The Buddamom.com May
Newsletter...
Dear Friends,
Welcome to buddhamom.com's website and first ever newsletter! I know that
there are a lot of
wonderful places to visit on the web so I want to thank you for taking the
time to visit us. This is the
first of what I intend to be many monthly letters offering thoughts that will
hopefully inspire you. It is
clear to me that inspiration is something we all need in our daily lives.
Inspiration is the breath of
fresh air that reminds us of what we already know at the deepest level, that
life is filled with miracles.
I am getting ready to write a paper on the grave importance of taking a look
at our pedagogy, how
we birth and raise our children. In getting ready to write this article I am
re-reading Alice Miller's
book, "For Your Own Good-hidden cruelty in child-rearing and the roots of
violence" alongside "A
World of Babies-imagined childcare guides for seven societies". I want to
examine and contrast the
early childhood experience of the pre-Hitler German baby and the Balinese
baby. What creates a
culture in which someone like Hitler can thrive and what creates the Joy and
happiness of the
Balinese people, for truly, we are creating our future world by how we raise
our children. This is an
obvious truth yet bears serious and much consideration by all of us.
There is a tendency to take our cultural child-rearing practices for granted,
even the most
enlightened amongst us. I remember watching Oprah one day when a woman who
sleeps with her
child spoke up for this. Both Oprah and Dr. Phil, both of whom I respect and
admire for their wisdom,
dismissed this woman's point of view. It made me think. Putting children in
beds in separate rooms
from their parents is a relatively new phenomenon. It has been natural for
children in most cultures
throughout the world to sleep with their parents. Yet, sleeping with our
children is considered
perverted in our culture at this time, as if there is something sexual about
it. I have not done any
research into this so I only pose it as a possibility; perhaps the alienation
of our youth, the
widespread use of drugs and teen suicide, stems is part from how we put them
into separate rooms
right from the start, at a time when they have no conception of time or space.
If mother is not there
they cannot conceive of the idea that she is in the next room and will return
in the morning. To
conceive of that requires an awareness of time and space.
I pose this more as a question than as an answer. How are our child rearing
techniques and
assumptions shaping the future of our culture? I think we can agree that this
culture could be
improved upon. How do we foster a sense of safety, of belonging, of life being
good in our babies? I
ask this question so that perhaps you will think alongside me. You may agree,
you may disagree with
me, the main thing is not to take the cultural norm for granted without really
looking at it and asking
questions about its effectiveness. This, to me, is an essential part of
spiritual practice for the
householder-coming into alignment with Goodness.
I look forward to sharing monthly thoughts with you and hearing your thoughts
as well. Please feel
free to contact me and, if you wish to create discussion with others, check
out our listserve option. It
is my dream to create many listserves that become virtual community connecting
parents from all
over the world to share diverse views with kindness and respect. If you would
like to be a moderator
for a listserve contact me.
Thank you again for visiting buddhamom.com. It is being built, brick by brick,
with the kind help of our
webmaster David Gordon. If you would like me to come talk at your church or
community center
email me and as soon as my schedule is clear I will post it on the appearances
option.
Wishing you all the joys of spring and the blessings of being on this planet.
Jacqueline Kramer
Previous months Newsletters | May, 03 |