Faith and Reason

All children are born with superstitious instincts
and intuitively sense the invisible forces of faeries and imps in Nature

the sense of goodness prevailing over the bad
is an essential aspect of childhood ethical development
this childish intuition accompanies us into adulthood
as a religious Faith in God
but we rarely apply reason to our Belief in the Universal Goodness
and therefore generally feel victimized by our hurts

keeping superstition alive in the child psyche
is one of the vital aspects of the HeartStart Home-school program i designed for my kids
i did it by evoking their reasoning capabilities
every time one of them got hurt in play or otherwise
it gave me a chance to discuss Cause and Effect
and thereby get them
every time they came  crying
to transcend the negative connotation of victimization
and listen to reason

I would get them to agree that Mother Nature was Good and kind
and would never hurt them intentionally for no reason
that there was no such thing as an "accident"
it was Her job to protect the Law of non-trespass
every hurt is caused by carelessness
so she would send along an invisible imp (tochalosh) to scratch, bump or bite them
into better behavior
disobedience and  bad thoughts were also a form of trespass on goodness
santa claus and faeries brought rewards
very soon they began to pay close attention to cause and effect

by age four/five
all my kids were on the road to self-policing their own behavior
no more crying
by age seven they were ready to have their faith challenged
by the tedium of chores
and learn that sincere effort
paid extra dividends

faith turbo-charged by reason
has made the Belief in Goodness
by my adult kids
unshakable
they know
God helps those
who help themselves