When Kids See Things Adults Don't See
Tara Paterson
September 14, 2007
“Faith is, above all, openness; an act of trust in the unknown.” – Alan Watts
How do you begin to explain what spirit is to a child? How can a parent’s explanation of the unexplainable do something with such magnificence, justice? I don’t have many of these answers, but I am blessed to have kids who have had some profound, amazing experiences which have in turn assisted me on a deeper journey of my own.
Several years ago, I recall my first “out of body” experience. To attempt to put the experience into words, would not do it justice; I won’t begin to try, but I can thank my oldest son who at age 7, was better equipped to put his own experience into words while at the same time giving my experience a new level of understanding. He came to me upset because he had been having nightmares. I asked him to explain to me what the nightmares were like and at first attempt to explain them, he stopped short for fear I wouldn’t understand. So I asked him to try me. What he began to describe not only shocked me because of its similarity to my own experience, but it opened a line of communication between my son and I about the spirit realm while at the same time offering my son a sense of security- one of not feeling alone. I realized in that moment how my experience paved the way for a bond between my son and I which would allow me to assist with the deepening of his ability to remain connected with spirit from a young age while at the same time allowing me to grow and evolve as a parent and spiritual mentor.
There have been a few nights as I am headed to bed, I hear my 18 month old daughter in her room carrying on a conversation with someone. I hear her distinctly chattering away and will even hear her pause as if waiting for a reply. Who is she communicating with?
Around age 4, my youngest son Caden was also having spiritual experiences of his own. His encounter was one of seeing colors in his room at night. He would always see the typical colors used to describe the various forms of energy- blue, purple, white, green, yellow. His experiences have not stopped there; at age 6, his encounters have gone from colors in his room to seeing them around people. He is very passionate when he tells me about the color around someone, but it also frightens him. One day after school, he was upset that another child invaded his space; what he declares as his “bubble.” He has always had a unique awareness about personal space and becomes quite upset when someone, most often his brother, invades it. He began by telling me one of the kids had invaded his bubble which led to a full on conversation about the colors he was seeing and how he could see someone’s energy coming at him. He described how the other student’s color invaded his blue- the color of his energy; he also described to me how someone’s energy could push his own energy too close to his physical body which really upsets him. I asked him to demonstrate where the energy was pushed to and he took his hand and held it about an inch from his chest. I asked him where he wanted it to be and he held his hand about a foot from his chest. I was absolutely astonished by the lesson my son was teaching me. He perceives more about the effects of energy at age 6 than most people understand as adults. I am not always sure I know what to say in these circumstances.
One hot, humid afternoon Caden and I were sitting on our front porch and he looked off in the distance through our neighbor’s backyard and reported it was raining several towns away. I asked him how he knew that it was raining somewhere else and he said “I can see really far.” So the dialogue continued with things he could see; how far he could see; how he can see through his eyes and his third eye (of course he didn’t refer to it as the third eye, but I pointed to the spot on his forehead and he agreed). He also continued with how he can see spirits and how he can see grandpa all the time. What could one possibly say to such a spiritually open child? I have reconciled to listen, learn and nurture the things my children are telling me. I make it a point to let them know I believe everything they share with me, because there is no more real truth than from that of a child.
I recall telling my husband some time ago, while in the midst of dealing with an old emotion from my past, how important I believed it would be to remain open with our children about their spiritual experiences. How important it would be to allow them to share their experiences with us and support what they feel, see, hear or think void of our own opinions or judgments. How it would be important to nurture their connection with spirit and encourage them to be open throughout their younger years so they don’t spend their adult years going back to fix things that were blocked or pushed down. I think the greatest gift we can offer our children is the right to be whom and what they are. To allow them to be real and live their truth, not the one I might believe is right for them. I just recently picked up a book by a well known spiritual philosopher and low and behold he wrote a spiritual parenting book in honor of his children, with the very same ideas. He hoped to encourage parents to teach their children spiritual principles while they were young. He wrote- “As much as I have benefited from living spiritual laws, I wish I had learned them years ago. It was a struggle to break the destructive habits I grew up with. As a parent I don’t want my own children to learn the same bad habits and later have to go through the same pain of having to change.” –Deepak Chopra.
Allow our children to be our greatest teachers. They will educate us in ways we never imagined were possible.
How do you begin to explain what spirit is to a child? How can a parent’s explanation of the unexplainable do something with such magnificence, justice? I don’t have many of these answers, but I am blessed to have kids who have had some profound, amazing experiences which have in turn assisted me on a deeper journey of my own.
Several years ago, I recall my first “out of body” experience. To attempt to put the experience into words, would not do it justice; I won’t begin to try, but I can thank my oldest son who at age 7, was better equipped to put his own experience into words while at the same time giving my experience a new level of understanding. He came to me upset because he had been having nightmares. I asked him to explain to me what the nightmares were like and at first attempt to explain them, he stopped short for fear I wouldn’t understand. So I asked him to try me. What he began to describe not only shocked me because of its similarity to my own experience, but it opened a line of communication between my son and I about the spirit realm while at the same time offering my son a sense of security- one of not feeling alone. I realized in that moment how my experience paved the way for a bond between my son and I which would allow me to assist with the deepening of his ability to remain connected with spirit from a young age while at the same time allowing me to grow and evolve as a parent and spiritual mentor.
There have been a few nights as I am headed to bed, I hear my 18 month old daughter in her room carrying on a conversation with someone. I hear her distinctly chattering away and will even hear her pause as if waiting for a reply. Who is she communicating with?
Around age 4, my youngest son Caden was also having spiritual experiences of his own. His encounter was one of seeing colors in his room at night. He would always see the typical colors used to describe the various forms of energy- blue, purple, white, green, yellow. His experiences have not stopped there; at age 6, his encounters have gone from colors in his room to seeing them around people. He is very passionate when he tells me about the color around someone, but it also frightens him. One day after school, he was upset that another child invaded his space; what he declares as his “bubble.” He has always had a unique awareness about personal space and becomes quite upset when someone, most often his brother, invades it. He began by telling me one of the kids had invaded his bubble which led to a full on conversation about the colors he was seeing and how he could see someone’s energy coming at him. He described how the other student’s color invaded his blue- the color of his energy; he also described to me how someone’s energy could push his own energy too close to his physical body which really upsets him. I asked him to demonstrate where the energy was pushed to and he took his hand and held it about an inch from his chest. I asked him where he wanted it to be and he held his hand about a foot from his chest. I was absolutely astonished by the lesson my son was teaching me. He perceives more about the effects of energy at age 6 than most people understand as adults. I am not always sure I know what to say in these circumstances.
One hot, humid afternoon Caden and I were sitting on our front porch and he looked off in the distance through our neighbor’s backyard and reported it was raining several towns away. I asked him how he knew that it was raining somewhere else and he said “I can see really far.” So the dialogue continued with things he could see; how far he could see; how he can see through his eyes and his third eye (of course he didn’t refer to it as the third eye, but I pointed to the spot on his forehead and he agreed). He also continued with how he can see spirits and how he can see grandpa all the time. What could one possibly say to such a spiritually open child? I have reconciled to listen, learn and nurture the things my children are telling me. I make it a point to let them know I believe everything they share with me, because there is no more real truth than from that of a child.
I recall telling my husband some time ago, while in the midst of dealing with an old emotion from my past, how important I believed it would be to remain open with our children about their spiritual experiences. How important it would be to allow them to share their experiences with us and support what they feel, see, hear or think void of our own opinions or judgments. How it would be important to nurture their connection with spirit and encourage them to be open throughout their younger years so they don’t spend their adult years going back to fix things that were blocked or pushed down. I think the greatest gift we can offer our children is the right to be whom and what they are. To allow them to be real and live their truth, not the one I might believe is right for them. I just recently picked up a book by a well known spiritual philosopher and low and behold he wrote a spiritual parenting book in honor of his children, with the very same ideas. He hoped to encourage parents to teach their children spiritual principles while they were young. He wrote- “As much as I have benefited from living spiritual laws, I wish I had learned them years ago. It was a struggle to break the destructive habits I grew up with. As a parent I don’t want my own children to learn the same bad habits and later have to go through the same pain of having to change.” –Deepak Chopra.
Allow our children to be our greatest teachers. They will educate us in ways we never imagined were possible.
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