Every moment we can change with the flow within the Cosmic River of Life.
So who we were even moments ago—let alone a day(s), week(s), month(s), year(s), decade(s), lifetime(s)—may not be the same or even similar as this particular moment of NOW.
Though this was an old draft post, and the self who wrote it years ago isn’t completely the same self as now, the personal stories within it are precious treasure to me, so I’m going to share it with you, part of interconnected Life within this world and way beyond.
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
But first, the following excerpt is from today’s 1 of 3 posts, “Pure Love Black Heart,” and I’m going to use it as part of this intro:
Normally, if I came upon an old post, my logical, former analyst mind would want to revise it before publishing for the public eyes.
But thanks to my recent solitude trip experiences, and the continuing, daily Divine synchronicity that I’ve noticed, I’ve been able to receive various forms of uplifting abundance […]
I’m learning more and more to let go of everything that no longer serves a positive purpose in my life, to include but not limited to: judgement of self/others, remnants of anal perfectionism, […]
Anyhoo, I’m going continue trusting that whatever I’ve shared with this blog thus far, and will share more today and probably in the future, is perfectly imperfect.
Due to having several surgeries soon, I will need a healing phase where I won’t be able to use my laptop for a while, among other things.
And I realize that with any type of surgery, there are probable risks, to include something going “wrong”; but I choose to trust that All is Well in every moment of our NOWs no matter what.
So regardless of what happens, I fully embrace it.
But just in case my spirit chooses to Be completely free from this particular human body, I’d like to at least share what might possibly be my last 3 blog posts: 1) this one 2) “My Exciting New J.O.B.: Joy Of Being!” and 3) “Old Merging with New Wisdom.”
10/9/20 Korea Time = 10/8/20 U.S. Time
Sometimes, we may believe that we didn’t share helpful information (aka Light) with others because it wasn’t important enough, interesting enough, and/or helpful enough.
However, I was reminded in the dark, silent, and stillness of this early morning (10/9/20 Korea time since I’m currently at a 14-day quarantine facility/hotel mandated by the Korean government), that EVERYTHING within interconnected Life falls into place, in Divine perfect timing and order, like perfect, earthly and otherworldly puzzle pieces.
I had last edited this draft post 6 years ago on Nov 4th—according to the last edit record of this blog—so I probably created it earlier since it is an unusually long post (though definitely worth investing one’s energy and time).
The following is a record of the journal I started typing this morning, which I’m now adding to this post (note: I’m currently in Korea, at a Korean government designated, 14-day quarantine facility/hotel, which I’ve also started journaling about, as well as taking pics):
New Comedy Set [title]: Amazing, Transparent Kids [that I plan on adding to my about 3 year collection of open-mic comedy sets, and then choosing which one to perform for five HOT minutes in January of 2021 at the Stir Crazy Comedy Club in Glendale, AZ, shortly after returning from my adventure + solitude extended REBIRTH trip]
Inspired from within on 10/9/20, between 3 and 4 am Korea time, after communicating with all aspects and extensions of Multidimensional, full-potential, whole self/Self for Being an awesome team, and for assisting me to Be, live, and do all that highly benefits self/interconnected Life within this world and beyond.
This open-mic comedy set beautifully integrates various precious and amazing experiences I had with the 23 pre-school children and main teacher (and others) at Mustard Seed Early Learning Center from the fall of 2012 to the spring of 2013.
Also, I recalled journaling about these fascinating children, so I searched within my blog, and sure enough, I came upon this draft post, “My Exciting New J.O.B. (Joy Of Being)!” that not only contains detailed stories (to include some below), but surprisingly also contained deeply heartfelt, profound wisdom quotes from self/others that relate to my recent experiences from Sedona and Korea (created the next post with these quotes followed by related recent observations, personal stories, narrow and expanded perspectives, and insights).
How perfect!! Thank you Beloved self/Self for this wonderful gift!!! ^_^)
Below is the last paragraph of this once draft post, but I’d like to use it as part of this intro as well:
Anyway, the other stories of my 23 angels (that I named) are in the unpublished post, “My Exciting New J.O.B. (Joy of Being)” which I’ve been putting off for a long time to complete more than likely due to my strong emotional attachment that I had with them.
Just writing bits and pieces of the stories is a sure sign that I’m ready to dive into that deep ocean of emotions.
The following are sub-themes to this post:
- The Unconventional Decision
- The Joyless Job
- Remembering to Appreciate the Small Things
- Releasing What No Longer Serves Me
- Confusion Followed by Clarity
- Trusting the Unknown
- An Introduction to the Joy of Being
- Angel Number 23
- Setting The Standard
- 1) The Transformation of Manny
- The Highly Sensitive Little Beings
- 2) Casey, Aliens & God
- 3) Tammy & Telepathy
- Rainbow & Crystal Children
- 4) Keen-Eyed Kerry
- 5) Lily (aka Little Nina)
- 6) Autistic Kenny
- Ms. Jay, The Tough Teddybear
- Positive Choices
- The Exceptionally Smart Ones
- 7) Qadan “Mini Urkle”
- 8) Assertive Ally
- 9) Kinetic Katey
- 10) Angelic Anthony
- 11) Amusing Addy
- 12) Compassionate Cindy
- 13) Honest Hadiya
- 14) Adamant Arin
- 15) Spoiled Soran
- 16) Cool Cadrone
- 17) Jekyll and Hyde Max
- 18) Thoughtful Thorton
- 19) Darth Vader Dristin
- 20) Delicate Dawbry
- 21) Admirable Anna
- 22) Mischievous Mira
- 23) Lena…The Fearless One
- Children Who are Fully Aware
- Student and Teacher to One Another
- Growing with Nina
- Bonding with Nina
- Truth + Love = Solution
- Adding Humor to What Is
- Noticing Progress…Slowly but Surely
- A New Relationship with Nina
- A New Relationship with Garcia
- A New Relationship with Jay
- A New Relationship with My Mother
- Accepting All That Is
- A Choice to Love Unconditionally
The Unconventional Decision
On October 14, 2012 (Sunday) I decided to do something different…something that most members of society may label as “abnormal” or “stupid” or any other “negative” description. I consider my decision…
liberating!
I decided to withdraw from college that’s paid for by the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill, take the chance of highly disappointing my husband and possibly others, e-mail an employer (from a girls’ home) that I had chosen not to have a second interview with in 2011, and fully trust God that my intense feelings are going to guide me onto an unknown, yet perfect path.
I chose to follow my heart and take a path less traveled…a path that may not be labeled as successful to society; but to my soul, following my deepest passion is the epitome of success.
Note: Image on right by ascensionearth2012.org
My decision to no longer continue my formal education initially baffled me. I was ingrained to believe, for decades, that a college education was one of the most important routes to a successful and happy life. Even the unhealthy, perfectionist side of me was so determined to excel in school (and in life) that I wasn’t truly happy unless I received a 95% or higher on my exams.
My ego-self was like, “Why would you want to give up your 4.0 G.P.A that you’ve worked so hard for?” I realized that this was the part of me that was scared to let go of something highly valued by today’s society. I couldn’t understand why I no longer desired to go to college full-time, especially when I finally had the golden opportunity to attend for three years at no cost to myself.
While I was in the military, I only took one to two college classes at the most because that’s all I believed I could handle at the time. There were a few who did work full-time, and attend school full-time, but they were noticeable drained.
The Joyless Job
Military lifestyle is no walk in the park. While I was in the Army, I typically had to wake up between 4:00-4:30 a.m. so that I could get ready and then drive to my unit’s formation, conduct physical training for an hour, get ready for work, eat breakfast, work between 9 to 10 hours, and then get home usually around 7:30 p.m.
In addition to the daily, long hours, we (Military Intelligence soldiers) sometimes had to work on weekends (analyzing and typing reports), work extra duties on weekends (either 12 or 24 hours straight), or participate in field exercises (which could mean spending a couple of weeks in the mountains, or whatever terrain you’re mostly surrounded by in your area) with no showers and no other comfort items that we may take for granted sometimes.
So all these things that I did in the Army that society said I should do to be successful and happy didn’t really make me happy. They were like checks off the block…the things we should do, but didn’t move me in any way, shape or form.
Note: Image one left by favim.com
I didn’t know then that the type of work that I was doing was clearly not being in alignment with Source. I didn’t experience any excitement (a sure sign that whatever I’m doing is being in alignment with Source) doing long-term analysis, reporting, database entry, motorpool work, Sergeant’s Time Training, etc.
Granted, I’m very grateful for some of the experiences that I had in the Army, because they helped me to grow mentally, physically, emotionally…and most of all spiritually.
The most memorable experiences involved my interactions, bonding, friendships, and other so-called positive or negative relationships with people. I also love the experiences that helped me to appreciate the small things in life.
Note: Image on right by earthtimes.org
Sometimes, we may take for granted the simple pleasure of being relaxed in the comfort of our homes. We may complain that we’re bored or that life itself is boring. Or, we may not appreciate our homes. When I happen to slip into such “negative” thinking, I remind myself that some people don’t even have a home.
I also remind myself of where I came from. I wrote a post a while back called, “Light and Darkness” where I talk about how I learned to appreciate the small things. For instance, whenever I feel irritated about being on my period, I remind myself of a very special day.
Remembering to Appreciate the Small Things
When I was at my first unit in the Army, we often went out on field exercises. On one of these lovely events, I was on my period. It was pitch dark outside and my bladder was about to burst. Although I really didn’t feel like going out into the woods by myself (since I didn’t have a female battle buddy to go with me on that day), I had no choice.
I took my iddy bitty, red flashlight (the only color light that we were allowed to use to avoid “enemy” detection), put on all my multiple pieces of heavy gear (that we had to wear everywhere we went), grabbed my weapon, and proceed to the middle of the woods. It then started pouring rain. I recall thinking something like, “Dear God! Can this day get any better?”
Note: Image on left by blogs.wit.edu
We usually had porta potties available to us on site; however, this day we didn’t. So there I was, struggling to take off certain pieces of clothing that seemed like they were intertwined with all the dummy chords that were attached to my gear, radio and other equipment, and to get into the best position to change my pad while trying to prevent it from getting soaked by the rain, and also trying to see what I was doing.
Then, I heard someone walking by which startled me and threw me off my balance. I immediately shined my flashlight, and it was just a Korean grandpa-looking man hunched over and slowly walking by with his cane like one of those huge, ancient turtles.
He didn’t even seem to notice my existence, or maybe he did, but didn’t care. Either way, I was grateful that we didn’t make eye contact, because I was in a very awkward, squat position.
After I took care of my business and placed my trash into a ziplock bag, I returned to my sleep area. I was drenched from head to toe, shivering, and exhausted from my long hours in the field and my period’s multiple, PMS symptoms, to include fatigue, bloating, back pains and irritability. After changing into dry clothes, I laid down thinking that the day I was having was the ultimate, worst “period” day I ever had.
Since then, whenever I was on my period, and happen to be sitting on a comfortable toilet, in the privacy of my own, warm, dry and lighted home (or even another house or public building), I would sometimes remind myself to be grateful of such comfort and appreciate the small things I sometimes take for granted.
Releasing What No Longer Serves Me
Throughout my life, I did a lot of things that won the approval of society, but didn’t necessarily make me feel successful and/or happy. I realize that I had a belief system that was programmed into me since I was a child that I wasn’t worthy, so I had this strong need to prove my worthiness to myself, society and even God.
Many times I thought to myself that I must have been a very “bad” soul in previous lives; hence, I had to live a life surrounded by much darkness in order to evolve into a better soul. Before I learned about Spirituality, I believed that God was punishing me and that I wasn’t worthy of his love.
I believe that I’m currently in the process of releasing all these “negative” belief systems so that I can remember more of who I truly am…”a spiritual being having a human experience.”
This remembering allows me to let go of any idea that I need anything outside of me to experience being whole, worthy, successful, powerful, loving, abundant, peaceful, free, wise and happy. I use “I AM” statements whenever I remember to, to remind myself that Source/God is within me and “We Are All One” statements to remind myself that Source/God is all around me.
A few of my family or friends were perplexed by the idea that I chose not to continue a career in the intelligence community when I still had a TS/SCI clearance after I retired from the Army; however, I didn’t expect them to understand. If they’re truly interested in finding out the details behind my decision, I’m sure they’ll ask. Until then, I choose not to force my beliefs upon them.
Having to explain why I no longer have a “successful” career or why I’m no longer attending college to family, friends and former coworkers was very hard for my ego-self to process. Nagging thoughts of being a so-called failure in life, or even a so-called quitter, prevented me from many night of sound sleep.
I even managed to convince myself that other perceived me in the same manner, but then a small voice seemed to tell me that I was actually projecting my negative thoughts about myself onto others. In reality, they’re probably too busy living their own busy lives to think about my life.
After I got out of the Army, and I couldn’t get a job for months as either a Human Intelligence Collector/Interrogator or Cryptologic Korean Linguist/Analyst…or any other job for that matter….I started losing hope and believed that it was due to my lack of competence, intelligence, communication skills, interpersonal skills, resume-writing skills, etc.
Granted, I wasn’t in the greatest location for jobs int the intelligence community, but I thought I would at least get some kind of offer. Then one day, I finally received not one, but two e-mails to apply for two different positions. One was to work as a contractor in Afghanistan as an interrogator/analyst making a lot of money, and another one was to work an a civilian Korean linguist/analyst in NSA Hawaii, where I once worked when I was active duty in the Army.
The strange thing is, at that time, I had completely lost my desire to pursue a career in the intelligence community. My once precious TS/SCI clearance had no meaning to me anymore. Although the money was great, I recalled how unhappy I was while doing both jobs. Sitting int front of a computer for 9-15 hours a day in cubicle land was pretty far from “exciting.”
When I first started working at NSA Hawaii, as a soldier, I heard someone say that you eventually become a zombie after a couple of years at that place. I smiled and didn’t pay much attention to the soldier’s comment. I just figured he was being a pessimist.
Sadly, after working there for three years, I finally understood what he meant. Practically everyone in my unit was miserable and often mentioned that the place drained the living soul out of them. I secretly agreed, although I tried to stay positive.
It didn’t help that our work environment had zero windows since we were located underground. Not having sun light and fresh air circulating throughout the buildings probably didn’t help matters much. In addition to that, there was fierce and unhealthy competition amongst coworkers.
I began to understand why people were saying that people in the intelligence community have a tendency to hoard knowledge and will step on others to shine by themselves. There was also a lot of smiling to the face and gossiping in-between and inside certain cubicles.
But I learned that this type of behavior happens everywhere throughout the world, and it’s not just tailored to the intelligence community of the U.S. Plus, I’ve also worked with some very amazing and professional servicemen and women from all branches (even the three-letter agencies). So there’s a mix of every kind of person no matter where we go. Granted, I’ve only met the amazing ones every now and then.
Conducting interrogations had its moments, especially getting to know people from other cultures, understanding why certain people do what they do, and learning to have compassion for all people regardless of how they are labeled by society. However, the manipulating, deceiving, and downright lying to people (whether they are guilty of being a “bad guy” or not) was not my favorite part of the job.
I was especially burdened with heavy guilt when I was not allowed to deliver what I had promised to certain detainees, even though they eventually became fully cooperative and delivered pertinent information. Sometimes, those who were in higher positions made those calls. It was understandable, but still disturbing.
On the other hand, I am grateful that I had an opportunity to learn from some of the best interrogators (while I was deployed) who used more positive approaches to their interrogations, such as being more understanding, being more empathetic, showing compassion, having interpersonal skills, using humor, having great communication skills, and being assertive rather than aggressive.
Well, I felt like that phase of my life was over, and that I should fulfill my dream of going back to college full-time. I decided to major in psychology because I wanted to have a better understanding of myself and others, and the courses that I needed to take seemed interesting.
Confusion Followed by Clarity
I attended two semesters at a community college and then transferred to a university. Everything seemed to go so well…until things started heading south. Some of the details of why I decided to withdraw are in my older posts, “Following Heart over Mind” and “”Let’s Inflame our Hearts!” along with Twitter comments.
In a nutshell, the more I learned (or remembered) about Spirituality, the more I became fascinated by it; it was all that I ever wanted to read, watch (videos), think about, talk about…and apply to my life.
I started losing my focus. I would do things like read the same paragraph from my college textbook five times or more because the information wouldn’t sink in. In class, I would daydream about all the exciting things that I’d rather do. I was frustrated because I wanted to shout to myself, “Who are you now? Ever since junior high school, and all the times you were in college classes, you were very focused and serious about school work!”
I slowly learned, with the help of spiritual people from Twitter, websites, blogs, books, etc. that I was in the process of becoming more creative, “unconditional love” focused, all-inclusive right-brain (Divine Feminine Consciousness/Energy side) centered rather than the logical, calculating, organized, and self-serving left-brain (Masculine Consciousness/Energy side) centered…until I remember to balance the two.
This explained why I was very miserable in my College Algebra class (left-brain centered). Not only am I not the typical “math-excelling, Asian female,” but I was also never really fond of math PERIOD.
I don’t know which one came first, me having poor math skills due to my lack of interest, or vice versa (like the chicken or the egg), but I just know that I took up to Mathanalysis in high school, and I never had to use Geometry, Algebra, Algebra II, or the last class in over 20 years of my life.
So I guess I felt like it was a major waste of my time, although it was a required course. I was also quickly losing interest in my other three classes. My first mentioned post (above) explains in detail of what I thought about Abnormal Psychology (as well as the instructor), and my Fraud, Myths and Mysteries class was an excessive amount of ridiculing those who believed in the unseen world, such as God, aliens, angels, miracles, etc., all of which I passionately believe in (at least most of the time).
Although I loved my professional, humorous, and assertive Criminology instructor, I noticed that reading the textbook influenced my thinking towards a dark path that I no longer desired to take.
Once I withdrew from school, I had mixed feeling for a while. A part of me felt guilt, disappointment, and confusions, and the other part of me felt free, excited, and peaceful. I then decided to focus my attention onto my spiritual studies.I even came across an alternate, accredited metaphysical university.
Although today’s society hasn’t fully embraced the metaphysical school, it didn’t matter to me. I was fascinated and excited as I explored the course work of the school. I told myself that one day I would complete the course work…when I’m ready.
Trusting the Unknown
Until then, I decided to just go with the flow. I intuitively knew that there was something more simple, yet profound, that my soul was ready to experience. Even though I didn’t know what that was, I felt peace within me.
Since I didn’t hear back from the girls’ home that I had e-mailed to (the one where I had a second interview with in 2011), I decided one day to re-apply to a particular Early Childhood Learning Center, where it’s not just a daycare center, but an actual school to help children develop cognitively, emotionally, and socially.
The name of the place often caught my attention as I would drive by it, and I wondered what it would be like to work there. They seemed different from other early learning centers in that they took great pride in giving the best care and love for the children. It wasn’t as nearly as fancy-looking as other centers, but there was something about that place that drew me in.
A part of me feared of being rejected again, since I didn’t hear from them in 2011; however, the other part of me shouted, “Just go for it!” To my surprise, I got called in for an interview…and to make a long story short, I got hired.
An Introduction to the Joy of Being
The pay is less than half of what I had made as an E-7 in the Army, and I only have the title “Assistant Teacher” (as opposed to having been an instructor at one point in the Army); however, I’ve been experiencing something that I’ve rarely experienced before in any of my prior civilian and military jobs…pure joy.
I was in the four to five-year old preschool room, and I loved it! Granted, there were definitely some pain-in-the-ass moments, especially when some of them threw tantrums, but overall…it was all worth it. Bonding with these children was one of the best experiences of my life.
I realized that I had missed out during these precious years in my own children’s lives, due to being in training for almost a year, then being stationed in Korea where you can’t take your family, and then being involuntarily extended another eight months…and then being divorced.
I had a strong desire to give to these children what I was unable to give to my own. Throughout the day, I tried to remind myself daily to see them as my own children, and to give them my best attention, guidance, support, protection, knowledge, wisdom, motivation, inspiration, strength, and last but not least…unconditional love.
When they got upset, I loved comforting them, and showing them that I care about their feelings. When they misbehaved and threw tantrums, I loved to help them remember their true selves. When they missed their parent(s) during outside time, I loved to swing them like a human merry-go-round and watch their sad faces transform into happy faces.
Granted, one time…the biggest five year-old boy (Anthony) approached me with a big smile and shouted, “Swing me!” He’s almost as tall as me, and I think he may weigh more than me, but he’s the best behaved and most lovable kid in our class. So I thought, “Dear God, give me extra strength!” and lifted him up and swung him a few rounds.
The excitement in kids’ voices as they accomplished various things made me so happy, like when they shouted, “Look Ms. Bobbie! I’m lathering and not letting the water run!” or “Ms. Bobbie, look what I made!” or “Ms. Bobbie, I sang the rainbow song while I was on the toilet!” or “Ms. Bobbie, I made positive choices today!”
I learned that the kids learned the best through songs. So rather than telling them to turn off the faucet (while lathering their hands or brushing their teeth) to save water or to telling them to save the dolphins (neither of which were effective), I would just sing a phrase from Barney’s brushing teeth song, “And we never let the water run!” To my surprise, it caught on real fast. The next thing you know, every time a kid would let the water run, a few to several of the kids would start singing that phrase, and the kid in front of the sink would immediately turn off the faucet.
The sound of the kids’ giggles and laughter as I tickled them or chased them around the playground raised my vibration to higher states of pure Joy. I also felt the kid in me play freely, like I had done a long time ago; it was like I was reminded of how much fun it was to just have fun.
Once, one of the kids (Ally) said, “Smell my breath Ms. Bobbie! I brushed my tongue real good!” I often remind them to brush their tongue since the Barney’s “Brushing Teeth” song that they loved so much doesn’t include that step.
As soon as she blew in my face, I made a miserable facial expression and acted as if I was about to faint. To my surprise, a bunch of them started laughing. The next thing you know, almost ten others were asking me to smell their breaths. It was all fun and games, but during times of the stomach bug and colds, I ensured this breath-taking activity came to a halt.
Watching them gaze into my eyes as I held their hands and reminded them of who they truly are, warmed my heart. Noticing them make efforts to make more positive choices gave me hope. Noticing them share toys, be kind to one another, and shout, “Ms. Bobbie, we’re doing teamwork!” tickled me. Receiving unexpected hugs and “I love you Ms. Bobbie!” touched my soul, and sometimes made me want to cry.
Every day after work, I couldn’t help but talk about the little rascals to my husband. He came by to visit us a few times, and to bring cupcakes, just so that he could meet the kids and match all the names and stories with their faces that he had down to memory.
Angel Number 23
“To grow spiritually is to learn to love unconditionally. When we are truly able to unconditionally love others without judgement we give ourselves wonderful opportunities to grow spiritually and naturally awaken.
Joanne Walmsley – SACRED SCRIBES —
Setting the Standard
When I first started working at the center, it wasn’t always flowers and joyful moments; there were some kids who really tested me. After some time of quiet observations, I noticed that something different had to be done in order to bring out the best in some of the kids. The ‘old’ method was not effective. I informed the kids that for each negative choice that they made (e.g., pouting, whining, throwing a fit, not being nice to others, not following instructions, being disrespectful to teachers, etc.), they would get a strike; and after strike three, I would take time from their outside time (aka recess). Three strikes = 5 minutes and six strikes = 10 minutes, and so on. Surprisingly, a few of them managed to gain enough strikes to end up sitting on the bench the entire 30 minutes of outside time.
At the beginning there were several kids who ended up on the bench on a daily basis. I was informed that a couple of the teachers from the 3-year old classroom didn’t agree with my method, but the main teacher (Nina) said that as long as they were allowed to be outside, that it was okay. Even a few of the parents didn’t seem to like the idea that their kids were on the bench when they were picking them up. But I decided to go with what felt like a good idea.
I started the bench idea because I noticed that the “Thinking Chair (aka time out spot)” was not effective. Plus, from my past experience, I learned that even the most challenging young, Army soldiers (who acted like kids sometimes) improved the best when you took away their most precious thing…their personal time. For instance, when a stubborn young soldier continuously failed to clean his barracks room because he was obsessed with playing video games instead, he ended up spending his entire Saturday scrubbing away. The next thing you know…he continually passed his next barracks inspection.
Anyway, even the bench idea had to be improved. I noticed that some of the kids didn’t seem to mind sitting there because they were able to chat with one another, kick rocks, play with rocks, and/or watch other kids play. So, I told them that they were no longer allowed to do what they were doing on the bench, except to sit quietly and just look at their new friend, “Bench” (which they thought was funny). I also informed them that each time they turned around, talked to someone or kicked rocks, I would add an additional five minutes.
One of the things I learned is that kids are very smart, and when you provide rules, and you consistently implement them…they will follow. However, if they know that they can get away with doing whatever they feel like doing…they will.
The kids didn’t like having to sit on the bench during outside time just facing the fence, so they started to improve their bad behavior and/or listening skills. Even the most defiant ones eventually came around realizing that the rules apply to all of them all the time. The next thing you know, the kids would say that they remember that three strikes means that they would lose five minutes from their outside time.
Every passing day, there was improvement in the kids behaviors. They would get really excited for not getting any strikes, and strived to make positive choices. They seemed to prefer being praised for positive behavior, rather then being ultimately ignored for negative behavior.
Eventually, one of the 3-year-old class teachers (Jay) realized that perhaps the bench method was effective, considering there were less and less kids ending up on the bench as time went by. Plus, about seven of her boys continuously ended up in our classroom “Thinking Chair” on a daily basis because they were just bad to the bone (i.e., screaming, throwing things, cursing, fighting, kicking, spitting, punching, flipping tables and chairs, name-calling…and even hitting the teachers). Even the parents who once seemed to be displeased with the bench idea later admitted that it was very effective.
The strike system became so effective that even the few kids who had a tendency to scream and cry whenever they didn’t get what they wanted came around. I often reminded the kids, as a whole, that ti’s okay to cry when we’re sad, but it’s not okay to scream and cry just to throw a tantrum.
A couple of the kids used to scream and cry between 10-40 minutes whenever they felt like throwing a tantrum. One of them (Mira) improved immensely by stopping herself at the count of two (which used to be at least a count of 10).
I used to have to count to three before the loud classroom quieted down. However, as time went by, I noticed how instantly silent and still the classroom became at the mere count of one….or just taking out my mini notebook from my apron (where I recorded as many positive and not-so-positive choices that the kids would make each day).
What was also effective was calling out to the few kids who were using inside voices and following instructions by enthusiastically saying, “THANK YOU (name) for catching a bubble!” Note: At the center, “Catch a bubble” is a polite way of saying, “Be quiet.” The kids notice other kids being praised, so the loud ones immediately quiet down.
The Transformation of Manny
There was a boy named Manny who used to be a challenge to work with. I was told by Nina that he was a little behind in his cognitive, emotional and social skills. And she also informed me that he was very emotional, and that she is very careful about what she says to him, and how she says it.
Manny was the biggest kid in the classroom. He wasn’t fat…he was just big boned and tall. He was also one of the kids that I asked me to swing him on a few occassions during outside time, and each time I had to mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually prepare myself to do so. Fat weighs less than muscle, so Anthony was a tad bit easier to swing than Manny.
Manny has kind of a bowl-shaped brown hairdo and big, Precious Moments-like brown eyes. He doesn’t say much, but when he never hesitates to express his emotions.
Well, Manny was very adamant about not participating during circle time. Note: circle time is when all the kids sit in a big circle around whenver teacher is teaching…usually Nina. He would just crawl around the classroom like a baby doing his own thing while the rest of the kids had to sit down “criss-cross applesauce,” pay attention and participate . I asked Nina why she allowed him to do so, and if she allowed the behavior because he had a disability. She explained that he was much worse when she first had him a while back. Since he improved a little, she basically gave him some slack.
A few problems stemmed from allowing Manny to have his way. His behavior often got out of control. Other children didn’t understand why only he was allowed to do whatever he felt like, which could be perceived as favoritism. During outside play, Manny had a tendency to push down other boys whenever he felt like it. Nina explained that perhaps he just got too excited, and didn’t know any better. I initially went along with the idea…which didn’t last long.
For some crazy-ass reason (that no one seemed to understand or agree with at the time), I decided to treat Manny the same as the rest of the children. All the rules would apply to him as well. There would be no more ‘walking on eggshells’…at least on my end.
One day, after he pushed another boy down, I told him in a stern voice to sit on the bench. He flat out shouted, “No!” So I yelled, “NOW!”
To my surprise, he actually came and sat on the bench…pouting and crying of course. Then he started kicking the pebbles on the ground. I ordered him to stop, and told him if he didn’t, I would add five more minutes…and that I’ll take his entire outside time if I had to; he listened unwillingly.
The next time he decided to crawl around like a baby during circle time, I went over to him and whispered, “Get back on the carpet, sit down and pay attention…do you understand me?” He seemed hesitant at first, but proceeded to follow instructions. When I realized that he was fully capable of behaving like the rest of the children, I talked to my coworkers (Nina, Garcia and Jay) about my observations and interactions with Manny; they agreed to do the same.
The almost daily process of having to tell Manny’s parents about his behavioral problems was no joy ride. No parent wants to hear about their child being bad. Granted, I tried to notice as many positive choices Manny made throughout the day, and mention them to his parents as well, but the truth was…at the time, he was a challenge.
One of the things we had to work on with Manny was…wiping his butt after going #2; but that was pretty minor.
One day, one of the kids came out screaming from the bathroom. I went inside and found a ginormous log in the toilet…probably bigger than mine. Okay, maybe not, but pretty close. No average-sized 4 or 5 year-old kid could pull that off. But forgetting to flush was not the pressing topic at the moment. There was no toilet paper in the toilet.
Nina told me that it was probably Manny, who of course, had the guilty look. We reminded him to always wipe his butt after going #2, and he didn’t seem too excited on his way back into the bathroom.
Since then,I made sure to be very aware of him coming out of the bathroom. One day, as soon as he came out, I asked, “Did you go #2?” followed by “Did you remember to wipe?” I informed his mother about his possible habit…not only at school, but at home as well, and she agreed to keep an eye on him. Apparently, this issue was just went right above everyone’s head.
I guess I should’ve known better. I told Nina that sometimes I would get a whiff of something that literally smelled like…doo doo, and it wasn’t exactly a brief fart odor either. It was more intense, like it had been marinating in someone’s underwear, and it would get worse while the kid was running around outside in 90 degree weather.
At first first, Manny’s father wasn’t cooperative at all. One day, when I handed him the daily info sheet (which details the child’s activities, what they ate or didn’t eat for breakfast, lunch and snack, how long they took a nap if they even did, their behavior, etc.), I didn’t put a smiley face in one of the blocks, and his father requested, “Can you just put a smiley face on there anyways…because Manny likes that.” I could not believe the words that were coming out of that man’s mouth. That would be the last time I allowed something like that to happen. Most of the parents were cooperative.
One day, Nina told me that right after Manny’s father dropped Manny off for breakfast, he (father) grabbed the big spoon away from another kid’s hand so that he could spoon Manny some oatmeal. Nina stopped him and told him that the kids take turns, and that it wasn’t Manny’s turn. Manny’s father replied, “Yeah, well I just want to make sure that Manny has enough oatmeal to eat.” Nina then replied, “Every child will have enough oatmeal to eat.”
I realized how over-protective Manny’s father was, and that he more than likely spoiled Manny; hence, Manny’s behavioral problems. I could tell that he wasn’t very fond of me, since i was the ‘bad guy’ who noticed his son was being a ‘bad boy.”
One day, Nina told me that Manny’s father told her that perhaps Manny was having problems because of me. She told him that she leaves earlier in the afternoon (and I stay later), so if he prefers to pick him up before then, he’s more than welcome to; he didn’t go with that plan.
Nina also informed me that Manny’s older brother was much worse than Manny, and he continues to be til this day. I then felt that the problems stemmed from the kids not having enough discipline at home.
I had always made it a goal to at least write one positive thing that I noticed a child did that day, like, “Manny did teamwork today by creating a big house for toy animals using wooden blocks,” but I refused to make up stories or not mention bad behavior just to please the parents. It wouldn’t do anyone any good.
I just decided to continue to do what I do, regardless of how people perceived me. After all, being popular was never really my thing or concern no matter where I was.
One day, I saw a different side of Manny’s father when I told him that Manny had pushed one of his friends (again), when his very thoughtful friend (Thorton) was only trying to give him a flower suggesting that he give it to his mother.
Manny’s father got on one knee, and made Manny look into his eyes. He then gently said, ‘Son, we talked about this before. It’s not okay to push others, do you understand? You could really hurt someone son. Please don’t do that anymore.” Manny shook his head up and down with tears puddled in his eyes. His father then gave Manny a hug and told him that he loved him very much. It was such an emotional moment for everyone. I was so grateful to see another side of Manny’s father, and I thanked him for working with us.
Slowly but surely, to my surprise, I noticed changes to Manny’s behavior. Not only was he paying attention and participating during classes, but he also participated in dance time, which I never saw him do before. He shouted, “Ms. Bobbie, look what I can do!” as he spun around with his groovy dance moves. Once, when his best friend tried to distract him during circle time, he first ignored him, and then told him to leave him alone.
Manny also started playing nicely with other children, and was even willing to share toys. before, during “center time,” where the kids can pick certain sections of the classroom to play in (i.e., the dramatic play area, an area for building blocks and connectors, a math section, art section, etc.), Manny usually played by himself.
Encouraging ad loving him (and others), as well as providing discipline, worked wonders. The nest thing you know, whenever Manny made something with playdoh or created some other type of art work, he would come show it to me, and we would both get excited. When he felt like throwing up one day, to my surprise, he approached me rather than his main teacher, Nina.
One day, Manny approached me and whispered, “Sit by me at lunch time” and walked away. I was so amazed that I granted his request with enthusiasm. Every day was another exciting day filled with surprises, some heart-warming and some…well, you decide.
Another day, right in the middle of circle time, Manny approached me and whispered, “I have a secret to tell you.” These rare moments of Manny were one of the things that we cut him some slack, since he didn’t seem to be aware of his sometimes odd behavior.
Manny continued to tell me how he walked into the bathroom and found his mommy and daddy on the toilet…naked, and then he changed it to the bathtub…and that it was overflowing. I was like, “Alrighty then…” but really wanted to say, “TMI TMI Manny!”
I guess I had a crazy look on my face because Nina started laughing her ass off, and later asked me why I felt so traumatized. Note: Nina has a very unique and very loud laugh that definitely shouts, “Nina!”
Manny practically shocked all the teachers and his parents with his drastic transformation. Towards the end, he was one of the best behaved kids in the classroom. He even started receiving the “Positive Choices” prize of the week on a weekly basis.
The Highly Sensitive Little Beings
For the highly sensitive kids, who often screamed and cried whenever Nina yelled at them, I tried a different approach.
One too many days, Nina would vent to me, as soon as I came in to start my shift, that certain kids (mainly one in particular…Lena) would not listen no matter what she did. I could tell how stressed out she was, and I wanted to help her.
During my first training meeting, our Director introduced us to these new way of communicating with children, and suggested that we try them out. They’re called, “I Love You Rituals,” and whenever I felt like it, I would read bits and pieces out of the book during my lunch hour while sitting outside.
Apparently, according to some research, human beings can live without four senses (i.e., sight, smell, taste and hearing), however, they cannot live without being touched. This made sense to me, because even the slightest touch of a person’s caring hand can feel so comforting. Additionally, even animals love when we pet them.
Ever since I heard that, I also made sure I pet the classroom’s pet gerbil often,especially while cleaning the glass tank on a weekly basis, and feeding him daily. At first, even the gerbil avoided my touch (probably due to fear); but after a while, he just let me pet him, and would even be playful by trying to take away the paper towel or wash cloth away from me.
I started this new idea by sitting down, face-to-face, with whoever was being very difficult, and talked to them using a gentle voice while holding their hands and stroking their hair and/or face. It was all about genuine touch, strong yet gentle eye contact, active listening, speaking in a loving tone, and using positive words and gestures…and it worked like magic, at least for that day, and with repetition.
The best part of the method was feeling deeply connected through each others eyes as we sat there quietly bonding. We had each other’s undivided attention. It felt like time had slowed down, and we had an understanding beyond the five, physical senses. The way the kids looked at me, you would thought they saw a strange-looking alien that they weren’t scared of or something; their expressions were out of this world.
It’s these simple, yet, profound moments that truly make me feel alive; they’re priceless, and I plan on treasuring these beautiful moments forever.
Casey, Aliens & God
There was a little girl (Casey) who often asked when her mommy’s going to pick her up, and also displayed a high level of anxiety. After talking to her mother, I found out that ever since her father had deployed, she developed separation anxiety.
Casey’s mother and I agreed that Casey looks like a porcelain doll. She has a soft, powdery-looking face with gorgeous, brown eyes, a cute button nose, and ruby lips that look as if they were painted light red. She spoke very softly, and often appeared uncomfortable.
As I was lying in bed one night, I was able to empathize with her better because I thought, “I wonder if my kids (who were in daycare and preschool at the time) asked their teachers when I was coming back while I was away for Army training.” It made me deeply sad. I decided to comfort the little girl even more, rather than reminding her that she doesn’t have to worry and ask every day, because mommy always comes to pick her up.
One day, Casey was talking on a play phone during dramatic play time. I asked her who she was talking to, and she casually replied, “Aliens.” I asked her what they were saying, and she said, “They want me to activate the car.” I then asked, “Casey, do you know what activate means?” She replied, “Yes, it means to start up.” Though most adults would probably brush off a child’s story about aliens, I actually believed that she talked to aliens.
Casey definitely stood out from the rest.It was very apparent that Nina was annoyed by the fact that Casey was very different from the rest of the children, so I explained to her one day that I believed that Casey was a highly sensitive child. Casey became easily overwhelmed by excess stimulation.
When the classroom became too loud, she would look upset and sometimes cover her ears. She didn’t like trying many types of food that’s served for lunch and snack at the center. Granted, she’s a vegetarian who only eats fish and chicken, but she had unsual reactions to even the mere sight and smell of certain foods.
I noticed that whenever tuna was served (tuna sandwiches or casseroles), Casey would break down and cry hysterically. Her mother packed her a separate lunch during certain days, but she couldn’t stand tuna. Nina didn’t want to have anything to do with the situation, so I kneeled down to Casey’s level and talked to her gently.
I asked her several questions to try and figure out what exactly was bothering her, but she kept telling me that she did’t know for sure. She admitted that the smell bothered her, but I had a feeling that it was more than just the smell.
For some strange reason, I had a feeling that her intense emotion, from the presence of the tuna, stemmed from her being able to sense the process of how the tuna was contained…that maybe dolphins had been accidently mixed in the net and then slaughtered with the tuna in the process.
Casey had a very keen sense of smell. One day, I noticed Casey make a facial expression only a mother could love. As soon as I saw it, I instantly and intuitively knew why had made that face. She looked as if she was repulsed by whatever it was she was smelling, and she also covered her nose. FYI…tuna was not on the menu that day.
Casey was sitting right next to Nina, and I happened to know that Nina was on her period. The reason why I was able to connect the dots is because I had similar experiences. One time, while in a college class, I turned to my husband and asked him if he could smell what I was smelling. He said that he couldn’t smell anything, but I could smell a very potent smell…like someone was on their period.
Anyway, I didn’t want to make it obvious by moving Casey without a reasonable explanation to Nina, so I tried to see if she could hang in there. I asked her if she was going to be okay, and she said with a cringed expression that something smelled awful. I told her that maybe it was the container of strawberries that were in the closet nearby (I have no idea why I said that…I had nothing else at the time).
One of the kids (Dristin) made a similar expression as Casey and answered in a sarcastic tone, “Yeah…maybe strawberries that weren’t washed.” At that very moment, I just had to look away and silently laugh while acting like I was cleaning the water off the edge of the sink. Poor Casey and Tristin…I felt their pain, but I couldn’t save them this time. I was just hoping that Nina didn’t catch on to what they were talking about so that she wouldn’t get her feelings hurt.
Casey was very emotional, but this made her a very loving, kind, thoughtful, giving, empathetic, aware, and gentle soul as well. She was one of the most well-behaved kids in our class…consistently.
I believe most of Casey’s strengths lies beyond what the average human being can sense with their five senses; hence, they’re rarely recognized nor appreciated by society. Her noticeable talent is her creativity and her imagination. She’s also an introvert, and often plays by herself, and even dances by herself during “Music and Movement” time. She would do some graceful, ballerina-like moves, and literally seemed to dance as if no one was watching…like drifting into another dimension.
As time went by, Casey started coming out of her shell. On a few occasions, I noticed that she was mimicking me; it was cute. Sometimes, when a few of the kids had a hard time waking up after nap-time was over, I would say things like, “Wakey wakey! Eggs and bakey!” or “Rise and shine sunshine!” which they would start saying as well. I tried to spice things up by changing the phrases every now and then. One time, I shouted, “So and so, wake up! It’s Christmas Eve…time to open presents!’ It worked, and the kids loved it.
I also sang the “Ally Ally Bo Ally Banana Fana Fo Fally Fee Fi Fo Fally …Ally!” song (not sure if I sang it correctly, but it didn’t matter). Anyway, a few times, I just made the rooster sound, “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” and I guess Casey took a liking to it. Next thing you know, the kids, to include Casey, would make roosters sounds, shout phrases, or sing songs to help wake up their friends. My job of trying to wake up kids was done.
On another occasion, Casey mentioned a friend of hers. I asked about this friend, and she told me that he protects and that his name was AH-buh-jee. I had her repeat the name because it sounded so familiar. I asked what he looked like, and she surprised me with an unexpected answer, “He doesn’t look like anything; he’s in my thoughts.” We were then interrupted by lunch time.
The next day, when we had a little down time, I asked Casey what her friend’s name was again, and then repeated it back to her. She said, “Yeah, that’s how you say it!” I then casually said, “Huh, that’s funny…AH-buh-jee means father in Korean.” She then quickly replied, “I know.”
I felt like I froze in time. The immediate thought that crossed my mind was that the “father” who was protecting her, and communicating with her via her thoughts, was symbolic of God, the Father. I then realized that Casey was very in-tuned with the spiritual world.
One day, Casey had something to tell me, but she had the hiccups. I took this opportunity to try and get her to laugh. When she managed to finish sentence after a few hiccups in-between, I replied as if I, too, was continually being interrupted with hiccups. It was so nice to see her face light up and hear her adorable giggles.
One day, when her mother came to pick her up, her mother asked her little brother to give me a hug, and he flat-out said no. I made a sad face, and then smiled and said, “That’s ok…next time, k?” Casey rushed towards me and gave me a hug instead. I was like, “Awe, thank you Casey.” She made my day.
Casey’s mother and I often talked about Casey…sometimes for 30 minutes at a time. I told her everything that I mentioned about her in this post, plus more, both positive and so-called “negative.” I felt very comfortable with Casey’s mother. She seemed so down-to-earth, kind, honest and spiritual. She, too, is a vegetarian, and she was slowly transitioning Casey into becoming one as well. Even Casey’s toothpaste that she had at the school was made from natural ingredients.
Casey’s mother thanked me for being very understanding of Casey, and she admitted that Casey could easily not be accepted by others, and that she could come off as “annoying” if one wasn’t willing to see beyond what appeared to be obvious. I agreed with her, and told her that sometimes I truly have to focus on being extra patient and understanding with kids like Casey, especially on days when where we’re juggling all 23 four and five year-olds…which can be pretty hectic considering one fo the kids were autistic and required a lot of one-on-one attention.
One day, Casey’s grandmother smiled and told me, “Casey always talks about you.” It made me feel so warm inside. I began to believe that I was doing something right in these kids lives.
Tammy & Telepathy
I had another strange, yet interesting experience with another child, Tammy, the youngest four year-old in our class. Tammy is a very adorable and lovable child. She had golden, curly hair that comes down a little under her shoulders. She has big, sparkling green eyes that also look like the eyes of a Precious Moments doll.
Tammy often had a hard time paying attention during classes, and whenever she didn’t get her way, she often whined and sometimes cried. During nap-time, she often played around, distracting other kids from sleeping.
The strike system worked very well for her, as well as continuous praise (for positive choices made ) and encouragements. Towards the end, she completely stopped whining, “Nnnnnno!” (which occurred daily) and stopped playing during nap time. She even started paying more attention in classes.
It was hard to be serious with her most of the time because she often smiled and twisted her entire body while trying to come up with a reason why she wasn’t making a good choice. She was just so lovable, you just wanted to squeeze her. But I did notice that she didn’t express her love so much with hugs and “I love you’s,” even with other kids. I just figured she didn’t like me that much because I was constantly on her ass about paying attention and participating in class. She was also one of the frequents visitors of The Bench…at first.
As time went by, the youngest member of the class started displaying the most maturity during certain moments. Sometimes, even after we tell the kids to clean, a few of them end up doing their own thing. Well, Tammy wasn’t about tolerate that.
One day, we heard her soft voice transform into a thunderous, command voice that echoed throughout the room; she shouted to a couple of kids who weren’t listening, “Didn’t you hear? It’s time to clean up!” As cute as it was, we had to remind her to use nice words with friends rather than yell at them. She smiled her usual shy smile, and gently replied, “o—kay.”
One time, Lily (aka “Little Nina”…explained later), tattled on Tammy, and told me that Tammy had tripped her. We always listen to both sides of the story, so I asked Tammy what had happened. Within a nanosecond, Tammy went from a gentle loving kitty cat to a fearless, roaring Lioness. Her eyes teared up as she shouted, “No! Her tripped me!” Tammy’s verbal and nonverbal cues were by far more genuine that Lily’s, so I asked Lily in a stern, yet, gentle voice what really happened. She stuck with her story, so I decided to use the “Do I need to watch the video?” line that we (teachers) use when we we’re pretty sure that the kids aren’t being truthful.
Lily confessed, started crying, and apologized for lying. I asked her what she wanted to say to Tammy, and she apologized. Whenever they get into arguments or hurt each other’s feelings, we have them face one another, make eye contact, apologize in a genuine manner (not just sorry, but sorry for…), and then hug each other.
One of the things that I learned about Tammy, is that though she’s very passionate when when’s mad at someone, she’s also very quick to genuinely forgive and start from scratch. If only all of us (especially adults) could be that way more often, or even better…all the time.
By the way, Tammy had a habit of using ‘her’ instead of ‘she’ in sentences. I taught her, and then continually reminded her and corrected her day after day after day. I admit, there were some days where I was thinking, “C’mon Tammy.”
Then, one magical day, I heard her from across the room…saying, “She did….” while talking to one of her friends. I shouted, ” Tammy, you used ‘she’ instead of ‘her’ correctly! I’m so proud of you!” She smiled a big smile.
One day, I started asking a group of children, who were playing in the “Dramatic Play” center, a question; however, they seemed so focused on playing that I didn’t even bother to finish my sentence. Suddenly, Tammy, who was in the middle of the group, casually answered my question while playing with her toys.
I immediately asked her, “Tammy, how did you know what I asked? I didn’t even finish most of the question.” She just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. This moment played like a movie scene over and over again because I never had such an experience before. A thought popped into my head that it was telepathy, but my mind was like, “No, I highly doubt it.” However, I chose to believe my intuition. I decided to keep track of these unusual experiences just in case.
One day, I was holding one of the girls (Hadiya) during “Music & Movement” time and slow danced with her in my arms because we had just found out that her mother had been diagnosed with cancer. We usually don’t hold any of the kids (like an infant) because that could surely be perceived as favoritism; however, Nina and I could tell that Hadiya probably sensed the bad news, even though her parents didn’t tell her yet.
Anyway, while dancing with her, I noticed that Tammy was standing in front of us with pouty lips. I was surprised because she appeared to be expressing some jealousy. We had already explained to the kids that Hadiya wasn’t feeling well, but Tammy was still sad.
Starting from that moment, I noticed that Tammy was gradually opening up to me. One day, one of the kids said, “I love you Ms. Bobbie,” to which I relied, “I love you guys too.” To my surprise, Tammy shouted, “I love you too!” She was like the only kid who didn’t exchange “I love you’s,” so I just didn’t expect those very words from her. I just desired to love all of them unconditionally, but she gave me a gift that meant so much to me. She also voluntarily gave me hug one day, out of the blue. Sometimes, we can appreciate more of what we’ve been missing.
Rainbow & Chrystal Children
When I was at home one day, I recalled briefly reading about indigo, rainbow and crystal children. I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, but the more I spent time with these children, and often thought about them as if they were my own, I decided to re-visit the topic again. I intuitively sensed that I would find answers that I was looking for.
Sure enough, when I read about the characteristics of crystal and rainbow children, I instantly thought of most of the children in my class. Some are very loving and gentle, some seem fearless, passionate, and refreshingly honest, and some are highly sensitive and emotional, yet, empathetic and creative beyond their years.
Note: At the bottom of the post, there are websites about Rainbow and Crystal Children for anyone who may not be familiar with them, as I once was.
Keen-Eyed Kerry
There was this one little girl named Kerry, who attended pre-school part-time, and she seemed fearless. Kerry kind of looks like a brunette Jesse (from Toy Story 2) with smaller, piercing brown eyes, cute freckles on her nose, and a small, ruby lips. She has long, brown hair, and often dresses like a little cowgirl.
When I first started working at the center, she often stare at me, with strong eye contact, for long periods of time as though she was studying me. She wasn’t exactly on the ‘nice’ or ‘naughty’ list because she sometimes had a calculated thought process that allowed her to slide through the cracks if not closely observed.
One day, she tattled on Mira (one of the very sensitive souls). She said that Mira hit her in the face with her hat (one of those soft, knitted sports hats). Mira admitted doing so but couldn’t explain the why, and for some reason refused to apologize to Kerry. This was unlike Mira, because she was very quick to apologize and forgive others.
Kerry glared at Mira and said (in the most eerie tone), “I’m WAI—ting!” As soon I heard that, an image flashed before my eyes of a little girl all properly dressed and standing in front of haunted mansion. Kerry had her hair down, which didn’t help the mood, because it reminded me of the girl from the horror movie, “The Ring,” which I dressed up as as a participant of a haunted house at one of my units in the Army.
My team and I decided that I would be dressed up as a school girl with all my long, black, hair straight down. I had the pleasure of painted my own face after looking up “The Ring” girl on the internet. I damn near scared myself when I wasn’t paying attention for a second.
Anyway, I had a section of the haunted house that we created where I sat down and acted as if I was coloring on white paper on the floor. I sang, “Rain, rain, go away…come again some other day” in a kiddie voice over and over again as I slowly rocked back and forth.
As groups of people entered my section, they would see the back of a little girl (since I’m only 4’9″) coloring and singing away. On the wall in front of me, we had several ‘happy’ pictures (e.g.,of rainbows, a house with a family of stick figures, flowers, the sun, etc.) hanging up. Right before the group would start heading out of my section, one of my teammates would switch on the black lights, and the ‘happy’ pictures on the wall would turn into scary pictures, and I would suddenly grab someone’s ankle as I turned around and looked up at them while changing my voice into a monstrous tone, “Will you play with me?” One time, I was able to get my First Sergeant to scream (which was awesome), although her 8 year-old son didn’t; she was definitely teased about it by everyone and their mamas in the company.
Anyway, I easily get distracted by shiny objects, but that’s okay since I’m not writing anything formal. I guess I’m realizing that my thought processes can be all over the place…one minute at the ‘light’ end of the spectrum..and the next minute…at the ‘dark side’. Due to the influence of society’s old belief systems, I used to feel guilty about my imagination sometimes exploring the dark side; but now, not only do I accept it…I embrace it. I AM all that I am.
Perhaps the greatest challenge of my life (and even others) is to remember to accept the ALL of me and others, and to love myself and others unconditionally; hence, loving God/Goddess/Spirit/All That is unconditionally.
When I notice the various shades of ‘darkness’ in others, I make effort to remind myself to help them remember their ‘Light’, which in turn ultimately helps the various shades of ‘darkness’ within myself remember my ‘Light’ as well.
One day, Kerry tattled on Mira again, and said that Mira took out her (Kerry’s) earring. Mira became very upset while Kerry had a straight face. It turns out that Kerry had told Mira to take her erring out for her. When we got the truth out of Kerry, she became upset as well, and wouldn’t give us a reason why she did what she did. For some reason, I felt like the whole “Kerry vs. Mira” dramatic episodes were like ‘Light vs. Darkness’ or “A Sensitive Soul vs. An Insensitive Soul’ (insensitive as in not in-tuned with the true self, ‘Light’).
I had several heart-to-heart talks with Kerry, to include topics like: kindness, The Golden Rule, being truthful, feelings, forgiveness, friendship, sharing, and the ‘good’ in her and everyone else. Kerry’s nonverbal cues, especially tear-filled eyes and nodding yes, revealed her genuine will to Be more positive.
One day, Kerry just made my day. Nina made one of the little boys (Arin) finish his meal since he decided to serve himself five chunks of bananas without even finishing most of his meal. Note: This was Nina’s rule for our classroom, which I fully supported; otherwise, some of the kids would only eat dessert if they could get away with it. Nina had made it clear a couple of times to only have two, sliced chunks of bananas to ensure there was enough for everyone.
Anyway, Kerry approached Nina and said assertively, while making strong eye contact, “Lily had five bananas too.” Nina appeared embarrassed and busted for what she had done. I forgot to tell Nina that Lily had five bananas shortly before she made the little boy sit down and finish his meal, so I was so glad that Kerry had the courage to point out the apparently obvious unfairness.
My interpretation of Kerry’s refreshing statement is, “Why are you punishing Arin, and not Lily, for the same action? Ohhhh that’s right! That’s because Lily is…as you often like to call her, “Little Nina.” Why you gotta show favoritism???”
I didn’t think four and five year-olds noticed A LOT of things, but I learned that not only are they very observant, but they’re also super sponges! During their 2.5 hour nap-time, while I either wash toys or help Nina with prep work, I often noticed that some of the kids(who weren’t sleeping yet) would watch me like a hawk…their eyes following me around the room…rarely blinking. These were moments I would remind myself to always do my best to lead by example.
As time went by, we saw a brighter side of Kerry. As a matter of fact, she, like Manny, was one of the few kids who did a complete 180…behavior-wise. The little girl who once was so set in her ways started running up to me showering me hugs and “I love you’s,” which reminded me, behind every cloud…there’s a sunshine.
Lily (aka Little Nina)
Nina refers to a little girl named Lily as “Little Nina,” and said that Lily reminds her of herself when she was a child. Nina also added, that when she was a child, she was probably worse than Lily when it came to behavior problems. I understood where Nina was coming from. Several of us agreed that Lily definitely looked as though she could pass for Nina’s daughter. Lily is a pleasantly plump…okay fat…little girl who often wears these cute little tutu skirts that makes you want to chuckle.
Well, there are certain moments that seem to stand out among ‘perfect moments.’ One of the children (Anna) asked if she could have a personal item, which reminded me to ask Nina about Lily mentioning that she had to have her own personal blanket during nap time.
Since we’re in the process of transitioning the children into Kindergarten, Nina had decided no one was allowed to bring personal items anymore since they wouldn’t be allowed to have them there. Anyway, I assumed that Nina gave Lily special permission since Nina was always present in the room during nap time, but she told me that she hadn’t been paying attention, and didn’t realize that Lily was using her personal blanket.
Nina agreed that whether it was the blanket situation or the banana situation, they could be perceived as favoritism, but that wasn’t her intention. She then asked me to tell her if she seemed like she was doing so. I then reminded her that I did a while back. She looked surprise.
I told her, “One day, during circle time with the children, you instructed all the children to sit outside of the circular carpet to make more room for everyone. However, Lily decided to do her usual thing and just sit in the middle. One of the children told you about Lily and you looked over at her but said nothing. Shorty after, another kid sat in the middle, and you yelled at him to sit outside the circle.” I then said to Lily, “That means you, too, Lily.”
Nina recalled what had happened and laughed (probably from embarrassment). She then said that she didn’t realize that’s how it looked from an objective point of view, and that she was just trying to ignore Lily since that’s how Lily gets Nina’s attention. I then said to her that whether it was my point of view, or the children’s, it can be easily perceived as favoritism.
Nina the said to me, “Bobbie, please let me know these things as they happen.” I then reminded her again that I did. I said, “That same day, as soon as I got a chance to talk to you during outside time, I told you that you made it very apparent that Lily was your favorite, especially when you call her ‘Little Nina’ in front of the kids.”
I continued explaining to her, “You just nodded your head without any eye contact and starting writing in your notebook, so I took that as a hint that you didn’t want to talk about it. Plus, you had mentioned, when I first started working here, that you didn’t like the way Garcia (a part-time Assistant Teacher in our classroom) showed favoritism towards Anna; so I assumed that you were aware of not showing favoritism.”
I learned that Lily was one of the few children that I have to pay extra attention to due her habit of lying. One day, she told me that she had to throw up. I told her, “No you don’t. You say that often Lily, especially when it’s circle time. Good try, but you’re not getting out of participating again.” She knew she was busted because she smiled as she looked away.
One time, Tammy took her boot off to adjust her sock. I looked away for a couple of seconds, and I heard a loud cry. Tammy told me that Lily took Tammy’s boot and hit her in the face. Lily denied it, but three other kids informed me that Tammy was telling the truth.
I wrote up an incident report, which had to be signed by both our office staff and Lily’s parents. Lily cried and begged for me not to tell her mother, but I had a talk with her and explained why it was necessary for parents to be informed as well.
One day, during outside time, one of the little girls (Addy) was making circles in the sand mixed with pebbles with her foot. Lily told her to stop, but Addy didn’t (she she has every right to make circles with her foot), so Lily decided to grab Addy’s ankle and pull her towards her. Addy fell backwards and hit her lower back on a log.
I wrote another incident report and reprimanded Lily. I also told her that if continuously taking her outside time wasn’t enough, I would start taking her Center time as well. Lily didn’t like that idea at all, and she swore up ad down that she would be good from now on.
Lily’s mother, who used to be very calm and almost unconcerned about Lily’s chronic misbehavior, revealed a different side to her; she made it very clear, for the first time, that Lily was going to get her privileges taken away at home. Lily cried. I thanked her mother for working with us on the matter.
One day, one of the older and smarter kids (Ally) approached me and said, “Ms. Bobbie, we should read this book next so that we can help Lily learn not to lie anymore.” Ally seemed so sincere in her suggestion that I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that that was technically not the ‘right’ thing to say. After all, Ally was just stating a truth.
Lily also had a habit of name-calling and hurting other kids’ feelings. Even Nina mentioned that she had a sad feeling that Lily was going to be a verbal bully as well. I told “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” story and Nina read a story about bullies because of these type of issues that came.
One time, Lily told one of the kids that they were ugly. Another time, she whispered stuff to one girl while glaring at another; she hurt the other girl’s feelings. Each time we either caught her in the act, or one of the kids’ tattled on her, we were determined to get to the root of the problem.
One day, after having a talk with Lily’s mother, she aid that her and her husband happened to be working on the same problem at home. Her mother continued that they even have to tell Lily that there are cameras in the house because of her excessive lies.
One time, I eventually had a talk with her biological father as well, and Lily was devastated. He was very cooperative, and even though he seemed very soft-spoken and very nice, he pulled Lily to the side and talked to her in a stern manner. Lily agreed to not tell anymore lies, so I reminded her that it’s about showing rather than just saying.
Lily’s parents are divorced, so her mother and biological father take turns picking her up. Lily mentioned a couple of times to Nina and I that she absolutely doesn’t want her biological father to remarry, and she also doesn’t want both of her parents to have any more children; she wanted them all to herself. We understood that Lily was highly affected by her parents divorce.
Although her mother is married to another man, Lily may have developed trust issues in her own self-worth, and in others. Her need to lie at home probably stems from her need to feel more accepted and loved at home. Her habit of lying at school more than likely stems from her need to get attention as ‘the good kid;’ sometimes kids blame themselves for their parents’ divorce…I was one of those kids. Lily’s habit of putting others down stems from her own insecurities. Out goal was to teach her another way of feeling better about oneself…The Golden Rule.
One day, when the smallest kid in our class (Dawbry) couldn’t reach the tissue box, Lily grabbed a tissue for her. I immediately praised her for being kind and helpful to a friend. Lily was so excited that the next thing know…she strived to obtain positive attention rather than negative attention.
Autistic Kenny
There’s even one autistic boy in our class named Kenny (fake name). His level of functioning is very low–he can make certain sounds, like a baby, but he can’t speak. And even though he’s five years old, he’s still in diapers. He’s unlike any of the autistic children that I’ve ever been exposed to via TV. His mother even admits that he has zero interest in toys.
Once in a while, he’ll do a ten-piece puzzle for a about five minutes. Yesterday was the first day he stacked blocks with me for a few minutes, and he even enjoyed a brief game of peek-a-boo. Unfortuantely, he quickly gets bored of whatev since sher he’s doing.
His main passion is climbing shelves and tables…like non-stop, which we highly discourage because he’s quick to stand on them in a split second. He’s very adamant about having it his way, so most of the time, he collapses himself on the floor and starts screaming, scratching and/or kicking, and/or throws chairs whenever we block him from climbing.
During outside time, he likes to put pebbles in his mouth the split second a teacher isn’t looking, so he definitely requires one-on-one attention. At his morning-hour school, he has a team who works with him. He only comes to our classroom part-time, and I’m grateful that he doesn’t take a lot of time away from the other children. Even though Nina ad I tried to explain to the children about Kenny, I don’t think they fully understand.
As challenging as he is, I believe he will teach me some of the greatest lessons in life…being more patient, understanding, and compassionate…being able to quickly forgive outbursts that sometimes stem from him not having a nap, scratches on the neck or arms that stem from his frustration of not being able to verbally express himself, reactive hits on the face where my glasses go flying…and loving another (who isn’t my biological child) unconditionally, who may not be so lovable himself.
A couple of weeks ago, Kenny’s main teacher (part of a team for children with autism) from his morning-time school came by our center to observe Kenny, and to also give us teachers some tips on how to better work with him. We were all in disbelief because Kenny didn’t try to climb shelves, and even sat down for 30 minutes at a time.
Kenny’s teacher was practically ruthless. She informed us to be very stern with him, and even demonstrated her drill-sergeant-like attitude. She added that he is much more aware that we give him credit for; hence, we shouldn’t allow him to act like a spoiled brat. Kenny was very obedient with her, so her method seemed effective.
Last Friday, Kenny, who’s adamant about having his way on a daily basis, and who also throws multiple fits within a half-an hour, approached another teacher (whom I started working with only in the afternoons) and myself and started being very lovable.
For almost an hour, he hugged and kissed us, and continuously giggled and laughed as I tickled him with my jaw under his jaw or slowly chased him around the tables. It was such a joyful and miraculous moment!
Ms. Jay, The Tough Teddybear
It’s interesting how one thing smoothly leads to another. Since Kenny is very one-on-one, our Director had another teacher, Jay (a mother of one of the children in my class) come help in the afternoon hours, since Nina works the early morning to mid-afternoon shift. I like Jay a lot, despite what Nina complained about her.
I can tell that Jay is a hard worker. Plus, she’s refreshing honest and funny. The reason Nina had a problem with her is because Jay did have a tendency to put down her daughter (the one in my class)…whether it was in a joking manner or not, like saying thins like, “She’s not the sharpest tool in the shed!”
Somehow, I had a gut feeling that she was just trying to use humor as a way to cover her shame of Anna (Jay’s daughter) not fully knowing her alphabet, among other things, like most of the kids in our class. I also had a strong feeling that Jay was put down a lot by her own mother.
Whenever I had a chance, I informed Jay of all the wonderful things Anna would do throughout the day. Jay told me that she had a hard time believing it because Anna didn’t listen at home. I reassured her that I don’t just tell parents how great their kids are, but that I also tell them if they’re misbehaving. I then added, “I’m not here to kiss anyone’s ass.”
I thought to myself, that if Jay were to say something negative about her daughter, Anna, again, I would tell her in the most tactful way possible that she should really believe in her daughter. Of course, I didn’t look forward to that day because it would surely make things awkward between us, but I just knew I had to.
The funny thing is, I had forgotten that things don’t always have to play out the way I expect them to. If we leave ourselves open to any possibilities, it leaves room for God/Goddess to create a perfect situation that will benefit everyone involved.
One day, during outside play time, Jay talked about how she was a military brat and told me about how she grew up. She also mentioned in a resentful manner that her mother had dropped her on her face as an infant. One topic led to another, and the next thing you know I was telling her about how my mother couldn’t believe that I could pass boot camp because I was so small.
Jay said, “I bet you were like, ‘I’ll show you!'” I replied, “No, I believed her…because it seemed like there were many things that she didn’t believe in me; it made me feel unworthy.” Since that moment, I haven’t heard Jay say anything negative about Anna.
As a matter of fact, one day, while telling me another personal story, she said in almost a confessing manner that while she was raising Anna at home, she didn’t teach her enough. I tried to comfort Jay and said, “Ahhh,no worries, that’s what teachers are for!”
I talked to Anna when I got a chance, and she agreed to make positive choices at home as well. I encouraged the rest of the children to be good at home. I then shared an idea with Nina that we should give little surprise gifts to those who were kind, respectful, and well-behaved to their parents, and she agreed.
Positive Choices
We had already started taking notes next to their names for all the positive choices that they make throughout the day. At the end of the week, the ones who made the most positive chocies, and the ones with the least amount of bad choices receives a surprise gift (something from the Dollar Store, Walmart or Party City…like a toy car, glow-in-the-dark figurines, bubbles, princess jewelry, etc.).
The Exceptionally Smart Ones
One day, I heard one of the children talk about how we, humans, breath in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide, and how trees do the opposite. I was definitely impressed. Although I was aware that children nowadays were way ahead in their cognitive skills than children back in the day (e.g., kindergarten children being familiar with computers), I didn’t think that preschoolers could talk about such subjects.
Nina mentioned to me one day that she found it challenging sometimes to teach the really smart ones while trying to get the the children who were behind in their cognitive skills caught up. So, whenever I had a chance, I taught the smart ones (who also happen to be the ones who get picked up last) whatever I believed would benefit them in the long run.
I remembered Neale Donald Walsch mentioning in one of his books that we, as humanity, should teach our younger generation more about the things that really matter in life, such as loving one another, sharing, giving, understanding, forgiving, etc. In formal school, teachers are so caught up in teaching subjects that are more left-brain centered (i.e., logical reasoning, calculating, analyzing, etc.) than right-brain centered (i.e., compassion, unconditional love, creativity, just Being rather than doing, etc.).
When I first started this job, a few of the children stood out from the rest: Qadan, Ally, and Katey. Granted, they were oldest (five years old) in the class, but they’re like sponges, absorbing information left and right.
Qadan “Mini Urkle”
Qadan looks like a mini Steve Urkel with his thick, black glasses, cute face, and great sense of humor. Qadan is very competitive, which more than likely stems from his family’s influence of excelling in life. Once, Nina told me that he looked like he was willing to knock down whoever got in his way during a race.
Since Qadan was usually the last one to picked up by one of his parents (understandably, because they were dual military), I had more opportunities to work one-on-one with him.
When I found out from his doctor father that Qadan had to take write three short stories a week after being picked up from preschool, as well as get tested on math and vocabulary, I decided to take it easy on him while also challenging him to grow.
We started building our relationship by playing his favorite Tic-Tac-Toe games. I then had an idea to incorparate some lessons into it. Shortly afterwards, he would tell me what type of lines he was drawing while doing so (i.e., vertical and horizonal lines). Next thing you know, he even recalled parallel and perpendicular lines.
One time, Qadan was gone for most of the week because his great grandmother had passed away. When he returned, he smiled to me and gently said, “I missed you Ms. Bobbie.” I replied, “I missed you too Qadan!” Th next thing you know, I was receiving art work from him, as well as daily hugs and “I love you”s. They’re priceless gifts that I will forever treasure in my heart.
One day, Qadan started calling me, “Ms. BOWbeh!” It caught on pretty quick, and the next you know, the kids were taking turns calling me that using their dramatic emphasis. I admit, I loved it, and they inspired me to use more humor with them.
One time, when I reminded one of the kids in Circle Time to do the right thing even if he thinks teachers aren’t looking , Qadan said confidently, “Integrity.” Nina was so surprised as she looked at me and said, “Man, these kids are sponges!” I was so proud of him.
Note: Integrity was simply explained to them as “Doing the right thing even though no one is watching.”
One day, Nina was showing the children various pictures and asked them how it made them feel; it was the week of the five senses. She held up a pciture of a leopard getting ready to pounce some baby birds. Several kids gave similar answers…that it made them sad.
Qadan raised his hand and said that the picture made him feel compassion, and that he wanted to help the baby birds go back to their mama bird. Nina was surprised that he knew such a word, and I was surprised that he had remembered it. I was so proud of him, and I was reminded once again not to underestimate these children; their potential was beyond the sky.
One day, he came up to me and showed me that he had cut out an octagon. I cheered for him on how smart he was for knowing just a shape. He also knew what a hexagon was. I figured, if he knows what a hexagon and octagon are, why not introduce him to other complex shapes!
Qadan later recalled the following: rhombus (and mention that it’s another name for diamond), trapezoid (which was in one of the toy containers), pentagon, heptagon, and parallelogram.
Assertive Ally
Ally looks like a blond and blue-eyed American Girl Doll with shoulder-length hair. Ally has a sassiness to her that makes you want to squeeze her chubby cheeks. She’s so assertive, but she can be overly confident at times and a bit too bossy for her own good.
One time, Nina poked at me and whispered, “Ms. Bobbie, look! Ally was looking at herself in the mirror (the long one by the toy home center) with her head tilted, and said, ‘Awe, just like a princess’.”
Nina and I both started laughing, and I later shared the cute story with her parents, and her mother agreed that it sounded just like her…very confident. I thought, if only all women could look into a mirror and see their beauty the way Ally does, what a lovely world this would be.
Once, when these two girls didn’t want to play with Ally, I instantly knew why…Ally was being too bossy. Although the two girls told Ally that they didn’t want to play with her because she wasn’t wearing the same type of dress as them, the truth was buried underneath that.
Sure enough, one of the girls (one of the sweetest ones, Katey) confessed in a frustrated manner, “We just wanted a break from her. She’s always telling us what to do, and she doesn’t stop.” I empathized with her, because Ally had a tendency to be a non-stop talker, which can be exhausting for anyone.
I saw down with the three girls while holding hands and facing one another. It was a method that I had read about from the “I Love You Rituals” book that our director had recommended in a meeting once. I explained to the girls both points of view and asked them how it made them feel if they were the opposite party.
Two of the three girls seemed to be understanding, but one of the girls, Addy, was adamant about not forgiving Allyfor her bossiness and playing with her. She didn’t even have to say anything; her nonverbal cues expressed enough.
So I shared a personal story. I told them that when I was little girl, there were two girls who didn’t want to play with me because I was different, and that it made me very sad.
To my surprise, as soon as I said that, Addy’s face softened up and she immediately said to Ally in a friendly manner, “I’m sorry Ally. Let’s go play.” The next thing you know, they were playing happily together as if there was never any tension between. I thought, if only more of us adults could be more like that, what a wonderful world we’d be living in.
Kinetic Katey
Katey is an adorable and sweet brunette with shoulder length hair and light brown eyes. Katey could probably eat more than all three teachers combined; yet, she’s slender, probably from her high metabolism and her gymnastics and swimming classes.
Katey is a very free-spirited, energetic little girl who’s emotions can go from one end of the spectrum to the other end in a nanosecond. When she’s in a super-silly state, and one of the teachers tells her to settle down or expresses any signs of disapproval, she immediately breaks down crying.
I’ve learned to work with her by gently talking to her and reasoning with her. I noticed that Nina’s yelling is definitely fire to the fuel. Plus, the children are probably more attached to Nina since she had some of them between two to three years.
One day, one of the kids shouted, “You’re the best teacher Ms. Bobbie” in front of Nina, so I replied, “No, Ms. Nina is the best teacher!” Katey then came up to me and whispered, “Ms. Bobbie, you’re also a best teacher.” I replied, “Thank you Katey, that’s very nice of you to say.”
Katey, along with some other energetic kids like Ally, hardly ever slept during nap-time. On multiple occasions, I noticed that they watched my every move like a hawk. I would catch them watching me as I moved from one end of the room to the other while washing toys, prepping art projects, cleaning out the gerbil tank, filling out daily info sheets, etc.
I would do the “I’m watching you” gesture with my forefinger and middle finger pointed at them in a V shape, and they would giggle softly to themselves. The children’s pattern of observing like a hawk and absorbing info like a sponge reminded me of the importance of leading by example.
One day, Katey walked up to me and gave me an art piece that she had created. She was the first kid to write a full sentence on an art work. Most of the art that I received from the kids as gifts would only have their first name or initial on them, if that. Katey’s wrote, “From Katey: I love you.” I was so touched.
I replied to her, “It’s beautiful! And you even wrote that sentence all by yourself?” She relpied, “Yes,” and I said, “Thank you so much Katey for being so thoughtful.”
Recently, Katey and Ally came running up to me and Ally shouted, “Ms. Bobbie, Katey and I took initiative! The paper towel container fell on the floor, and even though you didn’t tell us to pick it up, we did…all by ourselves!” Nina looked at me with a surprised and excited expression and shouted, “Wow! They’re using the word you taught them Ms. Bobbie!”
Note: Initiative was simply explained to them as “Doing the right thing even though no one asks or tells you to do something”
It’s funny how much of an influence kids have on one another. Once the smarter kids starting using positive words or phrases like integrity, initiative, compassion, being respectful and not disrespectful, making eye-contact while talking to someone, teamwork, helping a friend, sharing a toy, telling the truth, being a good leader (one who makes positive choices, and also helps friends to make good choices), being aware of your surrounding…the rest followed.
To my surprise, not only did the really smart ones absorb what I had taught them, but other children as well.
Making Positive Choices at Home
Nina and I also informed the children that they should made positive choices, not only at school but at home as well, because we noticed that many of them talked back to their parents…saying crazy things like, “Whatever!” “What?!” and “Wait! I’m working on something.” A couple of them were even hitting their parents.
Right before Easter weekend, I talked to them about the other meanings of Easter, besides coloring eggs or going on egg hunts. We talked about how Easter is about love, being kind to one another, giving, sharing, being understanding, forgiving, and respectful. I also asked the kids to give some examples to ensure that they had a good understanding of what we were talking about.
They also remembered that the #1 reason for making positive choices is not just to get gifts and prizes from family, teachers, and friends, but because they are positive kids, and it’s the loving thing to do.
They also remembered that’s its important to show positive choices rather than just talking about it.
I also reminded them about being thankful for everything that they have, especially their loving parents, and to remember to show their parents appreciation, since some children (they remembered orphans) don’t even have parents, or enough food and water. clothes, and lots of toys.
Lena…the Ultimate Challenge
Once, a little girl named Lena (fake name) cried and screamed for 40 minutes straight. She was adamant about not listening to Nina. I was new then, so I observed more than I intervened. One day, when Nina was absent from work, Lena cried dramatically again as I told her to sit in the “Thinking chair” (aka time out spot) for misbehaving.
I then walked up to her and said softly, “Lena, it’s okay to cry when we’re sad, but it’s not okay to cry just because we want to throw a fit. Let me know when you’re ready to talk, and I’ll listen; however, I won’t pay attention to crying and screaming…do you understand?”
I could’ve sworn I was going to have a 40-minute deja vu experience , but to my surprise…Lena softly called out, “Ms. Bobbie, I’m ready to talk.” That was truly another one of those mini miracles that amazed me. I told Nina that talking to Lena calmly worked, but I don’t think she took my advice. She continued to raise her voice at not only Lena, but other children as well when they didn’t listen.
Lena made positive choices for a couple of weeks, and then decided to do a 180. Almost daily, as soon as I walked into the classroom to start my shift, Nina would inform me of how Lena wouldn’t listen to her. It was interesting how it reminded me of a particular story that Nina shared with me.
There was a co-teacher, Carrie, who I was shadowing when I started working at the center, whom I worked with for a couple of weeks. I understood that she was leaving soon, so she probably felt detached to the place, but I was surprised that she showed almost zero positive emotions toward the children.
She even had a Bachelor’s degree in Childhood Education, so she apparently had the knowledge of how to relate to children; however, it seemed as though she had no interest in them. I told Carrie that it must be hard coming from her new job of working with a group of special ed children, and then working the remaining two weeks at our center.
She then told me that no one has ever said something like that to her before, and that she appreciated me noticing. I then told her that it takes a person with a big heart, who’s willing to love children unconditionally to work at a place like that, and she agreed.
One day, she mentioned that the reason why the children in our class don’t even listen to other teachers is because Nina lets them get away with not even listen to her. I could tell Carrie was venting from frustration.
Well, the story that Nina told me, among other negative stories about Carrie, was that Carrie was a perfect example of how credentials mean nothing if you don’t apply what you’ve learned. Nina continued that Carrie didn’t take initiative, and that she just didn’t care.
One day, Nina said that during circle dance time, Carrie and Garcia decided to sit in the corner and talk. Nina asked them to come participate, but Carrie refused. Nina then yelled at her in front of the children, “That’s why the kids don’t listen to you!” Nina said that she felt bad afterwards for yelling at Carrie in front of the kids, but she just snapped.
Well, I felt like rapid karma was taking place. A few of the kids still didn’t listen to Nina, especially Lena. Lena is hands down the most fearless child in our class. Recently, Nina told me that when Lena was misbehaving again, she had her sit in front of her at a table.
As Nina was reprimanding her, Lena proceeded to slowly pick her nose, and then wiped it on the table. Nina immediately moved her to the “Thinking chair,” and Lena started kicking her. Nina refused to deal with her anymore, and took her to the Director’s office.
The strange thing is, I saw Lena in my dream the night prior. She was in front of me in a classroom, and said something about a doll, and then said, “You’ve been on leave for a while.” In the military, “leave” means vacation time. Well, that day’s focus was definitely on Lena…for all teachers.
Lena wasn’t completely listening to me as well, but she didn’t kick me. When she stares at me with her big and almost black, piercing eyes, it makes me feel vulnerable…as if she sees all my imperfections and mistakes that I’ve made in the past.
One time, Lena was acting like she had the cold so that she could go home, so I used what Nina used on Lily. I told Lena that if she was sick, we would just have to call her parents so that they could take her to the hospital to get shots. Lena made strong eye contact as usual, and whispered, “I like shots.” I was speechless. I had nothing, because I wasn’t prepared for such an answer.
I talked to Lena’s mother, and she was cooperative. It always helps when parents cooperate. Lena was not happy about spending Friday evening (her sister’s slumber party night) in her room. Her father also makes it known that he spanks her old-fashion style, which some of the teachers believe most children need these days.
I informed her parents that Lena’s so bright and creative beyond her years (in both art and dancing), that it would be a shame if she ended up in the principle’s office often during kindergarten and above just because she had a behavioral problem; they agreed.
Nina agreed with me to also take away the childrens’ “center time” if taking away their outside time wasn’t suffice. Lena loves imaginary play, so this idea definitely caught her attention. Hopefully, things will improve.
I have a feeling that Lena is on a mission to put a mirror in front of any act of hypocrisy. Nina often complains that Lena always wants her to sit by her at breakfast or lunch, or to just sit closely to her while she’s teaching. Lena’s not the only child who’s fully aware that Nina show favoritism.
Children Who are Fully Aware
One day, Nina told a little girl to play teacher for a little while and added, “Be Little Nina!” The oldest and smartest kid, Q (who looks like a mini-me Steve Urkle, but cuter) shouted, “I thought Lily was Little Nina?” The a few other kids shouted, “Yeah!” Kids will definitely say what’s on their minds. Nina looked as if she was having an awkward moment.
One little girl asked me if she could be “Little Bobbie,” and I told her, “I love all of you!” Anna told me while I was braiding her hair after nap time, “I wanna be Little Bobbie.” I then realized how much of Nina’s favoritism towards Lily had affected the kids.
I thought, if I (or any other teacher in our class) nick-named one of the kids after our first name, Nina would shit bricks. I had intuitively knew that Nina had a need to feed her ego-self which stemmed from a lack of confidence in her own worthiness.
Instead of telling the kids to make positive choices, she would say, “Make sure you make Nina choices!” Instead of letting the parents know that their children had behavioral problems, she would mostly tell them that they were doing great.
One day, she bragged about how some of the parents told her how they couldn’t believe how different their children were when they were with them, compared to how good they were with her. I sensed that she was feeding off the idea that she had power over these children that the parents didn’t have. It was as if she was feeding off the compliments the parents would give her, telling her that their child listens to her better…like a mother.
I let her know in the most loving way I could that it would benefit everyone if we all were on the same page…that parents have every right to know that their child is having behavioral problems at school as well, and that we should all work together. She didn’t look to pleased with my idea, but agreed to go along with it.
Growing with Nina
Although there was initially some drama in the adult section of my work place, to include tensions with Nina, things seemed to fall into place later. As challenging as it was at first, the more I focused on being my true self, and sticking with it, the more I experienced positive people, things, and events in my reality. I realized that I had to become more positive within in order to reflect it into my outer reality.
Nina seems like a very interesting person–she has a great sense of humor, she’s straight-forward, she seems to care about the children, and she has interesting stories to tell. However, I started noticing that she would say something negative about many people, whether they were other employees in our center, our director, her family, a few of her friends, and some of the children’s parents.
At first, I tried to convince myself that she was just venting, but it became a daily thing. When I recognized that it started to make me feel uncomfortable, I decided to do what my ego-self was not thrilled to do…speak the truth. It would surely make things awkward between her and I; however, I followed that small, inner voice.
I had a gut feeling that the only reason why the other gal (my coworkers friend) in the other room was so snotty to me (although I don’t her, and have never worked with her), may stem from someone (who I do work with) complaining about me. I believed that I, too, was on my coworker’s black list.
One day, she said that a particular parent didn’t look like the type to yoga, and that she didn’t feel it was right for her to drag her daughter to yoga class after picking her up from our center. I first asked, “So what type of person does yoga?” She was like, “Oh, I don’t know…” Since the mother was heavy-set, I asked, my coworker, “The slim type?”
I also asked if the mother worked, and she replied that she did. I then continued that I thought it was great that her mother would make time to work out even though she works full-time. She agreed. About five minutes later, she came to me and apologized for making her comment. I told that I was just curious what exactly she had in mind about the type of people who do yoga.
Another day, she said that Katy (the one I mentioned above) has high anxiety and was going to be all messed up growing up because she believes that her mother is putting too much pressure on her and probably forcing her to be a vegetarian. I told her, “My daughter’s a vegetarian; granted, she decided to become one in junior high school after watching ‘Food Inc.’ at school.” My coworker looked uncomfortable again, but she changed the subject.
On day, her friend who works in another room came in to talk to her. I walked to another section of the room to give them privacy. My coworker later approached me and told me that her friend complained to her that two other coworkers brought in food and didn’t bother to share it with her, and even ignored her while they were eating among themselves, which made her feel bad.
My coworker continued that those two employees were very rude, and that’s such a mean thing to do to someone. I finally reminded her with a smile, “When you told me that story, I don’t think you realize that you and another one of our coworkers did that to me a week ago or so.” My coworker covered her mouth and then started laughing.
She then explained, “But there’s a difference between their situation and ours!” I then said, “The only difference is…theirs involved not offering and sharing food, and ours involved not offering and sharing Starbucks drinks.” She then said, “I’ve been told by others that I have a tendency to be rude to people I first work with.
I have trust issues. I watch people. You probably didn’t know this Ms. Bobbie, but I’ve been watching you real closely. You might have thought, “Oh, she’s just cleaning the table, but while cleaning…I’m watching how you work and interact with the children.” I smiled and asked, “So what are your conclusions so far?” She replied, “I decided that I like you Ms. Bobbie.” We then got interrupted because it was outside time (i.e., like recess).
While we were outside, I approached her and asked with a smile, “Why were you laughing?” She immediately apologized and said, “I’m so sorry Bobbie! I laughed because I had just remembered that I had done that, and I couldn’t believe it! That’s not who I really am!”
I told her, “I must admit, it was a bit hurtful at the time, because I felt like you guys were intentionally drinking your drinks and ignoring my existence (during the kids’ naptime hours), but I forgive you Gina (fake name),” and winked.
I then suggested to her that maybe she should have her friend talk to her coworkers since they may have had a misunderstanding like we did. She changed the subject again, so I left it alone.
There were other instances, but this is the last one I’m going to share. One day, my coworker confidently mentioned that she’s not judgmental at all. I told her that I believed that most people, to include myself, are judgmental…just to different degrees. She immediately changed her mind and agreed that she can be judgmental as well.
I also added that I was glad that chooses to be less judgmental, and that she doesn’t like gossipers…that it helps me to feel comfortable around her and trust her with my personal stories. I continued that some people don’t realize that being non-judgmental and gossiping contradicts one another.
There was a moment of silence, and it felt like time had slowed down as we gazed into each other’s eyes. I believe we had an understanding. I desired to be a reflection for her, so that she can remember who she truly is…Love. I also believe that she, too, is continuing to help me to remember who I truly am.
Bonding with Nina
To my surprise, our relationship seemed to grow closer. She told me more stories, but now they were positive, and about how she wanted to understand herself better. I thanked God for helping us to cross each other’s path.
At a meeting, our director decided to start “The Biggest Loser” contest to help employees lose weight and be healthy for the new year. I always desired to help Nina to lose weight, only if she wasn’t happy with where she was at, and if she wanted my help.
One day, she started talking to me about it, as well as her frustrations, so I started giving her various tips. I then offered my help if she wanted it, and she enthusiastically agreed. That weekend, I put together a package for her, to include my post that I had printed out, “D.I.S.H. (Delicious, Inexpensive, Simple, and Healthy) Ideas for Meals, Snacks, and Drinks.”
I told her that we wouldn’t go on any crazy and ineffective diets, that we would treat ourselves weekly, and that we would do baby steps in the exercise plan. We would also record her weekly weight and do monthly, full-body measurements.
I reassured her that my plan works because I’ve done it, my husband’s done it, and I helped some of my former soldiers lose weight while I was in the Army. I was so happy to see her get excited.
During that week, right before the official weigh-in at the Director’s office, she caught the flu. When I first started working at the center, I wasn’t able to come to work one day because I was not well mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I hate missing work, especially at a new job, so I carried a lot of guilt with me, as well as confusion, for a couple of weeks.
I also felt bad for disappointing Nina. She kept reminding me that the day I had missed was “crazy busy.” She also made random comments like, “I never caught the flu, and I hardly ever catch a cold. I don’t even believe in taking medicine. So if I ever miss work, I’m probably faking it,” and “People who call in sick are selfish because they don’t realize that it places a burden on others who have to cover for them.”
I then asked, “You mean people like me, since I called in sick that one day?” She then said, “No, I’m no talking about you Ms. Bobbie.” So when she coughed, blew her nose multiple times, and complained about body aches, I offered her some Alka-selzer Plus multi-symptom cold medicine that I kept in my bag as a back-up.
She immediately accepted and thanked me. She then went home in the middle of her shift on Thursday, and took Friday off. She mentioned that she was shocked that she had caught the flu; she never had one for 26 years. I understood why she and I both had this experience.
The following Monday, she came back to work recovered, and was anxious about weighing in. She made a joke, “I don’t want to break the scale!” She came back and told me that she weighed 290 lbs. I told her that we were going to work together to reach her goal. She started following the exercise plan and trying the recipes and tips from the meal, snacks and drinks post. We also recorded her first monthly full-body measurements.
The next thing you know, she started sharing more and more stories with me, and some were fascinating. I had dreamed of meeting someone who had similar experiences as me, and sure enough…it manifested in my reality.
She mentioned that she doesn’t tell anyone else about her unusual stories because they would most likely judge her, and even consider her crazy. She continued that she somehow felt comfortable telling me any story…that she sensed that I didn’t judge her. I told her that it was true…I found her stories intriguing.
One day, she told me about she was bullied a lot (verbally and physically) during junior high and high school due to her weight. I told her that I knew how she felt, because I, too, was bullied (verbally and physically) due to my height.
She expressed how much the bullying impacted her until her adult years. She talked about having low self-esteem and feeling confused because she didn’t understand why she deserved such cruelness when she didn’t do anything to these kids. She even admitted being frustrated with God.
One day, after high school, she received a message via Facebook from one of the bullies from high school. He apologized, but she never replied back. Nina then explained, “I admit, it’s a weakness of mine…I usually don’t forget or forgive people.”
While attending college, she said that one of the girls who used to bully her in junior high school approached her and asked, “Excuse me, didn’t you attend _____ school?” Nina replied, “No.” The girl continued, “Yeah, you’re Nina, right?” Nina replied, “No, you have the wrong Nina. I didn’t go to that school.”
Them Nina told another story that occurred back in junior high school. One day, she couldn’t take the bullying anymore and beat up a boy because he had called her sister a “bitch.” The boy ended up getting bullied from other kids for getting beat up by a girl. Nina felt bad. After high school, she found out that the boy was one of her cousin’s boyfriend.
So, after seeing him (and avoiding him) at a few family gatherings, Nina finally built up the courage to apologize to him. He forgave her, and told her that he was an angry kid, and that she happened to be an easy target. Later on, she found out that he had been abused at home, which made her feel even more guilty.
I told her that’s it’s so much easier to forgive people when have a better understanding of why they said what they said or behaved the way they behaved. I then added, that kids can say and do some mean things, but I don’t think they realize how much it can affect people. We also talked about how interesting it is how everything’s interconnected.
I asked Nina, “It must have felt good when he forgave you,.” She agreed, and then looked down. I continued, “Nina? You know where I’m going with this, right?” She smiled, but still continued to avoid eye contact. I left the topic alone, and believed that her perfect time will come when she feels ready to forgive others for their shortcomings.
Another day, Nina told me about her vivid dreams that were sometimes premonitions. She talked about her highs and lows, her sudden outburst of crying for no apparent reason, her becoming an introvert, her not wanting to be around negative people, her high-level of sensitivity, her desire to helps others with their problems, her experiences of seeing unusual things, etc.
She also mentioned that she grea up Catholic, and always felt obligated to tell people that she was, but she told her parents that she didn’t want to go to church and pray with hypocrites who told her that she needed a third party to be a link between her and God.
She also agreed with me that she also didn’t believe that one religion is better than another, and that there are many paths to God. I had told her when we first started working together that I wasn’t religious…that I believed in Spirituality. At that time, she didn’t ask anything further, so I chose not to force what I wanted to share with her on her.
I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, and even cause more confusion, so I initially just told her to follow her heart. When she asked more questions, I shared with her some of my beliefs, that even Jesus said that God/Kingdom of Heaven is within us and all around us.
I also suggested that she may want to google “symptoms of ascension” as well as “Lightworkers” and “Spirituality” to get a taste of what it’s all about. I then added that she continue reading articles or websites that resonate with her. I also suggested a website that explains about crystal children, and how it will help us to better understand the children in our class, and she seemed interested as well.
She came back from her lunch break in an excited state. She had made a list of all the things that matched up with her and wanted to read some more. When I got home that day, I texted her a link that helped me when I started learning about Spirituality.
Ever since out talks about our spiritual experiences, I felt our relationship expanding. The woman who I once judged as another “negative” person that I must learn lessons from transformed into a potential friend with a strong spiritual connection. I feel more comfortable with her now…like we can just Be ourselves without feeling judged. She mentioned the other day that the day seems to go by fast lately.
I agreed, and told her that’s what happens when we just go with the flow and enjoy The Moment. We’ve been experiencing more laughter, especially with the kids. It’s funny how even the “BeBe’s Kids” or “Children of the Corn” seem to be transforming into sweet angels.
One day, the Director told me how much my coworker loved me, and that I was the best employee she ever had. I admit, I was a bit skeptical at first because i felt as though she was just trying to make me feel good; it stems from my trust issues that I’m still working on.
A few days later, the Assistant Director (who used to glare at me and give the quick, fake smiles) complimented me in front of another seasoned teacher by saying, “We need more teachers like Bobbie.” Another day, Jay told me that Nina came up to her and said, “Let’s make t-shirts that say, ‘I love Bobbie!'”
I couldn’t believe all that was happening. It all seemed so magical. I felt like my reality was transforming into a heaven on earth.
I plan on continuing Being whatever Spirit desires to experience at the moment. And, I’m grateful for Nina, my soul sister. Last Friday, after her weekly weigh-in at the office, she came back to the classroom overflowing with pure joy. She had lost three pounds and was ecstatic.
I was so happy for her, and she agreed to keep up the good work following The Plan of eating and drinking healthier and doing the full-body workouts. Nina even did the Rocky dance which tickled my soul.
I don’t know how long I will end up working there, but it doesn’t matter. I intend to enjoy the process to the fullest. When my soul is ready to experience through me whatever else it desires, I will be ready to listen to it’s still, small voice which will communicate to me via my heart and intuition. By then, I hope that my ego-self will harmoniously join the joy ride of life’s journey of amazing adventures.
Throughout the rough times with some of the adults in the workplace, I noticed number sequences (more often than usual) ranging from 11:11, 1:11, 7:11 (almost daily), 8:11, 9:11 (almost daily), 2:22, 4:44, 5:55, twice 999, and twice 5555.
I intuitively sensed that they were inspirational messages from my angels, Archangels, and Ascended Masters, especially after learning about them through other spiritual teachers.
I am grateful that they continuously communicated with me, and reminded me to hang in there…that all would work out in the end. I thanked them for helping me, guiding me, supporting me, and loving me unconditionally through challenging times.
I even had a vivid dream once of seeing a group of colorful beings floating in the seated position in what appeared to be outer space. In that dream, I recall intuitively knowing that they were representing the Ascended Masters.
Another time I woke up to someone calling “Bobbie” three times. So whether it’s having vivid dreams, seeing sparkles of bright light on the left side on my head through my peripheral vision, experiencing other “out of the norm” body experiences, or noticing number sequences, I trust that they are all ultimately messages from my full potential self/God/Goddess/All That Is/Source/True Self/Soul whispering, “Follow your heart and trust that everything will fall into place. Continue on this positive path, Be Love, and give to humanity (which in essence is giving to yourself since “We Are All One “).
I used to be more focused on the past and future, but I decided to focus on being more in the present…to accept, embrace, appreciate and enjoy, or at least be at peace, with the Moment of Now. I may not make much money or be in a position of high status, but I’m okay with that. I trust God that I will receive spiritual and material abundance from the universe at the perfect moments throughout life.
I choose to dream big…to one day be able to help my loved ones experience heaven on earth. I also hope to reach a place where I’m continuously ecstatic about being whoever I am wherever I am.
I’m still in the process of working with my ego-self to release fear…to make more room for love, peace, joy, wisdom, abundance, and unlimited abilities. I love just Being the best that I can be at every moment, not having to worry so much, and remembering more and more of who I truly am, as well as who others truly are…all made from the same cloth.
I hope that one day, many of us will be excited about our new J.O.B. (Joy of Being) in the present/gift. After all, like Bashar mentioned in his videos, feeling excitement is our body’s way of showing us that we are in alignment with our true selves, which is Love and Joy energy!
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ADD SOMEWHERE IN POST WHERE IT FITS PERFECTLY:
When I lived in Okinawa, around 2000 time-frame, my sister-like Korean neighbor (whom I wrote about in others posts) once told me that she had agreed to babysit her friend’s toddler.
Well, the toddler decided to throw a major fit, and since verbal communication didn’t work, my neighbor grabbed a book, sat on the couch, and quietly read as though the toddler wasn’t even there.
Several minutes later, the toddler (who wasn’t receiving attention from negative behavior) came by and sat next to her on the couch.
She often surprised me with her master-like ways. She also had two kids who were very respectful and well-mannered.
Thanks to my neighbor/my soul sister, I used her calm, cool and collected technique while working with preschool children at an Early Learning Center as an assistant teacher.
During my first week or so there, the most seemingly fearless kid, a five-year old girl, started throwing a fit. When the main teacher sat the girl in the time-out chair, the drama escalated into a crying/yelling/screaming for about 40 minutes.
The main teacher informed me to ignore her and that she’ll eventually stop. The other kids were miserable, and I was able to empathize with them because eating lunch with so much noise in the background wasn’t a delightful experience.
Another day, when the main teacher briefly stepped out, the little girl, while in the time-out chair again, started crying again. I walked up to her, bent down to her level, looked her in the eyes and gently, yet, assertively said, “Layna, I don’t tolerate kids who throw fits. So when you’re ready to talk, let me know; I’ll be over there.”
To my great surprise, within a few minutes, I heard a gentle yet whiny voice say, “Ms. Bobbie, I’m ready to talk now.” I shared this experience with the main teacher with the hope that it would work for her as well, but all the kids were already used to her style.
Therefore, we—the main teacher and the assistant teachers—did our best to create a combo package technique that worked for all of us, basically incorporating our strengths into one.
I trust that the technique had worked because prior to that, I experimented with an idea that worked wonders. Since we had some major whining going on at times, I saw them down one day and had a reasonable talk with them while adding some humor since they all seemed to love that.
I said in an exaggerated whiny tone, “If I talk like this, can you understand what I’m saying?” They giggled and shook their heads side to side as they replied, “No” in unison.
So I continued, “So that’s why we teachers ask you not to whine because it’s so hard to understand what you’re saying. Can you understand me when I talk in a normal tone?”
They all agreed that they could. To my great surprise, they started catching and correcting themselves whenever they started whining, as well as reminding one another whenever someone started whining.
Oh, they also loved the “whambulance” word that I borrowed from the show Modern Family and added my own little twist to it.
They loved it so much that sometimes even the former major whiners would playfully initiate the act with a simple and quiet, “WHAH WHAH WHAH,” to which they would expect me to respond by walking around the toy section in a speedy manner, “That’s it! Where’s that phone?!”
I would then grab the fake phone, start dialing with my mouth puckered up and my nostrils flaring, and say, “Hello? Can you please send over the whambulance! Yes, this is [location]. Please hurry! I have a lot of whiny kids here and they’re driving me nuts!” They would all start laughing, even the shy ones, and I loved making them laugh.
Anyway, the other stories of my 23 angels (that I named) are in the unpublished post, “My Exciting New J.O.B. (Joy of Being)” which I’ve been putting off for a long time to complete more than likely due to my strong emotional attachment that I had with them. Just writing bits and pieces of the stories is a sure sign that I’m ready to dive into that deep ocean of emotions.
“Because a story teaches more than a lecture.”
From Zor, tweeted Feb 27, ’13
“Be the change you want to see happen in the world.”
Mahatma Gandhi
The following are interesting articles or posts relevant to this post:
The following are a few interesting videos relevant to this post:
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Bashar – Let it be obvious (Bashar’s eloquent words of wisdom, animated gestures and great sense of humor moves me)
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Understanding the ‘Sensitives’
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Allan Watts Higher Self (This is the most eloquent short video I’ve seen so far)
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Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds – Part 1 – Akasha (an intriguing video…I look forward to watch the continuing videos!)
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Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds – Part 2 – The Spiral
(So far, these videos are mesmerizing, mysterious, informative, beautiful, eye-opening, exciting, captivating, heart-warming, soul-touching…)
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Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds – Part 3 – The Serpent and the Lotus (Still loving this experience!)
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Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds – Part 4 – Beyond Thinking (Wow. This series of videos just blew me away. I hope many others enjoy them as well.)
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The Power of I-Am : The 2 Most Powerful Words! (Law Of Attraction)
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