Tree of Life Mothering

Last Thursday I got to attend my daughter Virtue’s class that is facilitated by TJED queen Aneladee Milne. It is a pilot project to test out the lastest LEMI offering, the self-directed scholar phase project. The kids in the class are supposed to have finished Thomas Jefferson Youth Certification (TJYC), so we call the class Beyond TJYC. If you don’t know what LEMI is, it is a training program for parents to learn how to mentor scholar phase for their youth. Go to http://thelemi.com to learn more.

Aneladee used to be part owner of LEMI, but a few years ago she left to do other projects. Now she is working for http://sonsofhelaman.org. This is company devoted to helping LDS young men break free from porn addictions. She is learning all about the brain physiology of addictions. The night before this class I got to go to Aneladee’s son’s wedding reception so the rest of the pictures in this post are from that lovely enchanted evening. 

This is Aneladee dancing with her son and the bride dancing with her father. The song they danced to had the words, “I held you first…” It was so sweet!

She shared what she has learned from Maurice Harker, the therapist behind Sons of Helaman, and it fascinates me. Basically, it supports the scripture from the Book of Mormon that we must watch our thoughts, or words and our deeds. satan never rests. He is always there whispering lies to us. Not only that, but willpower is a limited resource. If we don’t acknowledge and apply these two principles, then we can be caught in lies and addictions.

This training program at Sons of Helaman teaches parents and youth to realize right away when satan is talking to them so they can immediately resist and not even entertain the lie that satan is telling. At first it is hard to tell because the whisper sounds like your own voice. You have to realize that if the thought is telling you to do something bad, to give in to your carnal desires, it is not from you, it is from satan, and you can just immediately tell him to bug off and that you are on to him.

Whisperings from our conscience also sound like our own voice. To know the difference is the subject of a discussion forum I started here on this site http://treeoflifemothering.ning.com/forum/topics/is-anybody-reading-the-student 

Kirk Duncan of http://3keyelements.com has a whole mentoring program to help you know the difference, it is called Building a Mind of Steel. I took the course back when it was called the Dot People course. Basically, satan and his minions can’t create, and they use the same lies over and over. If they tell you to do something that is destructive not creative you can be sure it is them whispering to you. By writing down any thought you hear in your head that makes you feel bad you create a record, and eventually you see that they are telling you the same dumb stuff over and over. They aren’t creative at all!

Aneladee explains that if we give in to the temptation or lie that satan tells us then we start down a slippery slope of sin and self-deception. There’s a brain chemical behind it all. It starts spilling in our brain and gives us pleasure, and this brain chemical, which is actually a cocktail of chemicals, weakens the connection between the frontal lobe of our brain, the part where we logically think, and the limbic part of the brain, which gives in to appetites and animal-like behavior. So there is truth behind the phrase, “The devil made me do it.'” When you give in to the first thought then this chemical starts spilling in to your brain, causing you to rationalize your behavior. That is what she means by saying that willpower is unlimited. Your brain chemistry changes and makes it so you can’t do what you know is right.

The good news is though that we can learn to recognize which thoughts come from satan, immediately identify it as such, and not go down that path. We can keep ourselves out of places where satan and darkness tend to be. We can do everything in our power to be thinking and doing things that invite the Spirit.

OK, at the risk of sounding nerdy, I am sharing my excitement about this. I made a great discovery at the Master of Influence event put on by Kirk Duncan last month, which I attended. A homeschooling dad from my commonwealth school was there. Part of the MOI experience is posting a piece of paper that is your “vision board” for the three day event. You pick three things that you want to see happen by the end of the event. I noticed that my friend put on his vision board that he wanted to put a new post on his blog about the Federalist Papers  by the end of the weekend.

Wow, I have always wanted to discuss the Federalist Papers with someone without paying a bride price to attend a class about it. Here is my chance! His blog is at http://annotatingfederalistpapers.wordpress.com/. So now I have no excuse for not discussing it with someone. Be careful what you wish for, it may come true, even without a vision board.

I usually don’t blog on Sunday but I feel the Spirit telling me to share what happened today. Princessa was sick with a fever and sore throat so I stayed home from church with her. Whenever any of my children are sick on Sunday and have to miss church, I love to do church at home. We watched one of the new Bible videos produced by the LDS Church about the Last Supper, then we read Bible stories for children.

While she watched some videos of Mormon Messages, I fixed dinner and listened to a BYU Education Week talk by Brad Wilcox, who I affectionately call “Guy Smiley.” I first met him in front of the David O. McKay School of Education building at BYU. My father introduced me to him, because he was a doctoral student of my dad’s. I remember to this day how happy he was to met me. He enthusiastically shook my hand with a perma-grin on his face. Later I found out that he was a former classmate of my sister-in-law’s, and my husband remembers him at Provo High too since he was only a year older. My husband says he played Bottom in Provo High’s production of Midsummer Night’s Dream. I can totally see him in that role.

Anyway, now he is an author and a fantastic public speaker. I listened to his talk here http://media.byub.org/mp3/ew/2009/8/ew2009818-3882.mp3. It was so beautiful! He explains the atonement of Jesus Christ, and that grace is not something that we earn. I was in tears by the end of his speech. I love what he said, “Jesus doesn’t love us because we are good. He loves us because He is good.”

If you want to see his books and get them, go to http://bradwilcox.com. He has excellent books! I especially like Growing Up, a book on maturation for LDS teens, and the picture book on the birds and the bees for younger LDS children. He even has free downloads here http://bradwilcox.com/downloads.php.

Last week was a great week for breastfeeding and attachment parenting. First, the actress Mayim Bialik released her new book, all about AP. It’s called Beyond the Sling. I haven’t read it yet but it appears to be very good, meaning, I agree with it, since I like what she says about AP myths here http://www.mayimbialik.net/beyondthesling/myths.html  It’s not so much cool that someone from Hollywood is promoting attachment parenting as it is that a hip neuroscientist is. (Mayim has a PhD in neuroscience.)

Also, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a new statement about breastfeeding, which uses better language, saying that breastfeeding is the norm. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2012/02/22/peds.2011-3552.full.pdf+html I haven’t read the whole statement, but I like what I see so far! The abstract says that breastfeeding should not just be considered a lifestyle choice, but a public health issue. Hooray!

This video explains the Seven Natural Laws of Breastfeeding, based on a book by two LLL Leaders and IBCLCs, Kathleen Kendall Tackett and Nancy Mohrbacher. I highly recommend this video and the book, and the companion web site http://breastfeedingmadesimple.com

My good friend Aneladee is involved with a fantastic company whose mission is to help young LDS men fight off the shackles of pornography. I have listened to a young man tell his story of overcoming this enslaving addiction, with the help of the people at the company, Sons of Helaman. The help he got from these people worked for him! He now is free of the habit and knows he has to be on guard to keep from being enslaved again.  If you would like more information, go to http://sonsofhelaman.org

Here is an idea I learned from the book  pictured above.  The author, Caleb Warnock, says to go to http://ldshealth.ning.com and order the naturally leavened starter using the info on the right-hand side of the page, under the book cover image for Original Fast Foods. With the starter you can make pioneer yeast. This is slow-rising yeast, as compared to the fast-rising yeast of commercial breads today. From what I can tell, pioneer yeast is the same thing as sourdough starter. If anybody knows differently, please correct me below. He keeps his pioneer yeast on his counter in a quart glass jar.

Caleb claims you can make bread in a short time with this pioneer yeast. The folks at ldshealh.ning.com say  it’s much better for you because the gluten is predigested and the phytic acid is more neutralized.

Here’s the recipe for Caleb’s Easy Pioneer Pancakes using Pioneer Yeast (another time I will post the recipe for Whole Wheat Bread with Pioneer Yeast)

The night before you want to have pancakes for breakfast, mix into a quart jar:

• 3/4 c warm water
• 3/4 c flour
• 1 T pioneer yeast

Tighten lid loosely and leave over night. In the morning, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk together:

• 2 eggs
• 1 T olive oil (I would use melted butter, Rebecca Wood says not to use olive oil for baking)
• 1/4 c milk
• 1/4 t salt

Add the yeast mixture into the egg misture. Using a spatula (do not use a whisk) gently fold ingredients together until just incorporated. Cook as usual. Enjoy!

This link has a lot of info about how to prepare bread in traditional ways that neutralize phytic acid with the natural leavening agent of sourdough http://www.danielschallenge.com/page/properly-prepared-grains-1

The conference last Saturday rocked! I learned so much from the presenters. Neurons, natural law, John Locke, Helen Andelin, and sprouts, oh my! I loved every minute of it. We also heard about using a prayer journal as a vibrant health habit, the three most important things to teach your children, and this, from an LDS anesthesiologist, that natural family planning is the way to go and why birth control pills can cause abortions/miscarriages. This was the husband of my girlfriend. Go Tony! Dr. Anderson, who was advertised as coming, said he couldn’t come at the last minute, so he is emailing an mp3 recording of his presentation to all the participants.

If you wanted to attend and couldn’t you can buy the recordings. (All attendees got the recordings as part of their admission.) We did it as a webinar because there weren’t a ton of people who registered. So to save on gas the presenters stayed home and we did it online in our pajamas.  You can buy the recordings here . They are in Elluminate format, so you can’t download them onto mp3 players, you have to use your computer. To get the recordings, send $50 to the paypal account, info at treeoflifemothering dot com.

Here are a few tidbits:

Karen Kindrick Cox shared the pattern of how to raise a scholar who has a heroic heart and an insatiable desire to learn.Her enthusiasm was infectious!

Leah Shingleton shared about how to be great at the womanly art of wifing. She shared the #1 trait that makes a woman attractive to her husband. She told her story of knowing her great-aunt, Helen Andelin, who was the author of Fascinating Womanhood.

Audrey Rinslisbacher shared so many beautiful quotes from John Locke, about where natural law comes from, what property is, and an example in the Book of Mormon of how people found happiness from following the pattern of natural law. I was furiously taking notes during this part.

Diann Jeppson shared about how moms have seasons of learning.

Kim Simmerman shared the 4 vibrant health habits she relies on to keep her going, using whole foods without burning out. That was a new angle to me, to hear that a spiritual habit of a prayer journal, is the foundation for temporal, whole foods habits.

Aneladee Milne told us her story of having a goal to run a half marathon and how her trainer has been great at supporting her. She likened that to parents and their job as mentors. She talked about emotional intelligence and what interferes with it.

Three moms, my friends, Jodanna, Michele, and Caralee told their stories of having pain-free labors and childbirths. I’m all for that!

Then Anne and Colette shared their stories of discovering natural family planning and why they believe in it as LDS women. Anne’s husband, Dr. Faber, added in his .02, as I wrote above. Dr. Anderson was not there to present but he has an mp3 recording to share with those who participated and those who order the recordings.

If any of you wanted to participate but couldn’t because of distance, now you can do it online! Geography is not a problem any more.

We will start at 8 AM Mountain Time, take a half hour lunch break, and go until about 6 PM. If you have an Internet connection and computer, and oh yeah, $57, you can participate.

To register, go to paypal and send the money to treeoflifemothering@yahoo.com. then I will send you the link.

Here are the speakers and topics:

Karen Kindrick Cox of courageousbeings.com, about how to fire your child’s love of learning and heroic living by understanding how the brain works 

Audrey Rindlisbacher,  mom and founder of http://tenboominstitute.com, on America’s Second Great Experiment:  Can a Vicious People Govern Itself? or
Vice, Liberty and the Hand that Rocks the Cradle

Diann Jeppson on the Seasons of Learning

Aneladee Milne on Moms as Heroes and Mentors

summary of Caleb Warnock’s book, the Lost Skills of Self-Sufficiency of the Mormon Pioneers, How to do Root Cellars, Sourdough Bread, and more.

Kim Simmerman Help for the Whole Foods Challenged: Soaking, Sprouting, and Fermenting

Dr. Russell Anderson, LDS D.O., on the importance of natural family planning (NFP) for the LDS couple

along with Colette Child, NFP (Creighton Method) instructor

panel of moms who have experienced pain-free labor and childbirth (without drugs)

It’s going to be fun! See you there!

I am hoping that by recording what we did for the lesson and the activity for home evening each week my family will somehow get better at producing quality and we will also inspire somebody out there. This video above is what my daughter used for her lesson last Monday. It comes from talk Pres. Monson, our prophet, gave, in the Young Women’s general meeting two years ago.

For our activity we played the card game Missionary Impossible, which my 14 y o son got for his birthday. It was one of our better FHEs. We have a huge age range, ages 2 to 16, and we struggle to find activities that everyone enjoys playing. I would love to hear what games/activities your family likes that fit a broad range of ages