Glorious October is here. I wish you all the best this magnificent fall season

For many pagans, including myself, this is our favorite time of year.  It seems as though every pagan I know celebrates the season and holiday  in their own unique way. I always feel that this is the beauty of pagan faiths; that we are not bound to a certain ritual or a way of celebrating the special days. The uniqueness of who we are greatly contributes to the personalization of our rituals.

One aspect of the season that most pagans agree upon is that this is the time of year where the veil between the two worlds are thinning,and that they will be at their thinnest on Samhain. I won’t waste anyone’s time here with Samhain origins. Chances are you either know them already or that  you possess a level of internet skill in which you know of Google and how to use it. On the same note, I really don’t care how you pronounce it either as long as you say it with intent.  With this thinning of the veil we are given the opportunity to have the most vivid of dreams. Unfortunately, vivid dreams do not always a pleasant experience make. This is true not only for us big kids, but also for our children as well.

There is nothing like the sound of your child wailing in the middle of the night because they are stuck in a bad dream. It is a time when we feel as though we are ineffective parents. We can pick them up, and say those magickal mommy and daddy words that only we can say, but we all know that until that child is safely and securely out of that dream that no one is going back to sleep.

Despite all the magickal wards we may erect in both this world and in the dreaming, none of them are 100% effective. Once a child is of age, we can teach him or her how to properly dream-walk, but until that time comes it falls upon us as parents to protect them the best way we can. Since we practice co-sleeping it is makes our job a little easier, but for those of you who do not, I can suggest a simple talisman to make.

Find some branches with thorns on them. Of course if they are from your own garden, or found around the outside of your house all the better. I would not suggest using thorns from roses that an ex-lover may have given you.  You want enough to have 4-5 branches that can be variable in length. Take some twine, cord or yarn and wrap it around the center of the branches three times (with intent of course). Take the talisman and place it above the door frame on the inside of the room of whom you are trying to protect.

This will work for both adults and children alike. I would not recommend using it in a room that already has a dream catcher in it. I’ve used this for decades and have found that it really does work wonders. I’m sure it will have positive results for you as well. Namaste.

Every body always says that being a parent changes your life. It’s very true. As much as you may prepare and embrace for these changes there are always some that you just didn’t see coming.

I remember our first outing to the mall very well. It my son’s first mall visit, and my first time navigating the stroller through the denizens that reside there.  Some people just ignore the fact that you are pushing a stroller, and make the assumption that you are one of their own. Others try to casually or not so casually get a glimpse of this magnificent little creature that you created. Often they become curious and want to know the age of the baby. Once you give them the answer to their query it’s usually follwed by oh how big or how small he is for that age. I often toy with notion of responding to the people with the same question.

“Oh what a cute baby, how old is he?”
“He is thirteen and a half months old”
“Wow, he is so big for that age!”
“Really? How old are you?”
“Uh me? I’m….sixty-six”
“Wow, you are much fatter then other sixty-six year olds that we have met. Please do remember that Golden Coral has a salad bar as well.  Good day!”

Of course I would never say such a thing. As role models for our children we must always be both setting and presenting the proper example. It is not for me to teach my child to be a smart ass, although it may be a naturally aquired trait.

It is interesting the questions and comments that strangers will make. I don’t really mind it because you never know when someone will offer that nugget of wisdom that one has been looking for. Spirit doesn’t always whisper a thing in one’s ear. Sometimes Spirit will speak through the voice of another

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When it comes to strangers interacting with the boy, my wife and I strictly adhere to one rule. NO Touching!

The amount of people who think it is completely appropriate to touch a baby that they do not know simply astounds me. My wife and I have  become fairly adept at deflecting the cutsie’s fingers of people who think that they simply must touch our child. Unfortunately sometimes our ninja skills are less then perfect and someone actually touches him without our consent. I assure you the waiter at IHOP will not be touching anyone’s child anytime soon after last Sunday’s incident.

This waiter (who was not even serving us) walked by and did cutsie finger on my sons shoulder. He was walking quickly and I did not even see it until it was too late. I informed my wife and we both kept our guard up to see if he was coming by agian. Unfortunately for the waiter he attempted to do this again. Fortunatly for my son, I was able to intercept.  I politley informed the waiter that he had no right to touch my son. This jerk kept on telling me that is was all right. To which I insisted that it was not alright, and he should not do it again. He slithered away without any sort of apology for us. I demanded to speak with the manager, and when he arrived, I informed him of the incident. He went to go speak to the waiter, and came back with an apology. I understand that it is a family restaurant but that does not give employee’s the right to touch my family.

Is this being over potective? I don’t think so. It falls upon the responsibility of the parent to control as to whom has physical interaction with their children. I don’t want my son to learn that it is completely acceptable for people that he doesn’t know to touch him.

Namaste.

Although today was not a holiday, it is a day that is indeed deserving of observance. I wanted my son to know that today was not just another ordinary day. I wanted him to know that it was important.

At thirteen months of age, he is already absorbing information at light speed. But how, do I explain this to him? How do I explain to him about all the lives we lost, and how America was changed….

You don’t of course.

I decided to treat this day pretty much the same way we would treat any day of observance. We lit a candle together, and I told him who it was for. I told him that we were remembering a great many people who are no longer with us. I shared with him about his Uncle and guardian, my brother, who was there that day and is one of the fortunate ones that made it out of the towers alive. I shared with him about our other family members who were both with the NYPD, and how they too, made it home safely to their families. It is my intention to repeat this tradition until he knows the stories himself, this way I know he can pass it along as well.

As role models for our children, it falls upon us to carry on, create and follow traditional observances. We should never fail in this. Namaste.

Many months ago I created a sticky note on my computer monitor. It reads ” A child’s spiritual education should not only begin at home, but also in the womb as well. ” I keep this on my monitor as a simple reminder that it is never too early to begin your child’s spiritual education. As I’m on the computer quite frequently, it is something I see often, and when I do I contemplate on it.

One of the many responsibility we have as parents is to bestow onto our children a spiritual education. If we do not, then someone else will. It matters not what path you put them on as there are many paths up the mountain, what matters is that you are giving them the tools to become both a creature of light and a force for good.

What are these tools you may ask? I don’t know what may be right for your child as I can only speak for my own. We strive to make him open to all things. We inspire him to be color blind so that he looks upon everyone and everything equally. We embrace and encourage his ability to interact with energy and nature in general. We planted the seeds of generosity and compassion in him and are already delighted with how that garden is growing.

My son was born with a sparkle in his eye, one that is obviously fueled by spirit. In my opinion, it would be a harsh form of neglect if I was to not fan that flame that burns within him. It is often said that a child chooses his parents. It is my intention to always make sure that he chose wisely, as this is what I was meant to do. -Namaste-

During the week, I rarely get to eat breakfast with my son. There are all these little things to consider such as my getting ready for work, his not being awake etc.  The weekends are a different story. On the weekends he has a tendency to awaken from his slumber around the same time that I do.

I like to seize this opportunity to scoop him up and to get him ready for the day. This presents many benefits for the family. It gives the mommy the chance to sleep in, and it gives precious time for daddy and son to bond.

Cooking breakfast for my son is truly one of life’s simple pleasures. Sure it’s easy to pour something from a box, heat up something processed, or scoop something out of the jar. I prefer to cook for my son. A home cooked breakfast is so much more beneficial to anyone, not just a child.

When we cook for someone we are transferring a part of our energy into that food and that food will then nourish the person we are cooking for. It is my belief that this makes the food not only more palatable and nutritious but also transfers a portion of your energy into that person as well.

While I am cooking for him, we sing, chat, dance and most importantly laugh. I like to tell him what I am cooking for him and how. Although he is too young (13 months) to assist me, I like for him to know that he is part of the experience, and as we should all know by now, it is about the journey, not the destination.

In case any of you were wondering, this mornings breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs and Tilapia.  Hungry yet?