Article by Nivedita Bhosale
During one of the chats with a child key worker, we bumped on a topic of ‘building resilience’ that rung my bells immediately. Resilience has sort of become a catchword amongst parents, key workers, educators, medical practitioners, as we bear goals of developing strong yet kind, capable yet balanced, creative yet rejuvenated young people.
As a mother, I certainly seek resilience in my child as he flounders in a world that has changed more rapidly. In day-day encounters as a parent as well as a healer, I evidenced how kids succumb to challenges or mistakes and perceive them as failures, grieving over them instead of bouncing back. Imagine, if we as parents were to step into the shoes of a young child. It would be overwhelming to deal with the flow of information, which is contrary to the environment we grew up in. Thus, it is equally difficult for parents to deal with the challenges that kids undergo, while we as parents endure immense pressures of life. Nonetheless, we as parents are always raising our ‘parenting-bars’ in providing valuable support and wisdom to our young ones.
With the bountiful gift of Reiki, I questioned myself what if Reiki could sort this out, not just recover multiple setbacks but also transform as a person?
They say, a child up to age 5, is a sponge who is constantly absorbing stuff. Children at this age are uniquely blessed with unlimited creativity and wisdom. I personally believe it is alright to let children at this age and in a secure environment such as kindergarten to explore their friendships or even allow natural, affectionate gestures such as hugging, that are a fundamental part of human experience. I understand many parents would differ and exercise effort to protect their children say, by not allowing hugging any of their kinder friends. I am by no means, judging any of these ideas. I feel that to protect children in the vulnerable conditions, we probably tend to overprotect them by projecting our fears. Although the intention is about security, we deprive children of essential life skills that support emotional wellbeing.
Before building the foundation for children to manage their failures, we shield them. Shielding our kids from every harsh condition unintentionally stops them from doing things themselves and keeps them from identifying their unique abilities.
The below tips are handy and could be incorporated gradually to build resilient kids.
- Self-care, self-love, positive outlook
Reiki enriches the attitude of self-care, self-love and develops optimism. Reiki gently raises awareness about what serves our existence and guides us into taking appropriate actions. As parents of young ones, you set an example about self-care and self-love daily. Small routines like making the bed in the morning as soon as you wake up, or eating healthy meals on time, set the tune for them. We speak to ourselves all day long in a live commentary, some call it inner voice, some call it mind or heart, whatever you may call it. It usually is about the stuff we feel emotionally about ourselves. Teaching kids to talk positively internally creates or strengthens their aura that keeps negativity in the outside world at bay. Generally, it improves their mood, places them in a confident position to respond to difficult situations, restores good health by balancing the negative emotions with positive ones. When we feel good about ourselves, we also attract things or people or situations that make us feel good. So even though things are not going well in your child’s outer world, they are filled with optimism and are able to respond to setbacks optimistically. Program Reiki to instill self-love in your child’s heart while they are asleep. Use the emotional healing symbol to scoop out dense emotional blockages. I usually enhance the Reiki flow with power symbol, however, you are free to use your intuition to guide you. - Self-discovery
Life is about revelations and learnings. Children are curious navigators. Encourage their explorations of the real world by exchanging conversations on their good and not-so-good stories. Allow them to express their feelings without judgments and help them notice their uniqueness. I recommend using the power symbol or the Reiki sandwich to protect your child from unknown vulnerabilities while they step into exploration. - Allow them to grow and nurture
Encourage your kids to grow skills in one area of their liking/interest and master them. This develops persistence, inspiration, and grooms their self-esteem. Persisting in nurturing one skill, develops patience, perseverance, and better problem-solving skills. Channel Reiki with the intention to reveal ‘the flare’ in your child that is for their highest good. You could set an intention ‘Please reveal the passion of my child (put child name here) which will bring joy and happiness to the world and is for the highest good of all.’ Kids have unbelievable capabilities complemented with undying energy and high spirits. With Reiki, we assist children to bloom to their highest potential. - Be a leading light
Your child looks up to you as an asset full of love, genuineness and someone who always has their back. In weary times, reflect love and acceptance of what your child shares rather than express shame or guilt. Your child is watching you, even in unawareness! Depict instances where your child can learn from your experience. This is a wonderful way to strengthen your bond together as well as discover the learnings together. It is a great idea to set an intention for both you as a parent and your child to be able to peacefully share, listen, discuss, exchange thoughts and arrive at guidance for set of possibilities. - Encourage soul talk
It goes without saying, when you find a relation to something eternal that surpasses the material world, your life feels complete. I vouch for Reiki, that helps bring this experience into realization. It brings or persuades you to find meaning to life and serves as a moral springboard to live life holistically. If you are a Reiki practitioner, you can yourself pass this gift on to your kids or seek a Reiki Master once they are ready. Else, there are number of simple activities like meditation, chanting, deep breathing, sometimes it could also mean doing things stepping out of your comfort zone. - Practice ‘No’
Teach children to honor the word ‘No’ how much ever they dislike it. Kids are beautiful creations-in-progress and do not have the capacity to self-regulate and as a parent’s job, you got to do what you got to do! I find most children like rules and being guided from time to time which also includes hearing a ‘No’. Using Reiki to build a level of trust and understanding amongst each other helps parents to take-off the burden of feeling pressurized or guilty for saying ‘No’.
Just as raising kids is a process, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that building resilience is progression achieved in small steps towards a better resilience than what was there yesterday. We want to see less of what we see today in terms of mental health issues and bring a beautiful, happy and resilient future generation to life.
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Nivedita Bhosale is a graduate in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering followed by Post Graduate Diploma in Advanced Computing. Serving 9 years in the Corporate sector, her strong inclination towards Reiki drove her to be a healer and a teacher. Born as an intuitive and gifted with deep compassion, she got enthralled with the divine gift of Reiki and would like to expand her experiences by nurturing Reiki in everyone’s lives. She is a Holistic healer, Independent Reiki Teacher, and a Traditional Usui Reiki Master-Teacher. You can reach her at melbournereikiessence@gmail.com
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