibility of the untenable and unreachable and bring about a change in focus turning the unattainable into a definite possibility.

One tool I personally use to stimulate the potential in my children is music. Often the words I am trying to convey don't get through to them in their distracted states however the right song can traverse roadblocks and infiltrate the most stubborn mind.

Music has a subliminal power to influence. And if it is a well known artist articulating an idea well then all the better.

I was thinking about just listing a few songs but then I remembered the Wayfinder had showed me playlist.com so I created a playlist here for you all that includes some of the songs I use to promote positive attitudes and go get em tactics in my own children.

Be aware this will play automatically and you will have to stop it to view other things on this page

I was very blessed with my parents. I grew up being told regularly and often that I could do anything I put my mind to if only I tried. I was encouraged to reach for my goals and spread my wings and fly. I can achieve anything if I focus on it and put my mind to it and my energy into it and let it rip.

Our Hopes, dreams and personal goals provide us with a compass for our lives. Without them we would wander around aimlessly with no clear idea of where we are going, what we are doing or how we get there.

One of the factors in teenage suicide is a sense of hopelessness, a feeling of being unimportant in the scheme of things and being disconnected from society. Having a goal, an ambition can often supply a young person with the needed passion for life that sustains them through such dark patches.

As parents we must accept a couple of facts about our children.

Firstly, no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. If we did not make mistakes in our own lives we would never have learnt the lessons the Universe has taught us. The same must follow for our children. We must provide them with the tools to negotiate their way through the world, Set them off on their way but always ensure that we have the safety net out should they falter and ensure they know we as their parents will always be there to catch them should they fall.

Secondly, we are not our children, they have their own ideas about the world, their own goals and ambitions, their own hopes and dreams and they must walk their own spiritual path. AS parents we must once again supply the tools they need to pursue their own life journey and the open-mindedness to embrace the extreme diversity they will encounter on their path. The biggest mistake we can make as parents is to tell them they should be a "whatever" if it is something they are not interested in.

My daughter has wanted to be on stage since she was four. She has wanted to be an actor and a teacher. I still remember the day she stopped stressing about a career path, she was 7,. That was the day I told her she could be a teacher AND an actor AND a mum. She was so happy. She has held on to those dreams. She is talented so that is a bonus but that is not the key to how successful she will be. Talent means nothing without the right kind of support and encouragement from parents. I do not mean the whole "stage mum" thing here but good honest support and encouragement.

As parents of talented children we must also walk the balance between encouraging them to have a healthy ego and filling them so full of themselves they become impossible to be around. And goodness me we are not in competition with our children, their success does not make us look like a failure but rather their successes are ours too.

We can assist them in the process by openly sharing our dreams and goals and setting an example of how to positively strive for and achieve them. By studying ourselves and continuing to learn and grow we show our children that the process never stops and also we ultimately make ourselves approachable because they know we have a lot together but we are not perfect and we still have hiccups. My children are all aiming to go to University and I believe that this has been empowered by firstly, attending university myself as a mature age student with three young children and also, by discussing options and career pathways. This means that we as parents need to tune into where they are at and research the options.

My daughter felt so passionately about her choice of career and the minor tweaking it had recently undergone to make some major changes in her life including changing schools. This shows a commitment to learning and also a strong commitment to achieving her goals. I am proud of her for making such a mature and rational decision and for placing such a priority on her dreams.

My step son wants to be an actor. He studied drama at school and has been trying to get into tertiary studies at TAFE. He required help getting prepared for his audition and so we as parents jumped in and gave him a lot of assistance preparing for speeches and songs. He didn't get in this year but he will try out again next year and as such he will get our support because this is his dream.

And we can not say just because someone is different, or disabled in some way that they can not achieve their goals and dreams. ANYTHING is possible. Earlier in the month The Wayfinder forwarded me a video. I had seen it before but it really crystalised what I am trying to say here. Nothing is beyond our reach, though there may be obstacles in our way there is little that can't be overcome.

Click HERE

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