Reflections from My Book of Shadows: Putting Belief into Action

Looking through my first Feri Book of Shadows, I came across an exercise that we did as a class with our teacher, T. Thorn Coyle. It is something I wanted to revisit, as it seems helpful to me right now. I often get caught up in my everyday life and its myriad projects and forget the bigger picture of being an alive, present, spiritual person. This exercise serves to remind us of the bigger picture and how we create the world we live in.

Take a piece of paper (or write this in your journal) and write across the top,

"If I believe ________________, then I will __________________."

Then create two columns under that statement.
One for beliefs and one for actions to back up those beliefs.

Here is one of the things I wrote back in my BOS then:

"If I believe that all people deserve and warrant love, then I will work to give love everyday to the people in my life (even when they piss me off)."
(Can you tell that I was working on my curmudgeon tendency? I still am!)

I can see how this exercise would help so many, not just parents (after all, I first did it and got something out of it before Rowan was born). But I see this as especially helpful exercise for parents to do as a way not to lose themselves while they raise their children:

"If I believe that painting makes me a happier more well-rounded person, then I will set aside 3 hours a week to paint." (Then go about hiring a babysitter, or whatever you need to do to make this happen.)


And I see it as helpful for parents to remember the whole picture in relation to their children:

"If I believe that my child deserves to grow up to be a free thinker, then I will allow her/him to make simple age-appropriate choices for him/herself each day." (And then set about to find places in their day to allow for choice (food, clothing, etc.)

If you find this tool helpful, I would love to read your set intentions in the comments below!