Attended the Seduction of Spirit seminar recently, and have had a meditation and yoga practice for about six months now. I am focusing on the seven spiritual laws – one each day – and have a question regarding the Law of Least Effort as it applies to parenting. I have a nine-year-old son, and he seems to reject doing anything that’s the least bit difficult. As an example, he doesn’t want to read. His assignments at school call for him to read each night for 30 minutes, and take tests on books he reads each week, accomplishing a certain amount of reading per grade period. Each day this exercise becomes a battle. When he sees the amount he has to read, he responds with tears, fits, and a sense of hopelessness. I have been forcing him into the exercise, hoping that by building a habit, things will get easier day by day. This has been my approach to most aspects of parenting. I am realizing, however, that this approach is very much centered in control – me imposing my will onto my son, forcing him to accept my opinion or my truth. I am confused about how to help my son develop good habits without force and resistance. How can I apply the law of least effort without having him simply give up?
Daily Inspiration
Today every word I utter will be chosen consciously. I will refrain from complaints, condemnation, and criticism. -Deepak Chopra
Trying to be Compassionate
I am trying to be compassionate with a person that I really dislike at the moment. I have tried to reach out to him without result. If I treat him respectfully but with no emotion would I be on the right path?
Who Owns Yoga
Newspapers used to keep morgues of old clippings (I suppose the Web has largely replaced them), and I had the feeling of being dusted off, if not revived from the dead, when my name appeared in a New York Times article about the current kerfuffle over Yoga. The Hindu American Foundation is as mad about the “brand” running out as they were a year or two ago, and their claim is just as unfounded. There was bread and wine before the Last Supper, flies and frogs before the curses that Jehovah visited on Egypt and Yoga before Hinduism.
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Struggling with anxiety
I have struggled with anxiety for many years; have taken anti-depressants but now I have discovered Hatha Yoga led by a wonderful teacher. My anxiety levels are slowly reducing and now I am functioning without medication. I know the hurdles and I am learning to control and re-direct the mind. My question is, would cognitive behavioural therapy offer me a faster solution than the spiritual teachings of yoga which are slowly becoming part of my everyday life.