What's Good for the Gosling...

What’s Good For the Gosling…
By Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND
http://www.thewaldorfchannel.com/
Permission to reprint this article is given to anyone who also includes my name and website in the reprint.


Have you ever heard the term “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander?” (It means, basically that what a man can do, a woman can do to or what is good for the man, is also good for the women)

I would like to coin a new phrase and dedicate it to Waldorf schooling: What is good for the gosling is good for the goose.

Over the years I have heard so many parents reflect that sentiment – even myself. When I attended the parent-child class with my children in the Chicago suburbs I used to joke that I was going for me and they were just along for the ride. At my Waldorf enrichment school overseas many mothers commented to me that they were surprised how much THEY looked forward to coming to my program and just the other day someone commented that they didn’t know who was getting more out of Waldorf – their kids or them!

This is one aspect of Waldorf education that makes it so appealing and healing at the same time – it encompasses each person as a holistic being. In striving to be the best teachers we learn the skills of inner work and meditation, in creating paintings with our children we can sometimes heal ourselves from our own rushed childhood years. In teaching a main lesson on mythology our own fire for learning is re-lit and in taking nature walks we re-learn appreciation of nature from our own children.

In noticing the ways that Waldorf can be good for us as well as our children, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the teaching methods as well as for the efforts we put into our teaching hours. We can also discover new and wonderful things about ourselves and enrich our own lives.

This week, our show on The Waldorf Channel was about a parent making a main lesson book (see http://www.thewaldorfchannel.com/ - click on ART). As a parent we are also learning and a main lesson book can be something that we can use to record that learning, express ourselves, honor what we are learning and create a sacred space for it. As a baby we are cheered with each new skill we learn. Our first laugh is rewarded with praise and photos. Our first steps are rewarded with hugs and squeals of excitement from the adults around us. However, when we learn something new as an adult how often do we get praised for it? Keeping your own main lesson book can be a way for you to honor that.

The reason I call it a “main lesson” book rather than a journal is that I want to emphasize that the scope of the book is to record lessons and processes rather than a mixture of lessons, photos, and experiences. A memory album is a record of the past. A journal is a record of our inner thoughts and experiences. A main lesson book is a record of lessons we are working on now – academic, artistic & spiritual. In my main lesson book this week I have written out two of my favorite quotes and decorated them with a flowery border. The next page is a mandala meditation I did when I needed to work through some frustrations. Mixed in with those kinds of entries is a page I did with the kids on herbal form drawing and another page on a story we created together.

Another area of Waldorf we can learn from is the skill of rhythm in our lives. Modern society teaches us to schedule things by the hour and accomplish as much as we can in one day. We are told that we must be on time to work, on time to school and on time to everything we do. We are given cereal so we can rush through breakfast, frozen meals so we can rush through cooking and cars so we can drive quickly to wherever we are going. In this rush we often lose our sense of rhythm and can become quite overwhelmed and confused.

In Waldorf education, rhythm is a central part of the day. In Steiner’s writing it is hard to find a lecture in which he does not refer to rhythm and cycles – of the day, of the month, of the year, of the life and even of the life of earth & mankind itself.

In his lecture, The Christmas Festival (at: http://tinyurl.com/2baklv), Steiner says, “Man seems to become more and more akin to the great rhythms of Nature. If we think of all that encompasses the life of the soul, of the course of the Sun and everything that is connected with it, we are struck by something that closely concerns us, namely, the rhythm and the marvelous harmony in contrast to the chaos and lack of harmony in the human soul. We all know how rhythmically and with what regularity the Sun appears and disappears. And we can picture what a stupendous upheaval there would be in the universe if for a fraction of a second only the Sun were to be diverted from its course. It is only because of this inviolable harmony in the course of the Sun that our universe can exist at all, and it is upon this harmony that the rhythmic life-process of all beings depends. Think of the annual course of the Sun. — Picture to yourselves that it is the Sun which charms forth the plants in spring time and then think how difficult it is to make the violet or some other plant flower out of due season. Seed-time and harvest, everything, even the very life of animals is dependent upon the rhythmic course of the Sun. And in the being of man himself everything that is not connected with his feelings, his desires and his passions, or with his ordinary thinking, is rhythmic and harmonious.

By realizing this within our children and ourselves we realize how important “little things” like morning circle time, regular meals, regular bedtimes and regular routines are to our holistic well-being. There are many theories today that most psychological issues we deal with as a society are greatly attributable to our lack of rhythm. Depression can often stem from days, months or even years of sleep deprivation (example: http://tinyurl.com/3x6atf) . ADHD can become manifested when a child or adult is exposed to an environment lacking in rhythm (example: http://tinyurl.com/3c47pc) and many illnesses, especially of the digestive system, can be directly related to our habits of eating out of rhythm with the seasons and with our own physical needs.

However, although we may spend hours planning the rhythms of our child’s day, we sometimes forget our own. While we definitely reap the benefits of the morning circle time and other rhythmic routines we sometimes forget that our own routines often need a rhythm. In the same way we schedule a different activity for each day (bread making on Monday, painting on Tuesdays, etc…) we can also schedule our own chores in this way.

In my personal situation, I schedule both my household and my business duties in this way. On Mondays I clean the animal cages and change the sheets on the beds. On Tuesdays I scrub the kitchen floor and clean the bathrooms. The list rotates every week. In my business I have a similar list. On Mondays I list things on Ebay, I do home and business related shopping and I ship any weekend orders I have. On Tuesdays I do finances for the home and the business and on Wednesdays I write BLOGS, articles and do my main work on the Waldorf lists. On Thursdays I see consulting clients and on Fridays I have office hours for students from my natural healing classes.

In the same way I also have a rhythm to my day, which reflects the rhythm of breathing in and breathing out that the children follow. After spending some time on breathing in (E-mail, gardening, doing dishes) I make sure that I spend some time on breathing out activity (ie: running errands, lessons with the kids, healing work)

I also make sure my day contains the three elements of head (writing articles or mental work), heart (chatting with friends, being with my kids, partner and pets, meditating) and hands (knitting, baking, creating something). The morning is a natural time of awakening when a person can best function in creating projects & writing. Afternoon is naturally the peak of the day when more physical activity is required, such as a walk. Many people who ignore this natural rhythm can experience a “low” or feeling of fatigue daily sometime in the afternoon. The evening (and early morning before the sun comes up) is a natural time for inner work and peaceful activities as a family.

On days when I do not follow these rhythms I can feel the difference in my mood, productivity, outlook on life, ability to work and levels of inner peace and balance.

If you reflect for a while you will find that there are many ways in which you can incorporate Waldorf into you own life as well as your child’s life. If you have any inspirations that work for you please share them with the group at:

waldorfschoolonline@yahoogroups.com


ADDITIONAL NOTES

This article was about using Waldorf methods for adults as well as children. If you would like to read more about Waldorf and rhythms an article about Waldorf and Rhythm can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/waldorfschoolonline/files/ (Click on Waldorf Basics)

Soul of man!
You live in the heart-lung-beat
That guides you through the rhythm of times
To the sensing of your own soul's being:
Practice spirit contemplation
In equanimity of soul,
Where the surging
Cosmic creative deeds
Unite
Your own I
To the cosmic I;
And you will truly feel
In deeds of the human soul.

- Rudolph Steiner

END NOTES

1. In some countries where it is very warm or hot it is actually WITHIN the rhythm of that country to take a nap in the mid afternoon, so when I mentioned not napping, I was speaking of only some situations. A lot of rhythm DOES have to do with the environment that surrounds us!

2. Rhythm is something we strive for. After writing the article I didn't want everyone to feel like I always had this lovely rhythm going on in my life. But there is a big difference between having on and not having one. If you have one and then your day gets de-railed by another life rhythm (bad weather, someone popping in for a visit, illness) you have a clear map and road to go back to. If you do not have one to begin with then you are often wandering seeking one both mentally and physically.

Meditation, Inner Work and the Temperaments

Meditation, Inner Work and the Temperaments
By Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND
http://www.thewaldorfchannel.com/
http://www.naturopathichealingcourse.com/


One thing that Steiner saw as very important for Waldorf parents and educators was to maintain a constant awareness of ourselves through meditation and self-reflection. The beginning of his work, “The Foundation Meditation” expresses his thought the best when he says,

Soul of man!
You live in the limbs
That carry you through the world of space
Into the sea of spirit-being:
Practice spirit remembrance
In the depths of soul,
Where in the reigning
Cosmic creator-being
Your own I
In God's I
Is begotten;
And you will truly live
In the cosmic human being.


Phlegmatics are natural meditators. Remember Winnie the Pooh from the 100-acre-woods? He always seemed to be in a constant state of meditation – always looking at the clouds and seeing Hephalumps in them or something! People of the phlegmatic type don’t usually need instruction in meditating or finding time to meditate. For a phlegmatic, meditation happens when it will, throughout the day, alone or in a crowd, in the form of daydreams, short naps, sleeping in and sitting peacefully. While others may find this behavior irritating – phlegmatics are often told to “get up and do something useful” we could all learn a bit about meditating from their natural state of being. The phlegmatic’s challenge in meditation is to focus on themselves instead of distractions. If one is trying to center themselves they need to spend some time meditating on their own inner being and life. A phlegmatic can easily get distracted by thoughts of “Hephalumps and honeypots.”

Melancholics love order and are easily distracted and disturbed when things are out of order. So for a melancholic to be able to meditate they need to find a time of day and a space in which they will be able to be completely alone and at peace. A meditation class, a special room in the house, an early rising time or some time after everyone else goes to bed, is a good time for the melancholic to meditate. Melancholics have an uncanny ability to rise before anyone else in the house because they cannot “think clearly” when anyone else is around and they need that meditation time every day to stay grounded. The melancholic’s challenge is being able to spend that time in meditation focused on themselves instead of other people. Melancholics are often distracted by what may be “good for other people” and often do not spend enough of their meditation time on real inner work for themselves.

Sanguines are only at peace when there is movement involved so it will come as no surprise that it was a sanguine who wrote the book “Walking Meditation”. Sanguines are the people who find that they think most clearly in cars, trains and planes or on walks. There is something about moving in a steady rhythmic motion that creates the peace that a sanguine needs to meditate. The perfect meditation for the sanguine is a morning walk, an evening stroll, chanting, yoga, or some other form of meditation that involves movement. Sanguines are some of the most intense meditators and often spend too much time thinking about what they want to work on. The challenge for a sanguine is to be able to moderate their meditative focus and focus on one issue at a time, rather than all of them at once.

Cholerics often meditate by doing things. But not in the same way a sanguine does. A sanguine meditates by moving in some way and in this way the peace and thoughts of inner work are brought to the surface. For a choleric, meditation often needs to involve even more “doing”. A choleric could create a piece of art, write a book, or sculpt a sculpture and this would be both their way of meditating and the result of their thoughts – in the visual realm. Cholerics meditate best when they are talking, writing or creating something in some way. The challenge for a choleric is to keep focused on the inner meaning of their creations and to make sure their speaking, journaling and art remain a healing way for them to work on their own selves and do not become stifled by what society may expect from their writings, expressions or art.

This short article only touches the very surface of what “inner work” can be for each person. If you are interested in reading more there are many books published on the topic.

Some further reading on the topic of Steiner and meditation can be found at:
Full text of “The Foundation Meditation” at:
http://wn.rsarchive.org/Articles/FSFTSe_index.html

“Inner Work, A Study Guide for Rudolf Steiner’s Heart Thinking” by Mark Riccio at:
http://www.waldorfbooks.com/anthro/inner_work.htm

“Verses and Meditations” by Rudolf Steiner at:
http://www.waldorfbooks.com/anthro/inner_work.htm

And many more at the weblink above (Bob & Nancy’s Shop)

Waldorf and TV

References for this article can be found at:

Reference Page

As a naturopath, writer, and teacher this is one of my favorite projects to take on. I enjoy researching the historical uses of herbs and healing therapies and then tracing their usage up until the modern day where we find that they are still being used for the same ailments – only now their usage is “proved” by modern research. After writing many of these articles I have come to the conclusion that there are many visionaries that have existed that were able to convince hundreds of people of their vision, but sadly, they were not fully listened to until “modern” methods could be used to prove what they say is true.

And some visionaries are still waiting! In the book, The Field, Lynne McTaggart researches some fringe science such as EMF waves, light therapy and ESP research and shows how even these fields are finally getting the “proof” they need to stand up in modern society.

Article: What Did Steiner Say about Television?
So what did Steiner have to say about television? Nothing. There were no televisions in his time. But, he said enough about early childhood education that we can surmise what his views on the tube would have been.

These reasons center on Steiner’s view of the astral body, imagination and the way a child learns.

A cornerstone in Steiner’s educational theorems was the fact that children go through three stages in their lives. First, from age 0-7, the spirit inhabiting the body of the child is still getting used to its surroundings. This explains many standards in the Waldorf curriculum such as the standard of teaching the alphabet at age 7 or 8. During the second stage, from ages 7-14, the child is said to be driven by imagination and fantasy, and during the third stage, starting at age 14, the astral body is said to be driven into the physical body, creating the onset of puberty.

Waldorf educators saw a direct link to this astral body and the watching of television. The scenes, the lack of imagination involved, and the topics covered on most channels would obviously bring on the astral stage of the body at an early age. This was one reason that television was banned from Waldorf schools.

Modern researchers, however, have just recently made this connection when they recently announced, “Watching Television may Quicken the Onset of Puberty” (Dr. Laura Markham, 2006). In her article, based on 35 different research studies she states that this connection has a lot to do with the hormone melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain, which plays a key role in regulating the body’s internal clock. Light emitted by television screens suppresses melatonin levels in the blood, which disrupts sleep patterns of children and teens as well as the age at which they enter puberty. It is also interesting to note that the problems of early-onset puberty have baffled researchers since 1950. This was the same date in which televisions became widely owned in the United States.

This is not the main reason given when Waldorf Schools state on their websites that children should not watch television. When I reviewed 40 Waldorf school websites I found that 36 of them stated their main reason for discouraging television was that it hinders the imagination in the child.

And this is indeed one of the most important elements in early childhood education that Steiner, himself, promoted. Rudolf Steiner, in his 1919 Essay, “An Introduction to Waldorf Education,” states, “Of prime importance for the cultivation of the child’s feeling-life is that the child develops a relationship to the world in a way such as that which develops when we are inclined towards fantasy.” Fantasy, in Waldorf education, is not the fantasy of Disney movies or only the fantasy of fairy tales. It is a holistic process of allowing the child to expand their imagination into expanded realms. Fairy tales are one aspect of this process.

Recent studies show that television hinders this process in young children. In a study led by Dr. Aric Sigman, an associate fellow of the British Psychological Society (and concluded in 2007). He shows that television affects the brain in many ways that would weaken the imagination in children. The first effect that translates into a weaker imagination is the occurrence of “jump cuts” in television that fracture attention spans. At the same time, studies show that the brain is then programmed to reward itself with “dopamine” (the happy drug) for being able to cope with this fractured attention span. Basically, people become addicted to functioning with a fractured attention span. Extreme multi-tasking and children being enrolled in tens of “after-school activities” are also a result of this addiction. Imagination is naturally lost when our minds cannot focus. Have you ever tried to write an article while being interrupted every five minutes?
As far as being educational, brain scans performed by neuroscientist have shown that television and many interactive media games do not stimulate intellectual areas of the brain.

Teachers in Waldorf schools also discourage the watching of television because of the effects it has on the child’s behavior at school. But any teacher could tell you that! Not just a Waldorf teacher. And we have all heard that enough times to be tired of that reason. But how can we bring Steiner’s research into this and understand it on a deeper level?

Steiner said, “From birth to about the sixth or seventh year, the human being naturally gives himself up to everything immediately surrounding him in the human environment, and thus, through the imitative instinct, gives form to his own nascent powers.” If I didn’t know that Steiner was not alive during the time of television I would expect his next words to say something about the effects of television. But his next words are even more powerful. He says, “From this period on, the child’s soul becomes open to take in consciously what the educator and teacher give, which affects the child as a result of the teacher’s natural authority.”

So, what, then, would happen when that “teacher” is the television? What Steiner is saying in his statement is that the child is in a stage where he/she is imitating everything around them. Everything becomes their teacher. Any parent who has been embarrassed by a child’s actions that reflected their own knows this to be true. Rahima Baldwin Dancy’s book “You are Your Child’s First Teacher” explores this issue in much depth. It becomes only obvious, to a Waldof teacher, then, that if you allow television to be a teacher you open up the child to many things you do not want them exposed to.

On the website of one Waldorf school in Ireland it states, “Television, as well as film, videos, DVDs, recorded music, computers and electronic games have a very powerful effect on children. It can take several days for the effects of a single video to wear off. If children are watching every day, the effects never wear off at all; many children now speak a lot of the time in ‘cartoon’ voices, make ‘sound effects’ to accompany their jerky movements (kicking, punching) and compulsively repeat lines from videos they have seen over and over again. This is now seen as normal childish behaviour, but it really comes from these media, not from the children themselves.”

Another concern about television watching is that it will hinder the child’s ability to reflect on and carry through on the lessons they were taught during the day. Steiner believed that “What is learned more slowly at any given age is more surely and healthily absorbed by the organism, that what is crammed into it.” (Spiritual Ground for Education by Rudolf Steiner). This is one reason that when a child is given a lesson in a Waldorf manner that they are allowed time to reflect on it and often given the “same” lesson twice. Lessons often depend on the child taking in the content of the first lesson, sleeping and reflecting on it and then coming back the next day to recall and work through it. During this time of sleep and reflection the lesson will have been digested, together with mental pictures a child has made for themselves and it is this that makes the lesson really “sink in” to a child’s being.

If children are watching television or using any other electronic devices during this process, these devices will “over-ride” the lesson. So instead of reflecting and creating images of the lesson, the child’s head will be filled with images of the television or media. Once again, his own imagination is denied him. This view on the damage of television ties into the modern studies done on television watching and its effects on concentration that I discussed earlier.

Recent studies are also showing that TV can be linked to obesity, autism, and even diabetes. Steiner gave numerous lectures on the topic of nutrition and education and believed that the health of the body was greatly affected by how it learned, and how a person learned was also greatly effected by their health. Knowing, what we know today about the health effects of television on the body, we can assume that Steiner would not have approved of this as a healthy medium for holistic learning.

Post-Article: How Does www.thewaldorfchannel.com Tie into This?
The Waldorf Channel is intended for adult viewing only. Programs are designed to be short in span (3-8 minutes) so the ill effects of using electronic media for all people is minimized.
I do realize that some children may choose to watch some of the videos in an instructional way with their parents.

Videos that children may be watching for instruction are mean to be “instructional lessons” and not “shows to watch”. So if your child chooses to watch a show then they should be aware of the presenter as their “teacher” and they should participate with the presenter and their parent together as a way of learning new things. This is a way of bringing Waldorf into your home via the incredible tools of the Internet in the modern world and is NOT a way to bring TV into your Waldorf home.

Waldorf Radio is intended to be listened to by parents alone or parents and children together. After listening to a show parents should be able to re-create the stories for their children and children should be able to recreate the stories in their own way – including creating plays. This is one way to bring the magic of storytelling and fantasy into your home as a family together.

Moving Meditation

Someone commented to me today, "I don't know how you do so many things!" I have two responses that I would really like to share with this friend and with anyone who feels overwhelmed in their life or anyone who would like just a little bit more joy and efficiency in their day:

1. Remember that what you see of anyone online has a bit of illusion in it. I don't want to create the false impression that I am a "super-mom". It may appear that people online accomplish a lot because they only post their accomplishments online. This is the nature of life online. I don't think you all want to see a video of me sleeping in until noon or hear about how I spent two hours petting my cat!

2. As a mother, teacher, healer, friend, cook, cleaner and much more we all have so many "jobs" that it seems to leave little time for getting our work done and even less time for meditation and reflection.

I was inspired years ago by the Turkish (Sufi) or Buddhist method of meditation which involves making every moment of your life an opportunity for reflection, joy, meditation and enrichment rather than specifying a certain time to "meditate". I learned this method by example, first when I met one of my mentors in 1994 and then, again, when I visited Turkey in 1998.

I was first interested in this way of life because I was very frustrated by some of the chores I was doing every day and I was impressed by other people I saw who seemed to find such joy in these chores - even washing dishes!

What surprised me was that the more I practiced this way of living, the more efficient I became and the more work I was able to do each day - as a mother, teacher, healer, and much more.

You can find some written inspiration for this method in the books, "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle and "Shelter for the Spirit" by Thomas Moore. Hmmm...if anyone knows of any females who have written on this topic please tell me so I can include them too!

My favorite quote from "Shelter for the Spirit" is:

"Sometimes I still whine about chores. Cleaning is boring, repetetive, mindless, unappreciated, physically demmanding, sexually sterotyped and socially undervalued. In this state of noredom, reception and mindlessness however, we can be receptive to the divinity within us. Similarly, being called to an activity that is demanding, sterotyping and undervalued, can be used as an opportunity to gain hummility. It can bring us face-to-face with the mytic’s paradox: We are dust and we are divine."

And remember what Shakespere said, "Action is eloquence".

By living fully in each moment and experiencing each moment as divine you will find more joy in your life and you will also find that you get more done without even trying!

I hope that someone else will be inspired by this thought as I was years ago...it changed my life.

Blessings & Health,
Kristie

Twas the Night before Solstice by Kristie Burns

This can now be found at www.BEarthBLOG.com

LESSON: From a Car Accident Yesterday

Dear Members,

Yesterday I was in the first car accident of my life. I had some injury to my back and neck. They say there are no broken bones but I have to wait a few days to see if the pain and swelling are just muscle stress or something more serious. I am hoping it all just gets better in a few days. Right now I am just able to work very slowly but I am thankful for a lot of things and I wanted to share these with you so you can learn from what happened to me and perhaps have a little time to reflect on the things that you are thankful for today.

I am thankful that...

1. ...The kids were in the backseat. Sometimes I do let the older child sit in front, but if he had been sitting in front he would have rammed his head into the dashboard and not the soft seat in front of him. Note to self - NEVER let even an older child sit in front!

2. ...The kids were wearing their seatbelts. Sometimes they "forget" and I have to remind them. And sometimes I forget to remind them and we go a few blocks before I realize they are not belted in. Note to self: Be 100% diligent about reminding them and don't forget in the future AT ALL!

3. ...I was wearing my seatbelt. I was rammed into very hard from behind. If I had not been wearing my seatbelt I imagine my face would not be too pretty right now.

4. ...That is was not worse. About the only thing I can do today is type a little and sit. So I was reading the paper a bit and there was a story about a lady who was in a similar accident 4 years ago and the spine injuries she sustained cause paralysis. She is looking for donations for a surgery that she needs. I think I will send some money.

5. ...That I was not talking on my cell phone or eating while I was driving. I have to admit (shame on me) that I occassionally did this in the past. Well, I realize if I HAD been doing that last night the accident would have been much worse. I had fast enough reflexes and was focused enough that I stopped before I hit the car in front of me. Of course my car hit him eventually anyway after the car behind me hit ME but the accident would have been much worse if I had not been completely focused on my driving at that moment.

6...That is was rush hour and traffic was slow. I usually hate 73rd street because of the slow traffic. I am learning to appreciate it now.

Wishing you all a safe driving day!

Blessings & Health,
Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND
www.thedreamangels.com