Awakening minds.

 Living in Puna, I am one of the few in my circle of friends that actually has a "day job." I work every weekday from 8-3 at a charter school with 7th and 8th graders. I've been working with children as a profession for about ten years, since I graduated from college. So, on the daily I share a good portion of my day with over sixty young people ranging between 12 and 15, with the other main teacher, attempting to teach them Math, Life Science and Earth Science.  I felt so proud today of this particular student  in my 8th grade class. We gave our classes the opportunity to choose anything to create a relevant, meaningful and interesting presentation to get some "extra credit." Other presentation examples: Teenage pregnancy, gay marriage, stereotypes, dung beetles, and soap. This particular young  woman chose to inspire the class with a thought-provoking and heart warming presentation which posed the questions to the class: What is education? Why do you come to school? Is it to learn? What is the importance of knowledge and how is it different from wisdom?  What good is knowing a bunch of information if you aren't putting it to use somehow to make the world/yourself better? Her passion was palpable and inspiring. I think some of her classmates were a little mind-blown...
The middle school age is such a challenging time, I remember. It is a time of transitioning. The body is changing rapidly and there are so many new feelings and hormones surging through the body. I remember the agonies! I barely remember school, actually, at least not what we were supposedly learning in class. I do remember the "social stuff" that went on. So, to have 25 of these young people in a classroom at once, and to magically capture their attention is a rare wonder to behold! It sure makes me feel powerful, anyways! I often wonder how much of a difference and impact I am making on their lives. Teaching them the subjects that we are "supposed to" teach seems pointless if there is no desire in the mind of the student to learn. There's nothing more frustrating that regurgitation. True education is NOT about regurgitating information or other people's ideas. Please, (we repeat to them) tell me what YOU think. Please, for the love of God Ask me a question to show you were thinking about something!
I could label nearly all the kids in the class ADHD (and by the way I think that "syndrome" is bullshit, merely a result of putting hormonal energetic kids in a class and trying to teach them stuff they could care less about! Plus all the processed foods/sugars they consume does no help). Most of these kids, it seems, that all they want to do is gossip, touch each other and relate with their friends and/or daydream about what they want to do when school is over (and I hear ALL about their worlds in their little chattering circles while they are on break).
Sometimes its hard for me to relate to them because when I was their age we didn't have Facebook and all these other social media sites that they let their time and minds get consumed with. I didn't even have a cell phone until I was well into college and now I see these 12 year olds with internet at their fingertips at any moment.  So HOW do we get through to them, how do we capture their adolescent attention spans when there's so much information being thrown at them, all these distracting"meme's" battling in their brains for attention, causing them to take on all sorts of personas, influencing them how to be or what to look like and what to say. "Are you going to let someone else steer your ship?" we ask them.  In a time when they are processing so much information, being an authentic human being can be quite challenging for these young people.  Where, when and how did YOU discover your true beauty? or That the world is a beautiful place? or That Life is beautiful with all its joys and tragedies? Or is it a constant process of remembering? Rudolf Steiner said: “Those human beings who have not learnt to work in the ways of beauty and through beauty to capture truth, will never come to the full humanity needed to meet the challenges of life.”  http://www.steinercollege.edu/waldorf
  In this Information Age, I wonder what time are these young people taking to ask themselves the really meaningful questions like, "Who am I?" or "Who do I want to be?"  Is it too much to expect of these young people to delve into the process of self-inquiry?  If they seem to lack the attention span, I suppose it is only up to them on what they choose to focus their precious attention on.  But to do this, requires will power.  I do believe there is an innate desire to develop the capacities of the soul and intellect, because when we are not growing we begin to feel stagnated, and the effects can be manifested in so many ways. I feel that apathy is just a cover up, mask, and I see it everyday and I feel that there are great repercussions to simply not caring.  Not caring actually is hurting them more as well as the world around them.   Just take a look around to see the effects of "not caring." It does NOT always stem from not knowing either because I see people everyday abusing their power just because they can or because they lack the willpower to do otherwise.  Does it make any difference for us to tell them how bad Aspartame is in the candy they are eating, if they just continue to eat it because it tastes so good?  (I just can't help myself-I have to say something every time when I see the toxins they consume! Im ready to send notes home to their mothers!)
The word "Education" comes from the root "Educare" which means "to Bring Forth."  Maria Montessori said "Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed." What my fellow teacher and I agree upon is this: Even if we don't get through all the benchmarks of Math and Science class that we are supposed to, so what? Isn't it more important if these kids can leave feeling inspired and empowered to be who they are and to be compassionate and kind people?  Isn't it more important that they realize they can choose to not be on a "default setting" that its "all about me?" What if we can inspire them enough (or interrupt their own train of thinking enough) to stop and question "what is my truth?" or "why am I so angry?" or "what makes me happy?" or "why am I so unhappy and mean?" and if we can somehow reflect to them their precious innate Power to Choose their thoughts, their words and their actions.  May they be the "Generation Waking Up" instead of pretending to be asleep and repeating all the mistakes that got us into this crucial crux in time.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-9GqB3XRS0
Aren't we all the center of our own little universe and aren't we all little satellites? What or who are we orbiting? What and who do we gravitate towards and why? The last lesson in our Earth Science was about the possibility of many parallel universes- the Multiverse! That there could be many other You's out there, living out all possibilities! Now this is enough to trip ANYONE out.  Amazing things happen when we expand our awareness beyond being the center of our own universe and realize we are all in this life journey together, with feelings, emotions, hopes, dreams, fears, passions and desires. Your pain is my pain. Your joy is my joy.  This is Aloha when we can understand our interconnectedness.
When I witnessed this 13 year old get up in front of the class and present with passion this subject of "What is education?" I got a glimpse of her future self....someone that would make a difference, someone who would "bring forth" more awakening of minds...I felt hope.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLBp8WpeMS
 I also saw a reflection of myself.  I reflected on a line from one of my songs: "We are all teachers....with so much more to learn...I look into myself and I see you..."
Its moments like these that my "day job" is nothing less than the school of life....At every given moment, is an opportunity to exercise our awareness, to learn something, and to grow.
Bless it~ show what you can do!

Am I dreaming

change is in the air.....this eclipse cycle has been very dream-like but in the most awakened sense~ like the dreams and waking life have become so equally vivid and relevant to the soul....maybe only now am i finally giving the attention required to benefit from the "sleeping state" so that I can dream awakened....yes I'm waking the dreams into reality....and know that the magic will take its sweet time in the journey's unfolding path forward...so many unfinished songs, so close to finding their missing pieces, Im mending all the fragments and finding new patterns of beautiful expression...with deep breaths and great leaps up to another position on the mountain, what I know is again challenged by what I feel...soul melodies find their way to me in solitary spaces, especially under the medicine of moonlight and fragrant night air...walking with my instrument...becoming the instrument, letting the music lead me through the shadows...One solar revolution~and much reflection, I see that patience and trust have their rewards that my cycles are only getting easier with the increased awakened state....