If I had known spirituality for kids when I was a kid I would have gotten more out of life than what I now have. I would have been more happy, more alive, more creative in the first 55 years of my life. As it turned out it is only in the last 10 years of my life that I have more fully enjoyed the things of the Spirit.
If you are still a kid, you are fortunate in being offered here ideas which can certainly make your life more happy, more alive and more creative. If you are no longer a kid you can use the ideas here to help your own children or those of others to learn and enjoy the wonderful spiritual realities.
Spirituality for Kids
Spirituality is that quality of life wherein a person has a direct and beneficial relationship with unseen realities. These unseen realities range from the electrons flowing through our electric wires to the winds in our environment, from the electromagnetic waves passing through our radios, television sets, mobile phones, to the movements of stars beyond our galaxies, from the ideas in our brain to the ideas stored in libraries, magnetic devices and in the cyber world, from the spirits of our ancestors to the all pervading Spirit who fills the universes with his power, wisdom and goodness.
The child, from infancy to the age of eighteen, can have a meaningful and beneficial relationship with these spiritual realities. How to lead a child to this relationship is what I want to share with you in this article. These are only general guidelines.
The Beginning and End of Genuine Spirituality Is Love
The Spirit loves us. That is why he brought us into this world with the life that we have. Some have the life of heavenly bodies, others have the life of stones and minerals, others the life of vegetables, still others the life of animals. We were given the life of human beings. It was love which brought us human life. And love is our end, our final destination, the union of love with this Spirit who brought us into existence.
The child needs to feel that indeed it is love which brought him into this world.
So begin cultivating spirituality for your kid by loving him. Loving a child begins with talking to him from the time he is conceived. Direct thoughts of love to the child in your womb or in the womb of your wife. Say words, even just in your mind, like ‘I love you. I will take care of you. I will make sure that you come out of the womb safely’.
Do not think that because the child is only a fetus that it cannot feel the love in your words. The child is already part of the spiritual realities from the time of his conception and is affected by what we think, say or do. Spiritual vibrations are already emanating from us to the child in the womb. And if we listen carefully we can also understand the vibrations from the child to us.
When the child is born you can immediately commend him to the Spirit who permeates this universe. There are churches which dedicate their children to God. Some do this instead of infant baptism. You do not have to wait for the rite of dedication or baptism to commend your child to the all wise, all good and all powerful Spirit. Say something like, ‘Eternal Spirit who brought this child into existence, I offer you this child. Let him grow knowing you, learning more and more of your ways, loving you.’
Refer the Needs of Your Child to the Spirit
Provide for the needs of your child the best way you can, always asking the Spirit what is best for him. This applies to the food, clothing, shelter, health and education of the child. If you want to impart a life of spirituality to your child you yourself needs to have a meaningful, constant, and beneficial relationship with the Spirit. Talk with the Spirit about this child. He alone knows what is best for your child.
Teach Your Child to Read and to Love Reading
If there is one thing I owe that is unique to my parents it was their teaching me to read and to lead me to love reading. They were the ones who taught me how to read, so that even before I finished Grade One I already knew how to read and in fact was teaching my classmates how to read.
Reading puts the child in contact with the ideas of other men and women. These ideas come from the Spirit who inspires these ideas in the writers.
Do not rely on the teachers in school to teach your child how to read. If you do this they may grow hating to read because my observation is that most teachers do not know how to teach their pupils to read. Most students grow up reading only what is assigned to them in class. And they do this with unwilling hearts. They prefer to do other things than reading. A spiritual child loves to read and read because through reading he interacts with spiritual realities.
A New Start
I am very fortunate in that last year, 2011, I was given a new child, actually a grandchild, but the mother gave the child to me from the time of birth. And even before birth I accompanied and supported the mother morally and financially in the pre-natal checkups. So I consider him my own direct child.
Now that I know more of spirituality I am able to practice nurturing spirituality in this child. What I wrote here is something that I practice with this child and it is working wonderfully. The child is growing physically and spiritually, that is, in love.
These are some of my general guidelines I am sharing with you so that you too can nurture spirituality for kids. Love them from the beginning of their life in the womb, refer their needs to the Spirit, and teach them to read. They will surely grow as loving children.
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by Jose Bulao
