REALITY – be your True Self, walk your authentic and true path, there may be setbacks or delays or side trips, but you are never lost and will always find your way back home if you listen to your heart and not let your Ego or monkey mind of fear take over.

 

The origin of the word REALITY:   (Etymonline)

RE = again; idea of practice and power of not yet:  reality, rejuvenate, rejoice, reclaim, reinforce, reassure, rebound, recollect, redefine, reaffirm, regenerate, rehabilitate, rekindle, redo, repurpose, remind, renaissance, recognize, reiterate, refine, refurbish, refund, reapply and so on…

REAL is from early 14c., “actually existing, true;” mid-15c., “relating to things” (especially property), from Old French reel “real, actual,” from Late Latin realis “actual,” in Medieval Latin “belonging to the thing itself,” from Latin res “matter, thing,” of uncertain origin. Meaning “genuine” is recorded from 1550s; sense of “unaffected, no-nonsense” is from 1847″

I spent my entire teaching career trying to make learning for students real and meaningful, full of purpose and connections to the real world and relating everything to their personal worlds and how that fit into the bigger picture of humanity.  If students don’t see a “real reason to learn this stuff”, then, they will not own it.  The same is true for teachers.  Teaching has become so prescribed and scripted that most teachers don’t REALly understand what they are supposed to be teaching or what the students are REALly supposed to be learning. 

Learning is all about life, and life is all about learning.  There is something magical about the process when one learns first hand through a real world experience.  After all, don’t we say that “experience is the best teacher”?  There is great power in curiosity and discovery and experimentation and allowing students to explore things on their own.  When giving presentations at conferences, I would tell teachers that I was not a teacher, but rather a facilitator of learning.  “Fácil” in Spanish means “easy”, so I literally tried to figure out how to make it easy for students to learn something.  And I found that the best way to do that was to make it personally meaningful and motivating to them. 

I described my strategy as “leaving Reece’s Pieces and sprinkling fairy dust”.  Like in E.T., I would leave sweet tidbits of information or ask curious questions that would lead the students on a treasure hunt for the answers.  In fact, the way that the children teach E.T. is a great example of how real learning unfolds.  Like E.T., students feel curious, but are afraid to venture too far into this new foreign land of knowledge where they are not sure of what to do, what to say or how to act.  We can’t overwhelm them either with too much input or stimulation at once.  We need to introduce them to what they need to know and let them experience it on their own in a safe and nurturing way. 

But also, as humans, we are wired for connection.  We are social creatures by nature, but we need to feel safe and supported in our environment.  I will talk more about this later in “introspection” and “trust”.  But for now, I’ll just say that my students always had a partner and interacted in pairs and groups for many activities.  There was a sense of family and that we were all in it together.  The fairy dust came from the personal connections, epiphanies and “magical moments” that the students experienced when they made a personal connection to what they were learning and felt that dopamine hit of “ah-ha” covered with excitement and eagerness to keep going and learn more.  The irony was that my whole “schtick”, from Yiddish meaning “piece” and usually associated with a gimmick or something that was not real, became “authenticity” and “realia”.  It kept me grounded and focused on what was REALly important.  It kept my heart open to listening to what students wanted and needed, and finding a way, a path, for each one to go on a learning journey.  It kept me balanced and centered on teaching the whole child, not just a standard or “flavor of the day” initiative passed down from the district. 

Keeping it “real” was my secret “love potion number 9”.  In fact, nine has always been my favorite number.  The number 9 in religion represents the “Divine completeness of Spirit”.  In China, it represents “longevity” or continued learning.  In numerology, it represents wisdom and integration of all the qualities of numbers 1-8.  In other words, 9, like most numbers, is symbolic and represents some secret lesson or quality of the universe that we humans need to learn and experience.  That’s why keeping it real for myself and for my students filled in the “holes”, and brought all the pieces together to create “whole”-some learning experiences.  As well, I passed on love in everything I did for students.  They felt it, they knew it, and it motivated me and them to do our best together to learn and grow and become the highest versions of ourselves every day.  Love is the only reality in this world.  EVERY THING that is worthwhile, worthy and essential comes from love and returns to love.  Period!    

Essential questions for REALITY:

(applicable to self, students, parents, colleagues and all humans on journey of lifelong learning)

What is real and rings true in my heart?

What really matters, and why?

What is the real purpose of this learning experience?

What are the real results I seek from this experience?

What are the essential pieces of this learning experience for me and for others?

How do my choices affect me and others?

What could I do differently in order to get different results that align more with my True Self and values?

What am I turning away from, and what am I moving toward in this experience?  Why?

How can I be more flexible in my thoughts and choices in order to achieve the desired results?

How can I flex my heart muscles more in order to be more open to what is REALly going on?

What am I grateful for, and why?

When am I getting the desired results that resonate in my heart?  Why?

What could I change in order to get the desired results?

What messages am I receiving from outside of myself, and what do they mean?

What are my core beliefs, and how do they best serve me and others?

What am I resisting, and why?

What is flowing, and why?

When do I get stuck, and why?

When do I accept the things I cannot change, and when do I let them go?

How, when, where and with whom can I apply the power of “not yet”?

 

Affirmations, cheers, “Can Do” Statements

for the “Common Core” Belief of REALITY:

I only respond to what is real, true and meaningful.

I keep it real and stay true to myself in order to fill in the holes in my soul.

I make choices that reflect my core values and what really matters.

I matter, and so do other people.

I am flexible and open to all possibilities.

I flex my heart muscle every day in all that I say and do.

I always find my way back home and to what is real when I follow my heart.

I am whole when I follow my heart.

I pause to check in with my gut for what resonates and guides my next step.

I focus on what is real and meaningful and let go of what is not.

I focus my attention on my real intentions that flow from my True Self.

My path is clearly illuminated and will take me to the land of “ah”s” and “ah-ha’s”.

I am grateful every day and share my gratitude with everyone I know.

I use the power of “not yet” with myself and others.

I am both a student and a teacher in all that I do.

My reality is a reflection of my core beliefs and my True Self.

Every day is an opportunity to practice becoming who I want and need to be.

I share my gifts with the world and graciously receive and acknowledge the gifts of others.

My inner light guides me and lights the way for others.

Once we get real, authentic and clear about our intentions, we are able to resist and jump back, ie. become resilient to that which can take us off our true path.