shift one ~~~ more

this writing is a little rough...like a draft, but i want to start getting these shifts out anyway. here is the first shift that i think is undergirding a change in parenting style and practice...

a shift from a dualistic body/spirit view of human self to a more wholistic view of a human self.

it seems like a shift is happening that is expanding our view of what makes up a person. in modernism, the emphasis was placed on the physical/natural, and on the will/choice. the body and what you choose do with it is mainly what exists.

i think that's shifting.

many people are finding that life is much more complex. we crash head first into this when trying to orchestrate change in ourselves...or others. we're not ONLY physical being who make choices. to tell someone to STOP IT is probably not going to help them change. at least it won't help me. maybe i'm just strange. :) i crash into this when trying to change myself....and my children.

dallas willard in Renovation of the Heart says that “spiritual formation actually happens as each essential dimension of the self is transformed to Christlikeness under the direction of a regenerate will interacting with constant overtures of grace from God. (p232) his six "essential dimensions" are thoughts, feelings, spirit/will, body, social context and soul.

i think that our view of what a child is actually informs our parenting practice. too many have felt the effects of a culture that treat people as if they're just a body to be trained. i've heard someone suggest that a small child is much like a dog and should be trained like one. :)

i would suggest that a child is a very complex being...composed of many dimensions...some of which can be far too easily damaged and stifled. the goal is always the same....to "train up a child in the way they should go" but the context and mindset should be altered to include the whole person.

this has LOTS of implications for practice. but that will have to wait until later.....