Intuitive Thought for the Day

•When your child is upset or feels pain, whether you think he should feel the way he does or not, acknowledge his true feelings and explore the feeling with him. What your child feels at any moment is very real and by telling a child they shouldn’t feel that way, causes them to go inside and question whether they are allowed to feel what they are experiencing.

Intuitive Thought for Today

•Give yourself time to nurture your own needs. It is only when you allow yourself time to be in touch with your own spirit that you become aware of what’s going on inside of and around you.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Interview with Intuitive Children's Author- Rosemary Serluca- Foster

I recently had the honor and privilege of not only interviewing Rosemary, but also had the pleasure of meeting her in NYC at Book Expo America this past May. Rosemary is the author of Genevieve’s Gift: A Child’s Joyful Tale of Connecting with her Intuitive Heart.

This connection was special for me for two reasons. During my last pregnancy with my 4th child (2nd daughter) I considered naming her Genevieve. And the other special reason is that my work is intuitive parenting and working with intuitive children through heart centered connections. As you can tell, Rosemary's book is aligned directly with those principles.

Rosemary's company is Rosedove Productions, LLC located in Nyack, NY and she is married to her wonderful husband Doug Foster. She has four godchildren whom she adores: Lauren, Chelsea, Antonia and Ian and feels that all the children and adults she works with on a deep level become part of her extended family. I asked Rosemary some questions about her book and here's what she had to say.

Tara: What was the inspiration for your book?


Rosemary: I began to observe children around me who were losing their intuitive and creative spark as they got older through peer pressure and unconscious parenting, and felt moved to create something specifically for children that they could relate to; something to help them keep in touch with that deeply present, and intuitive part of themselves.

Tara: Rosemary, I couldn't agree with you more. My book Raising Intuitive Children is aligned specifically with the need to educate parents about what it means to raise intuitive children. What I have found through the feedback about the book, is that parents themselves are beginning to recover their own intuitive knowing and memories.

Did you have an aha moment; was it inspired by something you were doing or someplace you were visiting; a person in your life?

Rosemary: Oh yes! I was on a meditation retreat, sitting next to an idyllic pond. I began journaling and wrote the sentence—“teach children about intuition.” It felt like someone had commanded me. So I followed the order, so to speak, and created my children’s workshop called Kids-R-Intuitive, which is comprised of exercises, visualizations, crafts and games to help children tap into their inner and creative voice, and then wrote the book, Genevieve’s Gift.

Tara: How wonderful. So many of us are being called to re-ignite this sense for our children.

When did you first come up with your idea?

Rosemary: After that meditation retreat, I felt something important was about to be born through me. Being that I am a writer, it felt natural to create a book. I constantly relied on my own intuition to bring this project to life. I was in fact, living the journey of connecting with and following that small still voice inside, just like the main character does. And it was through the same heart connection meditation that I teach children in my workshops, that I first got a glimpse of what Genevieve looked like, who is very similar to my sweet, intuitive goddaughter Antonia.

Tara: Who is your greatest source of support; why?

Rosemary: Without a doubt my husband Doug. He is, and has always been very supportive of my creativity and writing, not to mention he is a very kind and steady, and reminds me to take a step back and look at the big picture, especially when things “appear” not to be falling into place.

Tara: We have the "supportive husband" blessing in common. Someone told me it's the divine masculine we are beginning to see in men. Whatever it is, I am grateful to have one :o)

If you could offer one piece of advice to someone who is thinking of venturing into this line of work, what would it be?

Rosemary: Listen to your intuition every step of the way. I cannot stress enough how important this is. The journey of how this book came to be is a story in and of itself, and the common thread throughout that journey is the synchronistic events that kept me moving forward. That’s not to say it wasn’t challenging, for it definitely was at times. But that’s part of the growth experience that none of us can, or should avoid. My job was to listen and follow. You’ll feel so much better after you've tried something you're dreaming about doing.

Tara: Absolutely so true! If you don't listen to that inner voice, you miss the blessings that are waiting for all of us on this journey we call life.

What are your future plans; what’s next for you as a writer?

Rosemary: I am continually writing and working on other projects that include: content for websites, magazine articles, ghostwriting and editing books, and TV scripts. I would love to have a publisher acquire Genevieve’s Gift (any ideas or introductions are so very welcome!) and also create a whole series of Genevieve's Gift books, (I have many adventures in mind for our heroine.)

Tara: After conversing with Rosemary for some time, it is our hope and intention to work together to bring intuition to everyone.

Thank you Rosemary. I am so pleased to be in touch with the caliber of books, a book like yours brings to the world. Many blessings to you!! If you would like to know more about Rosemary and her work, visit- Rose Dove Productions.com.

KIDS WITH IMAGINARY FRIENDS HAVE BETTER SUCCESS SKILLS

Here is a supportive study for intuitive children...surveys estimate that 65% of all children have imaginary friends during their first eight years of life. Surveys have also shown that these kids develop faster than others in communication skills and social skills. Imagine, then, what percentage of intuitive children have imaginary friends...it must be very high if two-thirds of the children in the general population have imaginary friends, which I don't believe are all that "imaginary."

Two researchers in psychology at the University of Manchester in England found that the children in their small research sample were more emotionally responsive, achievement-oriented, and more creative. In fact, heightened creativity was a marked feature of the children in this study.

Read more online at Cosmos online magazine:

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/2816/why-kids-with-imaginary-friends-develop-faster?page=0%2C0

Learning Disability or Physical Disability?

My younger son Caden has struggled with reading this year, which confirmed for us our knowing it was time to consider homeschooling him (something I wrote about in an earlier post I have known was going to happen). The outer distractions have become too overwhelming for him to manage while also trying to maintain his concentration at the same time. A few months ago however, I also received an intuitive nudge to have his eyes checked.

We were reading one night and I sensed he was having difficulty seeing the words. Has was squinting and slow to see some of the words I know he is familiar with. I asked him if he was having trouble seeing the words and he said yes. I began to realize some of his frustration and challenges could potentially be a result of his eyes and not a greater issue the school was beginning to lean toward. Not to mention, he is a visual-kinesthetic learner which means he processes much of his world through vision and feeling. Coincidentally, later that same week his reading teacher commented that perhaps he should have his eyes checked.

I immediately called the eye doctor and explained the situation to her. She shared that one of the most common mistakes that are made with young children is that they are labeled with a learning disability when often the issue can be attributed to their vision. She went on to say she even had a patient's mom who was a teacher who missed the issue with her daughter's vision and had leaned toward it being a learning disability. I knew it, I thought to myself. Another instance where children are being labeled with a disability rather than all other options being investigated first.

So I scheduled Caden's eye appointment and took him in. Almost immediately upon him stepping up to the "eye machine" (something new since the last time my eyes were checked...) she could see he would need glasses. I was amazed that within seconds of examining his eyes she could see that there was a pretty significant issue with his visual cortex. A feeling of relief washed over me, because in that moment he and I both knew his challenges with reading had been a result of his eye sight, not a learning disability. He looked at me and said, "I told you I was going to need glasses." And of course he did.

His visual diagnosis is being farsighted along with a stigmatism in his left eye which is an even greater visual challenge and also a genetic defect (thank you grandma...LOL). He was fitted for glasses and his reading ability was tested with the new prescription. Based on how he read the card and his ability to easily identify his letters during the actual exam, she explained that for his specific issue his ability to see punctuation and small print was diminished by his inability to see up close. This had caused him to read without knowing when to pause or stop for grammatical purposes AND all of his focus and energy was going into seeing the words which has made it difficult for him to comprehend what he's reading.

She also explained it would take some time to help him adjust to the ability to see clearly and will take some "rehabilitation" if you will, to improve his reading comprehension. Basically, we will have to work on strengthening his understanding again, because he won't be compensating for his inability to see the words on the pages.

I recently had a conversation with one of the mom's at Caden's baseball game and shared what I discovered about Caden's vision. She was impressed I picked up on it so quickly and also believes people miss vision issues more frequently than we are aware of. She shared her own story about being almost 20 before she realized she had struggled with her vision; to her, it was normal. Her story made me feel strongly about writing this article. In fact, in Maryland it's now mandatory for children's sight to be tested before school begins. Perhaps all states should make this a requirement and we can begin easing up on everything being considered a "learning" disability. In some instances, it is simply a physical disability and with proper knowledge and resources, these issues can be addressed easily enough.

Intuition- Tweens and Teens Need to Trust It!

Recently, we had a scary incident occur at school for our twelve year old son Adam, that merits sharing.

At the beginning of the school year, Adam's first year in middle school, he befriended a boy I wasn't completely comfortable with. This young boy (we'll call him Joe) has endured a lot of hardship from the death of his father (who was murdered)to a mother who didn't seem to pay much attention to him. Adam, a kid with a big heart who befriends just about everyone, genuinely liked Joe and hung out with him. I remained cautious, but allowed him to invite Joe over from time to time. I shared my concern and how I felt about Joe with Adam, but his response was "mom, he doesn't have a dad and needs to be around a family." Who can argue with that logic?

Months went by and we didn't see Joe. I asked Adam about it and he said he didn't feel comfortable around him anymore. I wasn't about to argue with him since I was uncomfortable around him as well, but felt better knowing Adam could sense something wasn't right.

Fast forward another few months and Adam wanted to hang out with him again. I asked what had changed and he said- "Joe did." With trepidation, I allowed him to come over to the house, but required they stay in the yard so I knew what they were doing. When Joe left, Adam was annoyed. I asked him what was wrong and he said "I am disappointed in you."

"Why?"

"You wouldn't let us go anywhere. What did you think we were going to do?"

"Adam" I said, "you are sending me mixed messages. One minute you want to be friends with Joe and then the next minute you tell me you don't feel comfortable around him anymore. What has changed?"

"He has changed."

"How?" I asked. "You know Adam, I am taking my cues from you. If you feel something isn't right, you need to trust that knowing. It's your intuition and it's always right."

That was the end of the conversation at that point. However, this week we received a call from the school and Joe had been expelled from school for the rest of this year and half of next year. Not only had he brought a knife into school, but he threatened several kids, including Adam.

I don't know how to impress upon not only my own children, but other parents as well, how important it is to trust their feelings. Adam's intuition alerted him to the feeling that something wasn't right, but like kids often do, they give people the benefit of the doubt. The scariest part about the whole experience was that Adam didn't come home and tell us about the incident. He was scared, didn't want to talk about it and was worried I would "freak out". He also convinced himself that Joe would never have hurt anybody because he's too shy.

Again, I used this situation as another way to impress on my son his need to trust himself above all else. By not telling anyone, it could have turned out a lot differently. I also reminded him about the Virginia Tech massacre and how the one person that sensed something was amiss with the young man who murdered all of those people, didn't tell anyone either (we live in Virginia and had a babysitter who was at Tech when this happened, so it was more personal for us).

In this case things turned out okay, but more than anything else, tweens and teens NEED to trust their intuition. It's the only guarantee they have to feel their way through situations when everything on the surface looks normal. The stronger their knowing, the less likely they will be to jump in a car with someone who's been drinking or going somewhere with someone they aren't sure about.

It is my hope that people will read this and follow their feelings. I sensed from the getgo something wasn't right, but I remained aware and in tune and fortunately (or unfortunately) my feelings were accurate.

©2009 by Tara Paterson, All Rights Reserved

Parenting Well Using Your Intuition Teleclass Begins!

Tonight, my "Parenting Well Using Your Intuition" class begins.




LIVE TELE-CLASS BEGINS- TONIGHT
4 Two hour classes being offered- 6/8, 6/15, 6/22 and 6/29
TIME: 7:00 – 9:00PM EST

What does it mean to parent using your intuition? What is intuition and how will you know when to use it? As parents, we are bombarded by too many resources outside of ourselves for guidance on how to parent. We look to the latest books, advice from experts, family, friends, church, community, web sites, media, etc. What about finding your own inner knowing about how to parent your child? It is my intention to empower you as a parent to trust your feelings and intuition when it comes to raising your child.

What if you could successfully:

· Trust your feelings about how to parent your child
· Feel emotional upset within yourself, acknowledge the emotion and shift the feeling before you interact with your child
· Encourage your child to make choices
· Honor your child’s feelings about a person or experience
· Enjoy each moment and allow the rest to come

In this interactive course, Certified Coach for Parents of Intuitives- Tara Paterson, will share the 10 Secrets that will have you interacting positively with your child while strengthening confidence in your ability to trust your own inner knowing about how to parent your child.

Register now for- Parenting Well Using Your Intuition

Also offering- Radical Parenting Using Intuition!

Check out this youTube video on what we are offering!

As a special added bonus for taking this teleclass, we are offering a $50 discount for the Radical Parenting Using Intuition webinar!

Register now for- Radical Parenting Webinar

How Beliefs Bury a Child's Intuition

I borrowed this first paragraph from my daily Morning Blessing. I felt it spoke volumes for the way parents pass their beliefs onto their children without giving a thought to how it can bury their child's own intuitive knowing.

How do you train elephants? They are too powerful to put in cages, so you must start to control elephants when they are very young. First you put a six-foot chain around one of their legs and shackle them to a stake. Gradually, they learn to walk around and around that stake. They learn that the length of that chain is their boundary. Later, when they are strong and powerful, it never occurs to them that they can break that chain or pull up that stake.

This is a true story for how elephants are contained by humans. Parents do the same thing to their children. We assume because we have been taught a specific set of beliefs it's true for everyone, especially our children. In many families, if a child were to form a different opinion about something like- religion, right and wrong, career choices, likes and dislikes, acceptance of others; they would be told all of the reasons their feelings were not accurate. They would be sat down, talked to and coerced to believe what the parents wanted their child to believe. Sounds a lot like the story of the elephant.

Do we treat our children the way humans have been treating animals for centuries? I'll leave that up to you.

Children have a strong connection to their intuition from the time they are born. They have a totally different way of looking at the world around them and the people in it. They are void of judgments, opinions, and belief systems. Often, children are conditioned by negative beliefs that they hear repeatedly when they are young. When they hear the opinions of others, it becomes a seed planted and nurtured by the adults around them. If the child disagrees with the belief they are being told is real, a lack of trust begins to develop. This creates distrust in oneself and the people around them. Whatever beliefs are held become their reality.

Allow your children to have their own set of beliefs. Modeling for your child the values and morals you want them to have is the greatest way to teach them what you believe is appropriate or not. Hearing what they say and honoring their opinions gives them the inner confidence they will need to go out into the world and function successfully. The best thing a parent can do is teach their child to trust themself.

If you are concerned your child believes something you don't agree with, what scares you about that? Is it something you might believe, but are afraid to admit? Look at your own set of beliefs. Do they fit into today's world? Are you afraid to let go because it's unchartered territory?

Reflect on some of these thoughts. One can change their beliefs more easily than the lack of trust created between a child and their parent.

©2009 by Tara Paterson, All Rights Reserved

Book Expo America was a Success!

I couldn't be more pleased with how well Book Expo America went this past weekend in NYC. As the founder of the Mom's Choice Awards, I was there to interview several of our 2009 Mom's Choice Honorees, among them NY Times bestselling author Greg Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea) and Fox & Friends anchorwoman- Alisyn Camerota. As if that wasn't enough, Alisyn graciously interviewed me about Raising Intuitive Children.

I had two book signings scheduled and found I was ill prepared. I went through all of the books I brought to the Expo within 1/2 an hour of my first signing. When I came from behind the curtain to begin, there was a line of people waiting for a copy of the book. It was so very exciting.

I also had the opportunity to speak with several people about the importance and content of the book. It was an amazingly successful weekend.

Within the next few weeks, I will have the video of Alisyn and I discussing the book and watch for an interview on Fox & Friends. Details to come!!!