The Greatness Chair Solution: A Guidebook to Successful Parenting and Teaching

By Kathleen Friend

Are you a parent, teacher or therapist who is overwhelmed by the challenges faced in guiding children despite your best efforts?  Do you find it hard to handle your own reactions in the face of intense children?  Are you trying to stay connected despite physical and emotional exhaustio

• Language: English
• Publisher: Words Matter Publishing
• Release date: Mar 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9781953912527

Kathleen Friend

Dr. Kathleen Friend, M.D., Child Psychiatrist, Children's Author of The Greatness Chair and Sarah in the Greatness Chair, International Speaker, Parent and Heart Rhythm Meditation teacher, is on a mission to help grownups tune into their hearts to truly see the unique greatness of each child and themselves. "I believe this is the best way to move forward in today's world - each person understanding and using their special gifts to contribute to an evolving global community based in mind and heart."

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The Greatness Chair Solution

A Guidebook to Successful Parenting and Teaching

Kathleen Devorah Friend M.D

© 2021 by Kathleen Devorah Friend M.D. All rights reserved.

Words Matter Publishing

P.O. Box 531

Salem, Il 62881

www.wordsmatterpublishing.com

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any way by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without the prior permission of the copyright holder, except as provided by USA copyright law.

ISBN: 978-1-953912-52-7

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2021952838

Dedicated to all children and their grownups to bring greater love, harmony and beauty to our global village.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

As anyone who has written a book knows, there are far too many people to acknowledge in a few paragraphs. I can honestly say, everyone in my life experience has contributed to the creation of this book. I stand on the shoulders of so many others and can only hope this all-inclusive thank-you registers somewhere in the hearts of those who have crossed my path.

There are those who stand out and have provided inspiration, support, encouragement and a patient ear. I want to thank my publisher Tammy Koelling of Words Matter Publishing for tireless encouragement, vision and support. Without her, this book would not have come to fruition. I also want to personally thank my husband and son for honest challenging of my ideas which helps me sharpen my concepts. I am indebted to Susanna and Puran Bair for introducing me to heart rhythm meditation and helping me see my greatness so I could make my unique contributions to the world. Without their guidance, I would not have embarked on the path of writing. I am also grateful for the support of two pivotal communities - IAM Heart and the Nurtured Heart Approach trainers. And lastly, to Marcie Towle, an advanced trainer for the Nurtured Heart Approach and Amanda Rayne who volunteered hours of time to provide invaluable input and editing that improved the structure and clarity of the book’s message.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

RAISING THE CURTAIN

SETTING THE STAGE: The Five W’s

WHY

WHO

WHAT

WHEN

WHERE

INTRODUCTION TO THE SEVEN-WEEK PLAN

WEEK ONE: INTENTION

INTENTION

ACTIVITIES FOR YOU

ACTIVITIES WITH THE KIDS

WEEK TWO: ATTENTION

ATTENTION

ACTIVITIES FOR YOU

ACTIVITIES WITH THE KIDS

WEEK THREE: POSTURE

POSTURE

ACTIVITIES FOR YOU

ACTIVITIES WITH THE KIDS

WEEK FOUR: SENSATION

SENSATION

ACTIVITIES FOR YOU

ACTIVITIES WITH THE KIDS

WEEK FIVE: INSPIRATION

INSPIRATION

ACTIVITIES FOR YOU

ACTIVITIES WITH THE KIDS

WEEK SIX: INVOCATION

INVOCATION

ACTIVITIES FOR YOU

100 GREATNESS WORDS

ACTIVITIES WITH KIDS

WEEK SEVEN: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER IN THE GREATNESS CHAIR.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER IN THE GREATNESS CHAIR

ACTIVITIES FOR YOU

ACTIVITIES WITH KIDS

WEEK EIGHT: RECAP AND NEXT STEPS

APPENDIX A: STEPS OF HEART RHYTHM MEDITATION

APPENDIX B: SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL) AND THE CASEL FRAMEWORK FOR SCHOOLS

APPENDIX C: DIMENSIONS OF WELL-BEING – RICHARD DAVIDSON PH.D., ET. AL.

RESOURCES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

RAISING THE CURTAIN

110

Welcome to the Greatness Chair Workbook, where we will sharpen our abilities to find and nurture the inherent greatness in the children we parent and teach. If you are reading this book, I can assume you have the same desire to bring out the best in children! How we go about it matters. I offer a novel approach to the subject where we learn to integrate our hearts AND minds to accomplish this task. As an adult and child psychiatrist with close to thirty years of clinical experience and ten years of experience practicing heart rhythm meditation, I am ready to share the synthesis of my life’s work and experience with you in this book.

As quoted above, Henry David Thoreau, the American poet, essayist and philosopher, understood the value of observing nature. He identified the need to pause, reflect and allow truth to reveal itself behind the curtain. Chinese-American novelist Maxine Hong Kingston, also quoted above, mentioned tapping into our desire to build a better mousetrap when she refers to her continuous attempts to raise the curtain.

My aim in writing this book is to help you raise the curtain to reveal the truth of the child in your life. We owe it to the children to see behind the curtain of misbehavior, tantrums and the assortment of other challenges they bring. We are challenged to keep raising the curtain to fulfill both our dreams and wishes for ourselves and those of the children we care for.

We want to find the greatness in the child that is already present and help it develop. The skills to accomplish this can be learned. You will be guided through a seven-week process to develop your abilities to see yourself and the children more clearly and to implement strategies to help them prosper. You will learn how to use six powers to access your heart and learn how to integrate your heart with your mind. These steps are powerful allies to help us and children succeed.

Based on my clinical experience, techniques work best in the context of strong relationships. Many parenting and teaching techniques fail because they are not sufficiently built on the foundation of a safe, nurturing and connected relationship. The techniques presented in this book both build on your current relationship with the child and also teach you to create a deeper connection with them.

Have I have stimulated your curiosity, imagination or ideals in these first few paragraphs? If the answer is yes, I know a lot of things about you already! You are passionate about children and are open to new ways of bringing out the best in them. At times you will feel lost, unsure of yourself, and may question the power of the techniques in this book. My basic premises in this book may seem overly idealistic and Pollyannaish (Pollyanna was a character in a book of the same title, who always saw the best in every situation). All of us have a storehouse of knowledge, wisdom and experience and I want to honor that. I suggest you approach this program with a clean slate for the sake of curiosity and experimentation. Later there will be time to go back and creatively weave in your own wisdom, ideas and methods. Perhaps you will write me and tell me what works better! No one has all the answers, but I have found great power in using the Greatness Chair in my medical practice and have been witness to rapid changes experienced by others who have tried this method.

This book