...indeed it is nice for children to have able guidance and caring that springs from the goodness of a heart........ they really do need our unconditional love and support.............we try to make them feel special and valued and precious .........and also see their emotional wellbeing and health in stable hands.....rightly is it said, charity begins at home.
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Any cool spiritual material...
yep.......so many kids are growing up ignored. I guess society is so busy working and folk are more self absorbed that kids can feel unwanted/unimportant.......it's a sad reflection of society
In my job we do a lot of work on improving self esteem and confidence in the kids but it's only scratching the surface.......it's never enough..... fluffy Fluffy
...indeed, it is a privilege and blessing to be able to care and serve them with love and understanding. Are there any sexually abused kids in your school ? How do you deal with them ? To read about Karr is so disturbing, to see what delusional obsession can turn into!
Well you are right there, it is an honour to make a difference to any of my pupils lives.... when it comes to the average (if there is such a thing) dysfunctional family, the kids usually need an outlet to vent and someone to listen............we play games, do self expression stuff etc and lots and lots of art..........
But sexual abuse is a different creature altogether.......that has to be dealt with in a different manner....it's not appropriate to address that in an open school environment, it has to be managed by specific agencies. If it's identified we have a duty by law to call in the police and social services.....they in turn will mobalise a specialist team of therapists...... It's something which has to be dealt with in a private manner and i may have 1-2- 1 contact with the child after consulting the psychologist first....and together we can come up with a theraputic approach...... re Karr........i'm sorry but i'm not familiar with that author........ fluffy Fluffy
That's nice to know, we are so fortunate to live in a society that has such good support system in place. Not everyone in the world is fortunate to live in a good social-suport environment. Nevertheless, the team of therapists, urgent-care, intensive-care, counsellors are only temporary and don't last a life-time and would only have scratched the surface as you have well-said. The effects of adversities at a tender age can last a lifetime and that's why we bear temperance and understanding in our attitudes towards others even if we don't know them and give everybody the benefit of consideration and understanding as we all do and it's so nice to see.
- - Last edited by mav on Sun Aug 20, 2006 11:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.
i found this story really moving-
.................................................................................................. --Susan Trout ~ a voice for the voiceless ~ I just wanted to relate some of my impressions about animals, in particular, captive elephants. A week ago I had the pleasure of visiting the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWs) in Calaveras County, California. It's a spacious, near idyllic ranch, that is home to retired circus and zoo animals and other creatures. I had the chance to see beautiful tigers lounging freely. A beautiful female Bengal tiger in particular took my breath away. She was so vivid in her coloring, so sleek and graceful and she was free to move about as she desired. Each of the big cats had a sad history but their lives have now dramatically changed for the better. We moved on to the elephants. PAWs is home to Minnie, Rebecca, Annie, Winky and Wandy, the Asians elephants, and 71, Mara, and LuLu, the African elephants. First we greeted Winky and Wanda, two retired zoo elephants. Wanda suffers from chronic foot ailments, a common problem affecting elephants in captivity caused by having to live on concrete floors for far too many years. It was so satisfying to see these great creatures living relatively free lives but it is their past that continues to plague them. Pat Derby, a former Hollywood animal trainer, runs the PAWs facility, along with her longtime partner Ed Stewart. Both of these individuals share a deep and abiding love and respect for every creature in their care. I stood looking up at these towering giants. We fed them all sorts of goodies--grapes, apples oranges, bananas and frosted flakes! It costs about $1,500 per week to feed and care for the elephants. I watched as Ed would cajole Wanda to soak her feet in two large black rubber tubs. He never used a bull-hook or even touched her. He simply said "Soak, Wanda, Soak," and this gentle giant lifted her huge feet and placed them gently into the warm, soothing water. Tears flowed down my checks. I thought about what these animals endured prior to their life at PAWs. Can you even imagine being chained and not able to move for hours every day, seven days a week, month after month, year after year. I asked about the elephants' skin. On appearance it looks so tough, yet Pat said they are so sensitive they can feel a mosquito that lands on them. They have come to trust Pat and Ed but they both know they can never really trust them completely. You see, elephants are wild creatures. Man selfishly and foolishly takes them as babies from the wild, often killing the parents and other members of the elephant herd, just so we can breed them in captivity and place them in zoos and circuses around the country for people to look at and have their children giggle at their often ridiculous tricks. How dare we? We violently destroy a strong and caring family for our own selfish wants and desires. I came away from my visit with a new appreciation for, and love of elephants and other wild creatures. I feel so strongly that if we cannot protect them and preserve them in their native habitats, then we don't deserve them and must face their extinction. I looked into the eyes of Mara, the towering African elephant and I asked myself, how any human being could point a high powered rifle at these creatures, or any creature, in fact, and end their lives for no other reason than the thrill of the kill! Mara and 71 chose to stay right there with our group that day, enjoying our presence. I cannot describe to you the feeling. I felt so at peace and complete with these unique gifts of God. I wished the time could have lasted forever. Mankind has lost its ability to be kind. A better re-write of the word describing humans would be Mancruel. My work involves animal advocacy and what I am exposed to on a daily basis makes me very sad and angry. Cruelty and neglect can be dealt with and those responsible punished but it is the indifference to animal suffering that makes the world such a disturbing place. Every living being deserves our kindness, our sympathy. We are all here together on Earth struggling to live our lives. Just how difficult can it be to think about the animals and how they deserve to live their lives free from our tyrannical cruelty and exploitation. Jesus said that "What you do to the least of these, you do to me". I wonder how Jesus feels when He sees the way we have commodified animals; turned them into living experiments; torture them for cultural and traditional reasons, hunt them and call it sportsmanship, make their lives a living hell in experiments for the so-called benefit to man's health. I believe it grieves our Lord deeply to see how we treat His creatures. There isn't much time left. At the rate we are destroying our only home--Planet Earth--we will soon find ourselves living in a totally inhospitable environment and no matter how technologically advanced we are, no matter how powerful our armies and how wealthy our people may become, we won't be able to reverse or undo the terrible damage. Jesus will return soon. Will we be ready for Him? One of the way's we can prepare for His return by extending our kindness to the animals! They deserve it. .................................................................................................... fluffy Fluffy
.....indeed, we are supposed to be voice of the voiceless. There are many humans who are also voiceless at the moment and freedom of speech seems to have lost it's meaning....sigh....the cruelty of humans.....trying not to be too cheesy about it though......
Put the glass down today
A professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. e held it up for all to see & asked the students,' How much do you think this glass weighs?' '50gms!' .... '100gms!' ......'125gms' ......the students answered. 'I really don't know unless I weigh it,' said the professor, 'but, my question is: What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?' 'Nothing' the students said. 'Ok what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?' the professor asked. 'Your arm would begin to ache' said one of the students. 'You're right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?' 'Your arm could go numb, you might have severe muscle stress & paralysis & have to go to hospital for sure!' ventured another student & all the students laughed. 'Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?'asked the professor. 'No' 'Then what caused the arm ache & the muscle stress?' The students were puzzled. 'Put the glass down!' said one of the students. 'Exactly!' said the professor.' Life's problems are something like this. Hold it for a few minutes in your head & they seem OK. Think of them for a long time & they begin to ache. Hold it even longer & they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything. It's important to think of the challenges (problems) in your life, but EVEN MORE IMPORTANT to 'put them down' at the end of every day before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh & strong & can handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way!' Meditation helps in solving our problems. So, as it becomes time for you to leave office today, Remember friends to 'PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY! '  
A LETTER
Dear Son, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to misdo the garden, because your mother always loved planting time. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over.I know you would dig the plot, for me if you weren't in the prison. Love, Dad Shortly, the old man received this telegram: "For Heaven's sake, Dad, don't dig up the garden! That's where I buried the GUNS!!" At 4 a.m. The next morning, a dozen FBI agents and local police officers showed up and dug up the entire garden without finding any guns.Confused, the old man wrote another note to his son telling him what happened and asked him what to do next.His son's reply was: "Go ahead and plant your potatoes, Dad It's the best I could do for you from here." NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE IN THE WORLD, IF YOU HAVE DECIDED TO DO MEDITATION DEEP FROM YOUR HEART, YOU CAN DO IT,. IT IS THE THOUGHT THAT MATTERS NOT WHERE & IN WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES YOU ARE.
PUSH
A man was sleeping one night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and God appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all of his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing discouragement, the adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind: "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't moved." Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. Satan said, "Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough." That's what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a Matter of Prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. "Lord," he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing? The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? "Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. "True, you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. That you have done. Now I, my friend, will move the rock." *At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just a simple obedience and faith in Him. By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves the mountains.** When everything seems to go wrong .... just P.U.S.H.! When the job gets you down ... just P.U.S.H.! When your money is "gone" and the bills are due ..... just P.U.S.H.! P.U.S.H.! P= Pray (Meditate) U= Until S= Something H= Happens
4 Wives
Once upon a time there was a King who had four wives.He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best. He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another. He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with him.Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her, and she would help him get through the difficult times. The King's 1st wife, whom he did not love, was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaininghis wealth and kingdom. Although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her. One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short.He thought of his life and wondered, "I now have four wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone." Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No way!", replied the 4th wife, and she walked away without another word. The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No!", replied the 3rd wife. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry!" He then asked the 2nd wife, "I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die,will you follow me and keep me company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!"," I can see you to your grave." Then a voice called out: "I'll leave with you and follow you no matter where you go." The King looked up, and there was his first wife. She was so skinny as she suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, the King said,"I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!" In truth, we all have 4 wives in our lives: Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it will leave us when we die. Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, it will all go to others. Our 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave. And our 1st wife is our Soul. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world. However, our Soul is the only thing that will follow us wherever we go. Cultivate,strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of us that will follow us to the throne of God and continue with us throughout Eternity. When the world pushes you to your knees, you're in the perfect position to pray. Pass this on to everyone that you care about. I just did. Your make up is resident in the realm of the Unseen,what you are seeing is a mere temptation....
bumpity bump bump!!!!!
 .........i've said numerous times that i'm a little lost lamb spiritually. I have the longing but lack the direction but i still appreciate the dedication of believers irrespective of faith (yep, even scientologists.....lol) So watching the murders of peace loving Budhhist monks on TV has shocked me to the core.......the equivelant would be the Italian forces murdering priests, nuns, cardinals and deposing the pope......the idea is repugnant irrespective of core faith........
i came across and old article about meditaion....it has a strong neurogical effect and can be likened to prayer........ It would seem to me that if people took a few minutes a day to meditate/pray/do affirmations etc the world would be a much calmer place............... Meditation Shown to Light Up Brains of Buddhists Reuters[Thursday, May 22, 2003 10:30] LONDON - Buddhists really are happy, calm and serene people -- at least according to their brain scans. Using new scanning techniques, neuroscientists have discovered that certain areas of the brain light up constantly in Buddhists, and not just when they are meditating, which indicates positive emotions and good mood. "We can now hypothesize with some confidence that those apparently happy, calm Buddhist souls one regularly comes across in places such as Dharamsala, India, really are happy," Professor Owen Flanagan, of Duke University in North Carolina, said Wednesday. Dharamsala is the home base of exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama. The scanning studies by scientists at the University of Wisconsin at Madison showed activity in the left prefrontal lobes of experienced Buddhist practitioners. The area is linked to positive emotions, self-control and temperament. Other research by Paul Ekman, of the University of California San Francisco Medical Center, suggests that meditation and mindfulness can tame the amygdala, an area of the brain which is the hub of fear memory. Ekman discovered that experienced Buddhists were less likely to be shocked, flustered, surprised or as angry as other people. Flanagan believes that if the findings of the studies can be confirmed they could be of major importance. "The most reasonable hypothesis is that there is something about conscientious Buddhist practice that results in the kind of happiness we all seek," Flanagan said in a report in New Scientist magazine. i guess it's making the time.................what are your thoughts?..........any first hand experience?? fluffy  Fluffy
i think this is a great topic to be able to talk about spirituality without religion getting in the way. i found that the two worst topics to talk about with anyone is anything to do with religion or politics because everyone's views differ greatly when it comes to those two subjects. keeping it spiritual and light was a great idea. nice topic!!
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..........that's beautiful................
