You Can See Clearly Now by Linda Dobson

Don’t let what you’re being get in the way of what you might become.

– Harry Palmer

My initial reasons for entering the world of homeschooling revolved solely around my children. I saw an opportunity to spare them from spending many adult years shaking off the condition­ing that would limit their thinking, their potential, and their hap­piness. My oldest child’s brief stint in public school kindergarten had already revealed 1) the stress of too-early formal book learn­ing, 2) the behavior-altering effects of peer pressure, 3) the person­ality-altering effects of school “discipline,” 4) the spirit-altering effects of boredom, irrelevance, separation, etc., etc.

I decided to bite the bullet and “sacrifice” my time to this scary, almost revolutionary approach to raising a family, all the while thinking how noble and self-sacrificing the act would be. Little did I realize how wonderful an awakening lay right around the corner of my own life.

As the children acquired basic skills – reading, writing, arith­metic – their interests expanded. So did mine. Their sense of won­der blossomed. So did mine. Their abilities multiplied. So did mine. Their confidence increased. So did mine.

The true meaning of education, courtesy of the examples right under my nose, grew clearer every day. The subject of education, I soon realized, was worthy of further study and, more important­ly, deep contemplation. I dove into my first “interest-initiated” learning experience void of a prepared curriculum or teacher but fully attentive. I learned how to learn.

Within a relatively short period of time I discovered I was bring­ing the same reasoning, contemplation, and freedom of inquiry to other areas of concern in my life. “Teaching” my kids at home brought universal life skills into sharp focus. Awareness increased. Consciousness increased (with guidance from other areas of study and contemplation).

This side-benefit to the “teacher” in family centered education ­awakened consciousness to environmental forces (including social forces) that affect your family’s day-to-day life – harbors major potential for societal change as it naturally multiplies within the family. Children growing in close proximity to an adult experi­encing growing consciousness reap the benefits early in life. They, in turn, take this awareness out into their world, touching the lives of others. One day they will pass it on to their children. The potential is unlimited; the implications exciting. Here is an oppor­tunity for you, feeling unable to fix a society sorely in need of improvement all by yourself, to truly make a difference on a scale you and your family can manage at home.

You don’t need millions of dollars or political influence to repair the damage you see around you. Granted, we as a nation are far from realizing the “critical mass” of folks it will take to restore true freedom and equality in America. But if, as quantum physicists are saying, “The key to understanding the universe is you,” so, too, the key to the freedom and wholeness necessary for significant life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is you.

Grab the bull by the horns. Wholeheartedly accept responsibil­ity for yourself and your family. Question and, when necessary, refuse the “help” of institutions bent on creating and perpetuating infantile dependency. Your freedom and heightened conscious­ness will provide you these life-altering advantages:

1) Giant steps toward personal fulfillment – Once you answer the question “Who am I?” by stripping away the conditioning of your past in preparation of accepting responsibility, understanding of your real Self frees you to follow your own internal callings. By honoring your calling (sometimes called an “inner voice”), you set upon Life’s most rewarding journey, at the same time serving as a most inspirational example, the most believable and readily avail­able guide, for your children.

2) Balance, or wholeness – No matter whether your family cen­tered education allows you partial or complete freedom from val­ues, pursuits, and time schedules arranged by others, you will find you are quite capable of controlling your own destiny. No longer obligated to act for others’ convenience, you find your own rhythm, just as your children discover theirs. You are free to listen to your heart, to create a schedule for living that serves your needs (or to avoid schedules completely!). As external callings decrease or disappear according to your needs, you possess the time to attend to mind, body, and spirit as necessary. Every aspect of your life benefits from the balance, or wholeness, that results.

3) Abundant choices – When once you experience the reality of many ways to learn, you’ll see there are also abundant lifestyle options available to you and your family. The singular, rigid cycle prescribed by the education institution – school as path to job, job as path to materialism, materialism as path to necessarily increased earnings, necessarily increased earnings as path to increased tax payments, increased tax payments as path to larger government, larger government as path to greater control of our time, our thoughts, our money, our families and our schools – is one you can skip if you choose to.

When old priorities ruled your life, lifestyle options were few. With family centered education, a whole world of possibilities opens before you as your family’s time – your very lives – become, as they should, yours to direct.

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