Here's an interview and Q&A session with Greg Lynn Weaver, Spiritual Director of the PeaceWeavers. The topic: "Peaceful Parenting When You Feel Like Wringing Their Necks."
Greg Lynn answered questions about:
- how peace is related to fitness and health
- what peaceful parenting looks like
- how we get peaceful when we’ve had a lousy day
- how we can practice peaceful parenting so we have the skills when we need them
- how to break the cycle of guilt that leads to poor choices that leads to guilt…
- how to not beat ourselves up over not being perfect
- whether expressing anger verbally is appropriate or bullying
This call is not for the faint-hearted. The "s-word" is used three times, and Mother Teresa is described as "ballsy." Greg Lynn is not a mountain-top theorist – he’s living in the real world, and his language is real as well. His gentle and compassionate style and great sense of humor can help us remember what’s really important as we go through the impossible and wonderful task of raising children.
Turn on your computer speakers, and you can listen right now to a 5-minute excerpt of the call, in which Greg Lynn helps a member explore her question about expressing anger toward her kids:
The entire call is available as a CD (and soon as an electronic transcript).
Do you want your kids to grow up fit and healthy, or overweight and prone to cancer, heart disease and diabetes?
What a stupid question, right?
Keep Reading…
Do you let your kids…
- Smoke cigarettes?
- Ride in the front seat of a car without a seatbelt?
- Ride a bike without a helmet?
- Accept rides and candy from strangers?
- Drink vodka?
- Cross the street without looking?
Probably not. Because we know these things are harmful or risky. And we're willing to put up with a little complaining – or even a serious battle – to make sure we're doing the right things for our kids. Keep Reading…
A recent study reported in BBC News suggests than half the kids in Europe will be obese by 2020. Only one in ten kids gets an hour a day of exercise.
The suggestions by the study authors are heroic – 2 hours of PE and sport a day in school, make kids walk places instead of driving them, etc. Heroic, as in "that ain't gonna happen." Can you imagine the school system that will throttle back on math and science to make more time for gym class? And how many of us feel safe letting our kids wander through suburbs and cities to their destinations.
Luckily, the requirements for exercise aren't as stark as these researchers would have us believe. Walking, dancing, playing, climbing, jumping – the natural activities of childhood – all qualify. We don't need to get out our stopwatches and put kids on treadmills. In fact, mandating and formalizing exercise is a sure way to turn them off for life. Keep Reading…
Here's an interview with Amie Hamlin, Executive Director of The New York Coalition for Healthy School Lunches. Learn why our kids are being poisoned by our government (doesn't that sound like an X-files episode?), how to advocate and agitate for healthy food in schools, and what hope lies on the horizon.
Find out more at www.HealthyLunches.org. Keep Reading…
In Howie's 50-minute interview with Stephanie Weaver, head chef at the PeaceWeavers Retreat Sanctuary in Bath, NY, we discuss the secret ingredient that Chef Stef uses to make her food taste so good, to grownups and kids alike.
She explains:
- her modular system for mixing and matching servings
- how to center yourself before cooking
- the mindset shift that can make kitchen work a joy
- the effect of the cook's mood on the people eating the food
- several ways to get your kids to try new foods
- and even gives away the recipe for one of her most-requested menu items, the famous Seed Dressing.
Q: What are some fun ways to get a good workout and include the kids? Keep Reading…
