Excerpt from Lesson 1

HEART-BASED EDUCATION

I asked a friend to accompany me to a presentation at a newly formed charter school. I was introducing the "Delphi Program," an educational program that had been inspired by Six Lessons with Delphi, a book I had written with my partner, golden retriever Delphi. As always, I was amazed at the wisdom of the children and the amount of sureness and trust they demonstrated as they shared their own inner convictions, perceptions, and visions.

The children ranged from ages five to eleven. The presentation lasted for a half an hour, with the children eagerly contributing answers to my questions as well as their own stories of animals, angels, and helping Mother Earth.

Delphi had wanted to come with me. In fact, she was insistent, but I argued against it saying it was only a short introduction to her work--she could come later as classes formed. The first question from the children when I arrived at the school was, "Where's Delphi?" A case in point: I had been listening to my rational mind instead of Delphi who knew she was expected! And to be sure, my heart was telling me, "Take Delphi with you!"

It was a wonderful half an hour. Magic was everywhere. Thank goodness, I had the presence of mind to take Delphi's poster, and as always, the children seemed to know her and immediately identified with her smiling face.

As we were getting into the car following the presentation, my friend said almost wistfully, yet with purpose, "I am going to have to think like a child!" Then she added, "Those children really know it all. We grow up--become adults--and forget what we know."

Raise Your Hand

Question:

Where can we go to remember? Is there a place within that carries that record of remembrance?

(This space is provided for illustration purposes. Text cannot be entered into this box.)

The greatest and most profound gift you can give your children and your students is to remember. And this can be done swiftly, providing you are willing to go empty and flush out the reams of paperwork and lifeless bureaucracy that have invaded your temple of being. You must be willing to live as you have never lived and release that which can only stifle your "inner child"-- the creative intelligence that has come to light the world and the schoolroom!

Raise your hand and say "yes" to your inner child. Return to the relationship you once had with all life. Remember the joy of discovering the magical, industrious worm squiggling into the earth, or hiding beneath a leaf. Recall the dance of the spirit radiating through the butterfly's wings, or the sudden, unexplained pinpoints of light that filled the room before you went to sleep and the wondrous peace that followed. Remember the exciting sound of the train? No other sound was quite like that. Remember...and be magical again.

Exercise:

Recreate the sound of the train and the excitement you felt as a child. Relive that moment and describe in the box below your experience, remembering you are a child again and the train is coming!

Answer:

Question:

Raise your hand and volunteer to discover what the children know. When did you forget what they know? What caused your forgetfulness? Can you remember?

Answer:

Excerpt from Lesson 2

RECLAIMING THE HEART

Visualize, if you will, your brain--or better still, your head. Now, picture the figure of a heart (a Valentine's heart will do fine) above your head.

Question:

Visualize your "thinking mind" as your head. Answer this question quickly: What is my heart's desire?

Answer:

Question:

Now, return to the picture of the heart above your head. Visually lower the heart so that it partially covers your head. Answer the same question with your heart interlocking the head (intellect).

Answer:

Question:

Is there a difference in your thought process?

a) Are you aware of new energy integrating with your brain centers?

b) Is there a deeper realization of well-being?

Answer:

Question:

What are the consequences of this new area of influence?

a) Could it cause peace on earth?

b) Is it a key to a greater capacity of learning?

Answer:

When you learn to base thought and feeling on the rules of the heart, you enter the quickening sphere of the heart-mind where you realize the unity and partnership of all life. Here relationships change! They cooperate in an interactive pattern, creating spiraling images of truth--new insights and challenging new ideas. The heart-mind is the passageway into superconsciousness, the realm of universal mind. As a teacher and as a parent of the children of the new world, you belong in this realm where the intellect is servant to the heart intelligence.

Exercise:

Rewrite the previous paragraph as you comprehend it. Remember to be conscious of your heart intelligence and the light within you as you begin.

Answer:

Excerpt from Lesson 3

CIRCLE TEACHING

The Heart-Mind

Exercise:

Please define "kind living," "compassionate participation," "partnership with all life," and "individual creative expression." Write as much as you like on each topic.

Answer:

Every teacher of the Sanctuary Program must have a deep appreciation for nature and a respect for all life. This is essential and is, perhaps, the primary focus in the Sanctuary Program. Children demand and command truthfulness. They are very careful to sort out in their minds who is truthful and speaking from the heart and who is not.

This means that a thorough self-examination and understanding of your own capacity to guide the child in the Sanctuary approach to education is necessary. If you can say that you are a friend of all life and a respecter of all living beings, as well as the natural environment, you will be able to respond to the Sanctuary School approach to education and living.

The characteristics that matter most are your self-honesty and your capacity to speak and listen from your heart-mind. This course will explore with you the realm of heart-intelligence, how it can be reached and utilized. When the heart is understood as the sanctuary that embraces and vitalizes the circle of life, the creative magic of the teaching circle can emerge to the delight of the children and the well-being of our planet. Consciousness can be lifted directly through the heart into a world of enlightenment and compassionate service.

Exercise:

Sit in a quiet place.

Breathe deeply three or four times as you still your thoughts and feelings.

Let go of everything, all concerns that might rise into your conscious awareness. Be at peace.

Breathe again and let this breath take you into your heart center.

As you permit the wave of the breath to carry you into the heart, you are letting go of the world.

Now look about you.

You are in the child's world of the heart.

What images do you see and feel?

What do you know?

Share what this moment means to you.

Answer:

How do you trigger the heart-mind as active intelligence and how do you create a teaching circle in your classroom or in the virtual classroom online?

A teaching circle is a creative expanse of energy that penetrates the classroom. It connects all life into a single unit where no barriers can exist and no static, rigid paradigm can remain. The fluidity of the circle moves energy around from one conception base to another. It passes thoughts into higher degrees of conscious awareness and allows revelation to occur within the class and the online student. It creates mobility of thought.

Question:

What questions come to your mind after reading the preceding paragraph?

Answer:

Question:

What might you do to create a teaching circle within your own classroom and online with your student?

Answer: