Reading Wings

I'm deeply impressed about how this little boy explained to me about the meaning of the picture he sketched today in the class. Here is what he said after I inq...uired the meaning of the picture " I initiated to draw this picture because of the word #DECLARE that I saw on the blackboard and the sensible meaning of this is - these two boys you see here in this picture #declared to fight each other but the boy in the middle of them is trying to mediate them not to fight each other because fighting mayn't be solution." Peace is necessary! In fact it's amazing how this little boy expressed the word #Declare in this magnificent way, is that not amazing? I never thought that a boys like this boy could come up with this way of explaining the vocabularies but through the power of the model [Story Circle Project] everything is possible - with this model no single students is too small to make different, they can make different in this world. #with #immagination #everything #is #possible

Some of you wanted to know the story behind this mural painted by a young student from Vera’s Story Circle Project in Gambella, Ethiopia. The crocodile is a sym...bol used by the Chaany community as their logo. It’s their traditional god and it is believed that the crocodile doesn’t eat anyone from that community or the crocodile dies. Still believed by many. See more

Some of the good deeds chosen by the students. they went to the corn fields and helped with the crops. They organized teams to clean up the garbage and burn it.... They got their friends together and did Story Circles. This work is expanding in ways we never expected. I’m so happy and excited about what will happen in 2021. See more

Highland assigned the students in the Gambella Story Circle Project to do a good deed over the holiday. This boy painted a wall with this gorgeous mural!

A parent in Gambella showing her appreciation for what The Story Circle Project is doing for her child.

When Einstein gave lectures at U.S. universities, the recurring question that students asked him most was: - Do you believe in God? And he always answered: - I ...believe in the God of Spinoza. Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, along with Descartes. (Spinoza) : God would say: Stop praying. What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life. I want you to sing, have fun and enjoy everything I've made for you. Stop going into those dark, cold temples that you built yourself and saying they are my house. My house is in the mountains, in the woods, rivers, lakes, beaches. That's where I live and there I express my love for you. Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you were a sinner, or that your sexuality was a bad thing. Sex is a gift I have given you and with which you can express your love, your ecstasy, your joy. So don't blame me for everything they made you believe. Stop reading alleged sacred scriptures that have nothing to do with me. If you can't read me in a sunrise, in a landscape, in the look of your friends, in your son's eyes... you will find me in no book! Stop asking me "will you tell me how to do my job?" Stop being so scared of me. I do not judge you or criticize you, nor get angry, or bothered. I am pure love. Stop asking for forgiveness, there's nothing to forgive. If I made you... I filled you with passions, limitations, pleasures, feelings, needs, inconsistencies... free will. How can I blame you if you respond to something I put in you? How can I punish you for being the way you are, if I'm the one who made you? Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who behave badly for the rest of eternity? What kind of god would do that? Respect your peers and don't do what you don't want for yourself. All I ask is that you pay attention in your life, that alertness is your guide. My beloved, this life is not a test, not a step on the way, not a rehearsal, nor a prelude to paradise. This life is the only thing here and now and it is all you need. I have set you absolutely free, no prizes or punishments, no sins or virtues, no one carries a marker, no one keeps a record. You are absolutely free to create in your life. Heaven or hell. I can't tell you if there's anything after this life but I can give you a tip. Live as if there is not. As if this is your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist. So, if there's nothing after, then you will have enjoyed the opportunity I gave you. And if there is, rest assured that I won't ask if you behaved right or wrong, I'll ask. Did you like it? Did you have fun? What did you enjoy the most? What did you learn?... Stop believing in me; believing is assuming, guessing, imagining. I don't want you to believe in me, I want you to believe in you. I want you to feel me in you when you kiss your beloved, when you tuck in your little girl, when you caress your dog, when you bathe in the sea. Stop praising me, what kind of egomaniac God do you think I am? I'm bored being praised. I'm tired of being thanked. Feeling grateful? Prove it by taking care of yourself, your health, your relationships, the world. Express your joy! That's the way to praise me. Stop complicating things and repeating as a parakeet what you've been taught about me. What do you need more miracles for? So many explanations? The only thing for sure is that you are here, that you are alive, that this world is full of wonders. - Spinoza

Pictures from Highland doing The Wizard of Oz with students in Story Circle Project in Gambella Ethiopia. I’m amazed at what they are teaching, and in English!... I have found an exceptionally effective way to teach a second language with the study. These kids are becoming so proficient in English. What a powerful way to learn it is! See more

I want to thank all my followers at this time. I must post more regularly. The Story Circle Model of education is going into the world. It is now being used in a school on the Congo. So thankful!