Circle of Christhood

The Prophet

by Kahlil Gibran

Children

And a woman who held a babe against

her bosom said, Speak to us of Children.

And he said: Your children are not your children

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth,

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,

and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far,

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies,

so He loves also the bow that is stable.

*****

Prayer

I cannot teach you how to pray in words.

God listens not to your words save when

He Himself utters them through your lips.

And I cannot teach you the prayer of the

seas and the forests and the mountains.

But you who are born of the mountains

and the forests and the seas

can find their prayer in your heart,

And if you but listen in the stillness of the

night you shall hear them saying in silence,

"Our God, who art our winged self, it is

thy will in us that willeth.

It is thy desire in us that desireth.

It is thy urge in us that would turn our

nights, which are thine, into days which are

thine also.

We cannot ask thee for aught, for thou

knowest our needs before they are born in us:

Thou are our need; and in giving us more

of thyself thou givest us all."

Awake, asleep, at work, at play

God is always with me, night and day.

There is no place where God is not.

This is a happy, happy thought.

-Minerva MacManus

Teaching The Infinite Way to Children

The Monthly Letter March 1956

Across the Desk

The questions have been asked: What are we to do about teaching this Truth to our children?  What about Sunday Schools?

I shall answer the last question first.  So far as Sunday Schools are concerned, that is an individual matter. Sunday Schools will not solve the problem of teaching because it is doubtful that anyone can teach a child a principle of life in an hour and expect it to remain with him.  Truth cannot be taught in any set period of time; it is a continuous unfoldment and development, and the more one lives in this consciousness, the more will these principles become embodied as consciousness and, ultimately, come forth as demonstration.

If you have accepted the fact that The Infinite Way is a Principle of Life, who is better qualified to teach your children? Who in a Sunday School is equipped to teach the principle that you, individually, have adopted?  Truth cannot be taught in an hour or two a week, and, actually, it cannot be taught at all purely in the sense of teaching.  Children must be taught much as we ourselves are taught; every time a problem or need arises, we must apply the Truth of Being, and this is done not so much in the sense of teaching, but of reminding.

Certainly, you are desirous that your children and grandchildren grow up with the Truth, rather than having to take the hard way forty or fifty years hence.  Clearly, the job is up to us, if we desire our children to grow into manhood and womanhood with a higher spiritual sense than that of the last few generations, but this cannot be accomplished through our present human teachings, doctrines and codes.  The one way to accomplish this is to start your child where he is now, whether an infant or twelve years of age --start where he is now, and build a consciousness of Truth until it becomes a completely natural way of life. It is up to you to build that consciousness, or else let them grow up outside - a prodigal, being something of himself, and then praying to some kind of divine Povidence to get him out of his troubles.  That there is no such divine Providence you know from your own experience; the only divine Providence is your individual realization and awareness of the Presence - that is your refuge, your Christ.

The secret of the Christ principle with which we are working is the omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience of God. In fact, the entire message of The Infinite Way can be summed up briefly as understanding the infinite nature of God - Its omnipotence, omnipresence, ever-availability. And that is the principle you wish to give your children - a sense of God's presence and power.  There is absolutely no way in which that can be built in an hour or two; rather, from morning till night it must be built into the child's consciousness, until it becomes the very fiber of his being.

If you can bring God to a child's conscious remembrance several times as day, either with a sense of gratitude or with a sense of omnipresence, great and wonderful results will follow.  An undertaking such as this will entail much patience and persistence.  It may be difficult to resist the impulse to say: "Mother will do this for you" or "Daddy can give you that."  Instead, turn the child's thought to God as the infinite source of good, by teaching him that God provides all his needs; that God never withholds good; and that God is with him constantly.

Each hour of the day a parent and child must meet some new experience, and the manner in which each situation is handled determines whether or not the child is learning the principle.  For instance, suppose he falls and hurts himself.  It will be of no benefit, other than comforiting him, to say: "Come to mother, and mother will make it well."  What better opportunity to say: "What's this?  You are crying? Can't you close your eyes and feel God's presence with you?"  This is where the practice must begin, to make it clear to the child that the Father within his own being is the answer to his hurts.

No child will ever learn this principle unless he is taught meditation, but it can be done gradually by beginning each day, before the start of any activity, with the gentle reminder: "Let us stop for just a moment, and realize that God is with us today and that He is holding your hand."  That is enough, because the child has been reminded to think of God as an active Presence and Power.  A child might learn this on Sunday morning, but by Monday morning that thought is far from his mind, and again it must be brought to conscious rememberence.

There are innumerable opportunities for such promptings.  As you set his food before him, remind him to stop for a second of gratitude: "Thank you, Father, for providing our daily food."  this need not be said audibly; instead and perhaps a better way, is to teach the the child to say and think inwardly, "Thank you, Father."  Before he runs out to play, gently prompt him, "Wait just a minute - have you stopped to let God take your hand?" At nap and bedtime he should never be permitted to drop off to sleep without the conscious rememberance of God is omnipresent, in one form or another, and this is also a good opportunity to instill the idea of opening himself to God whenever he awakens during the night, and first thing in the morning. If the child is taught that the divine Father is always present to provide for all his needs, he will have taken a great step forward.

One of the most difficult for parents to overcome is the tendency to say something like, "You must eat this because it is good for you." This often seems to be the best way of cramming down unwanted food, but we are going to do an about-face - we are not even going to agree that it is good for him.  If we ourselves have come to the conviction that nothing is good but God, then certainly we must stop forcing a child to eat this or to do that because it is good for him.

Begin now to teach him to acknowledge God every time he eats a morel or drinks a drop.  Never permit him to leave the house without hesitating for a moment to say: "Thank you, Father.  Thou art with me."  Always be sure, however, that the thought of danger is not brought to his mind, but just a simple "Thank you, Father, for They presence."   Before he falls asleep, have him again acknowledge the Presence with the thought of gratitude that his Father-Mother-God is with him always, whether asleep or awake. Day in and day out, direct his thought toward God, until God within becomes the prime reality of his consciousness. We students of many years would not be able to accomplish much toward the Christ consciousness if we did not live with it from morning till night; therefore, you can well understand the importance and necessity of continually building this truth into the child's consciousness, until such time as it becomes his normal and natural way of life. After a year or so,you will find that he will acknowledge God as his Father-Mother and the source of his good, that God has become his constant companion, and wherever he goes God will walk beside him.

Do not wait until your child is twenty years of age before teaching him that the kingdom of God is within his own being, and that it is unnecessary and futile to pray to a God in heaven.  Start at the very beginning of his life to teach the habit of gratitude, of love, of acknowledging the Presence - implanting in his mind and heart the thought that his relationship to God is a sacred and secret one - just between God and himself.  Impress upon him that his gratitude and acknowledgement must be spoken secretly and silently, and never openly or outwardly where he might be robbed of his treasure. Many a child has lost his treasure by making his religion public, where it is often held up to ridicule and shame.  No one has the right to parade his religious beliefs before others; instead, we must go into the secret place, into the sanctuary of the temple of our being, and pray in secret and in silence - there, away from the thoughts and things of the world, we commune with God.

This does not mean that we are not to offer a cup of cold water when the occasion arises. Offer the cup, but offer it in a way that does not flaunt your religion or give someone the opportunity to tread upon it. It is difficult enough for adults, when friends and relatives think they are somewhat mentally deranged because they actually rely upon God, so think how much more difficult it would be for a child to have his or her faith taunted and laughed at by unthinking persons.  He is not prepared for that, because he has not yet arrived at the place of unshakable inner conviction.  It is vitally important that his religion be practiced in secret - somthing which he holds and treasures within his own being; and you may be assured that whatever he learns from the Father - Mother God within himself will be made manifest in his experience.

Children, even the very youngest ones, should become acquainted with God and with the kingdom of God within their own individual beings.  There is no prescribed formula or set of rules, no rote, no ritual - each situation must be handled in an individual manner, and your own divine wisdom will guide and direct you in what to do and say in any situation. The main point to observe is to make God a living reality, so that after a few years of teaching and training, the child will have attained a measure of the consciousness toward which you have been building through your own years of study and practice.  If children are enabled to come into an early realization of God, Omnipresence, as the mainstay of their lives, it will be unnecessary for them to go through all the things that we, their parents and friends, have experienced.  There will arise a generation of young people who, from infancy, have learned to trust God - not only trust IT, but rely on IT and prove IT!  Then there will be an opportunity for world peace, because these young people who have attained a measure of Christ consciousness will have no thought of enmity or hatred or envy in their hearts, and their lives will be devoted to giving, sharing, and helping, rather than acquiring.

 

These comments are from the author of Circle of Christhood (C.C.) not Joel:

One of the hardest things we will be called upon to do is to teach this message to our children.  To be a teacher, we must understand and embody the principles ourselves. Happily, we also remember the saying: the way to learn something is to teach it!  

"Yet, if you would benefit your children and your grandchildren, if you would benefit all who turn to you for help, when you sit down to do your meditation and healing work, you will have to leave your children somewhere.  Toss them outside somewhere.  Do not let them into your consciousness.  Keep them out, if you would really bless them.  Keep them out. Make believe you can trust them to God, just make believe for a little while.  Sometimes it has been found to work, that really God does take care of those children after you have released them to God."

Each day is a challenge as a parent.  We are to live the principles, find time to meditate, recognize the Christ in every person we encounter: on the playground, in carpool, in traffic, at the market, on the soccer field. How do we stop thinking and listen to God while rap is on the radio, play station is blasting, the news spews war and hate while dinner is late, the dog is sick, the toilet is backed up and homework is all over the kitchen table?

There is only one way to approach this, live in the NOW.  Right now, you can pause for a breath and silently whisper GOD!? Right now, you can recognize that your child is God's child, as all children are, under Its care and guidance.  Individually the Child of God. 

Learn well and completely the lessons on The Nature of Error.  Error will find us.  That is a given. Get familiar with it, known its signs, its smells, how it looks, what it feels like. Then, respond accordingly...."Get thee behind me. You are no part of me, or my family." 

Whenever possible, simplify your life for yourself and your children.  Set limits for worldly distractions. Discipline is not evil. It is a way for all of us to manage our lives. It requires discipline to find time for study and tape work, for meditation.  Do what you can, but do it regularly. Have a plan. Set time aside and let your family do the same thing.  Quiet time is good for everyone, parents and children.  It is a matter of commitment and intention.  Make a priority, want to do it, make it happen.

The only possible way to give  your children the principles of The Infinite Way is to live it. (Memorize Joel's 1956 words above if you have to!) Joel made an excellent tape for parents and children (#3 "Sunday School").   We must know the principles and practice them faithfully. 

Here are the major points of The Infinite Way with some suggestions. (Since we each have individual human circumstances,  the suggestions are only for you to consider and help you to formulate your own practices.)

Meditation:  First and foremost, we must meditate often, short periods throughout the day. Set a timer on the stove, wear a beeping watch, do what you must to focus every hour for a moment on God. No requests, no needs. just a communion, if only for a moment.  Teach this to your children. Meditate in the silence of their bedroom when they are falling asleep.  Spend a few moments in the garden, quietly thanking the Infinite Invisible for the plants and animals. Begin when they are small, and add time as they grow.  No music while you meditate, no distractions. We only need a moment in the beginning.

Silence:  Have quiet times for reading or drawing when the family can just be, in the silence.  BE.  Communing together.  This will introduce the feeling of quiet communion which later you can use to teach communing with God.

"Mothers in India begin to train their children in silent meditation long before they are taught letters or counting. . . .

 

"One of the greatest debts I owe my family for my early religious culture is due to the custom of silent worship every morning after breakfast.  It was a busy home with heavy burdens of duties and labors, but we allowed nothing to interfere with the hush of worship which fed our lives with vital energies for the tasks of the day.  The habit of turning the mind from outward things and events to an attitude of love and confidence toward an invisible presence became as natural to me as breathing.  Children are far more mystical-minded than their elders suspect, and mystics would not be so rare if we made better use of the culture of silence in the lives of our children."

 

Rufus Jones

New Studies in Mystical Religion

Nature of God:  If you accomplish nothing else, giving your children a belief and understanding of God will set them on a spiritual course.  If you live The Infinite Way, your children learn even more. God must be the foundational understanding of our lives.  God is not a person, God is Mother-Father, IT,  who made us and cares for us.  We do not ask God for favors.  God, our Mother-Father, IT is everywhere with us,  knows all, is all powerful.  We insult God by telling him his job. His/Her job is to love and care for us, to give us everything we need, to guide and direct us in all we do.  IT does this automatically if WE LET IT.

Nature of Prayer:  We only go to God for God's company.  We do not have to ask for anything, for God knows what we need and it is ITs pleasure to give it to us. We have to realize that what God gives us may not be what we think we want, but IT knows what is best for us. So, we pray by getting quiet and listening for a "still, small, voice."  Perhaps God will whisper something, show us an image, or give us a feeling.  Any of these are possible.  If we practice a listening prayer, we come to learn how God shares Itself with us.

Nature of Error:  All sorts of things happen in the world.  The world is made up of opposites.  Not good and bad, just opposite.  High and low is an opposite, but not really good or bad.  Thick and thin are opposites, also not good or bad.  Sometimes we like our hamburger thick, but our turkey sandwich sliced thin.  Opposites are the way of the world.  Even our battery has a + and -. 

Opposites also attract. So it is not unusual for a good deed to be followed by a temptation.  Parents need to explain this to children and get them to see through the opposites.

An understanding of Error allows them to accept the practice of "love thy enemy" and "forgive seventy times seven."  It is not one's fault, it is this belief that we are something other than God's children that causes the problem.  

Nature of Man:   Even though we see people as bodies, they really are more than a physical body. They have a spiritual body, rather like an invisible light around them.  Inside of this is their soul. It is also invisible, but something some of us can feel. Animals are really good at noticing people's souls. That's why they like some people right away. Animals can feel what people are really like inside.  No matter how people look or act, they all have souls.  Souls have no race, religion, nationality, etc.  Souls aren't even male or female.  No matter how people treat us, we remember their soul-light.  We don't have to stay around people who are not nice to us, but we always remember who and what they really are inside.

You may like to work with the image presented in New Unfoldments here to create an explanation for your child that is more concrete, especially for young children.

This principle understood also is applied to lessons on love and forgiveness.

Protective Work:  Each day, morning and night, acknowledge that this is God's day you will be living. God goes before you as you leave the house. God drives all cars, flies all planes.  God goes before each of us to make the crooked places straight.  God blesses all we pass. Each day, I encounter the Christ in all I meet. 

Each evening, we retire knowing that even as we sleep, God is with us.

Study the 1960 Denver Closed Class tape, Protective Work. Read "Protection" in the 1955 Infinite Way Letters.  Know this principle and teach it to your children.  There is nothing to be protected from.  God is our constant companion, "closer than breathing, nearer than hands and feet."

Thanks and Gratitude:  Gratitude is expressed with every meal, every kindness, every acknowledgement of blessings in our life. We do our benevolences in secret and silence. Before we rest our heads at night, we acknowledge the blessings God has provided.

World Work Prayer: Once a day let us teach our children (joining them) to take a few moments to go to God just for the sake of communing. In this communion meditation, we ask for nothing and merely recognize that we are children of God as is each and everyone of our family, friends, countrymen, and fellow citizens of the world. Should our country be in a political conflict, we recognize that our enemy is our brother as well and we pray first for him.

As your children grow, you will be able to add lessons as you learn them from your studies and own experiences (keep spiritual experiences sacred and secret). Learn about how children think and how their minds grow.  Your lessons will have to fit their mode of conceptualizing.  Remember that they cannot grasp certain concepts until physical and chemical changes happen in the brain. Sometimes, children will ask to listen to a tape with you. If this happens, fall on your knees!  You are truly blessed with a special child.