Magic makes sense
Bringing the cult of love to the classroom makes sense to the young child. Arithmetic, language, and science makes no sense in themselves, as they are intrinsically different from the child. When a child plays, it is not the result that counts but the process. Arithmetic, language, and science are subjects that demand outcomes. The only way for the child to learn these subjects is through play because play emphasizes the process and not the outcome. By introducing magic in the classroom, we introduce the subject of humanity, the purpose of life, an ethical and moral behaviour, the transcending practise of meditation, and a universal outlook of the world that unifies it.
Furthermore, magic shows the connection between the child and his environment. It also shows how the child can transform his environment, that is, how the child should behave with people, animals, and plants. All these concepts are accompanied by the same overlying aesthetic purpose: happiness, love, beauty, life, truth.
To gain more happiness, one must practise happiness. The same applies to magic. Doing anything with magic, that is, doing things with spiritual insight or the spiritual force, becomes a magical exercise to gain more magical insight and strength. Magic needs to be exercised, and everything the child does is an opportunity to 'acquire' more magic, more happiness, more Beauty. This explains why the child should not give up on a difficult task because the harder the task is, the stronger the magician becomes. Magic makes sense.
Doing arithmetic with magic brings purpose to the arithmetic exercise as it becomes magical practise. Arithmetic becomes a game within a magical game. The child does arithmetic just like he learns how to lace his shoes or learns how to push away dangerous bad luck. The novice child will not see the answers in his mind, but he will trigger the flow of consciousness required to visualise, compute, and understand the answers. That is what magic does. It relates to intuitive learning and enhances the child's mental skills.
The lucky children that happened to attend my school often demonstrated that Joy helped them perform their tasks. The teacher would say, 'Do it with Joy,' or 'Let Joy do it through you. Remember to feel Joy,' and it was enough for the children to overcome their difficulties suddenly. It was simply magical. The children would scream with delight when they would realise that a magical feat had just happened. 'Teacher, I did it with Joy,' they would shout. Events like these gave them the ground and confidence to practise magic more often and challenge their magical power. To them, magic made sense, and certainly more than arithmetic.
White magic must be treated as a subject as important as arithmetic or language. It must have its own books, not for teaching, but for the child to realise that the subject is real. The more books on a subject, the more realistic and important it becomes in the young child's minds. When I made a few copies of my first book of magic, my children were delighted. They would recognise the spells and the pictures of the flashcards. They would immediately comment on them among themselves. This sight brought marvel to the eyes of their teachers. As the children would practise magic, they were getting smarter and smarter, and also holier. Magic made sense to the teachers too.
Magic makes sense because the child identifies with it. The Ecology of Joy teaches that the happiness he feels is his True Self and the source of his magic. The two are intertwined and inseparable. The child is Joy and magic. Therefore, learning magic is learning about our True Selves, and practicing magic is practicing being truly ourselves; and being true to ourselves is to uphold Joy and magic. The circle is complete.
Magic makes the children feel safe
The effects of the Ecology of Joy in the classroom are many. They range from reassuring the child that his school and his classroom are safe to excel in academic subjects even if no special attention is given. There is always some stress building in the child due to interactions among the child and the teacher and his classmates. This stress had been invisible to me until the children learnt to practise love, beauty, and happiness even while doing arithmetic, reading, and writing. Then it became apparent. The classmates became careful and loving, which added to the feeling of safety. Doing things brought an aesthetic sense of purpose. Learning magic brought wonder to the lives of the children. It is as if Life started making sense!
All disciplinary problems disappeared. If there was any trouble, we just had to speak about it with the child, and that was it! The children developed compassion, so acquiring social skills was easy for them. When the child understands that his magical power is real, the pursuit of wonder becomes his motivation. Magic also becomes the child's motivation for efficiency and effective outcome.
Smarter kids learn faster
At one time, we felt that our students had too many academic activities. Our teaching methods accelerated the children’s learning without pressing on them and without diminishing their holistic minds. They were happy, vivid, and utterly talkative. Although the children were fine, we did not see the importance of continuing teaching so much even though it was safe. Therefore, we decided to reduce their curriculum. We removed some reading books and some academic activities to give more time for the practise of white magic. The result was astonishing. As they intensified the practise of feeling and flowing with happiness with whatever they were doing, they became even smarter. They finished their curriculum in no time. After they had finished their curriculum, the teachers were embarrassed because they could not keep up with the kids’ demand for more material. The children didn’t like to repeat lessons; they said they were bored and wanted new activities. The teachers gave them more material without spending more time on the lessons, and they ultimately completed their original curriculum. This occurrence was not the achievement of a single group of children. We observed the same improvement in six classrooms! We gave the children a certain number of readers to learn new vocabulary and practise reading. A book could consist of sixteen to twenty-eight pages, but some books contained up to 60 pages. I used to buy those books and had the teachers present them to the children. They loved any new book. They particularly loved reading. Usually, a reader would take a few days for the children to get acquainted with the story, become familiar with new words and expressions. Of course, we would use advanced methods like reading a PDF version of the book on a large TV screen. The record of a Kindergarten Two group for reading a new book was three minutes. They finished their new book in three minutes! Of course, these books were the school’s property and only used at school; the parents didn’t have to pay for them. Three minutes! That is to say, this was extraordinary.
Character building
The first obvious benefit of the Ecology of Joy and its magic is the new identity given to the child. The child identifies with happiness, love, and beauty. Joy is the source and the origin of all positive aspects of life. Everyone wants to be joyful and happy. Every parent wants to allow their children to live and love life to the fullest, develop their unique talents to the maximum, be amongst the smartest, the most beautiful, the most honoured, and respected. The child who knows Joy and can tap the potential of that Joy will reach the heights of human attainment. The parent who can facilitate that process, and be a beacon for the unfolding of her child's potential, will experience the joyful scope of true parenting.
We train the child to visualise himself with goodness and to acknowledge his divinity. To that child, it makes a huge difference to one’s self-esteem to know that the Divine is continuously expressing Himself through one’s person. Experiencing one’s Joy as the Divine’s presence guaranties an assuring origin.
The feeling of love is to be experienced while performing in the classroom or in life. It is a noble thing to feel love through one’s action, but it is another to realise that the Divine does stuff through ‘me’ and experiencing it first-hand. Love is Joy and the child.
Self-confidence is another benefit of the practise of magic. The child knows that Joy works through him. It has the assurance that he can perform magically.
White magic provides the motivation for the child to excel with social skills. The Ecology of Joy provides a multi-faced attraction; that is a reason why so many benefits derive from it. Every child is motivated by beauty. Every child wants to be beautiful. Being beautiful is a great motivation for controlling one’s emotions, and directing them towards truly felt empathy. Teaching the child to flow magically implies the practise of generosity.
Emotions can be challenging and hostile. But even in such circumstances, the child is guided to turn pain into his greatness. This ability gives the child much resilience to overcome troubles. It also teaches the child to control his emotions, which he may use as an inner force. The scope for character building is enormous.
Discipline is not an issue. The desire for magical achievement and an aesthetic personality motivates the child to follow some personal discipline. The practise of magic has the peculiar effect of using much of the child’s energy. When much of that energy is used for magic, the children calm down. They become deeper in their thoughts.
Another reason for their natural discipline is the fact that the children are more relaxed. They feel safe in a loving environment. The benevolent nature of a magical curriculum trains the children to find safety in the practise of Joy. Joy becomes a divine refuge. There is, of course, much less cause for misunderstanding and overreacting.
Moreover, the child is motivated to change himself and becomes a moral person. Morality is not an issue, as it is a by-product of the EOJ philosophy. Morality needs to be addressed, but its roots will be in the child's pursuit of spirituality. The child's desire for a magical performance motivates him to be honest with himself and others. Honesty is embedded in the philosophy of the Ecology of Joy. The whole concept of white magic is based on honesty. Honesty starts by being honest with oneself.
A clear benefit of the Ecology of Joy is the child's connection with Nature. The child identifies with Joy in all living beings and the inanimate as well. The environment is not a separate entity, but the child's universe. The connection between the child and her environment is made by identifying with others' happiness (plants, animals, humans), which leads to compassion. The world becomes part of the child, which gives the child a sense of belonging; he belongs to a joyful universal fraternity.
Respecting others and the environment is also a benefit of the Ecology of Joy. The child practises being a bird or another person as part of the method. Moreover, he is taught to act on his environment in order to act on himself. The child is also taught to find honour in the practise of Joy, and show respect to all living beings as they all carry Joy in their heart.
The main benefit of the Ecology of Joy is the understanding that, in order to live in harmony with our universe, Joy must be used for doing things, for objects to manifest, or for events to occur. The child must use his inner force to do something he usually does in his everyday life. Therefore, the most crucial job of the adult is to remind the child to use Joy.
Ellen approaches a little boy who is playing with a large toy. She asks him,’Is Joy with you as you play?’ The child smiles to say yes.
The practise of white magic is an intuitive approach to life. It trains the child to live intuitively. The world is no longer separate from the child but one with him. That child acts on the world’s matrix, transforming the field in which everything happens, and becomes ever proficient at it as his subjectivity deepens. Thus, his command of nature increases with authority and wisdom as he gets closer to his True Self.
Remember who you are – Joy!