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This is the basic premise that – if you accept it - will enable you to give Dr. Tobin Hart’s remarkable book, The Secret Spiritual World of Children, a credible read.
A Psychologist and Associate Professor of psychology at the State University of West Georgia, in Carrolton, GA, Hart started on the trail of collecting startling otherworldly anecdotes from children ten years ago when his then seven year-old daughter Haley, in a matter-of-fact bedtime conversation, revealed to him how she saw her “angel” and described their interactions. During his research he also collected accounts from adults who, for the first time, revealed their own similar but hidden childhood experiences.
“I have come to think of Haley’s angel as an aspect of her Higher Self, or higher intuition,” says Hart. “Socrates called his voice Daimon, Ralph Waldo Emerson called this the Oversoul, Meister Eckhart named it the Inner Man . I don’t think it matters whether this is thought of as guardian angel, a guide, her heart, or whatever. What is important is that she can find it on her own and that it serves as a wellspring for love and wisdom.”
In studying these stories, Hart observes that children seem to develop their own “spiritual style.” One child may be a “natural mystic” in his/her ability to access guides or guidance, while another child may be an “empath,” naturally open to others’ feelings. Or perhaps a child is a “natural philosopher” asking the Big Questions very early on. He suggests acknowledging the unique and inherent qualities each child has as they bring the mystical down to earth in our everyday lives.
This is quite a different approach than what passes for childrearing in many societies, especially in the West where much of the focus is on getting kids “to fit in.” Hart’s advice to parents is to give up imperial rule in favor of “holding and beholding.” That is, providing the usual safety and love children require while simultaneously appreciating their special abilities.
Obviously there is no way to qualify the personal experiences detailed in The Secret Spiritual World of Children, but the ring of truth in these narratives is discernable. And fascinating narratives they are, from children predicting auto accidents, or describing simple but powerful moments of ecstatic unity feelings, to a father relating how his five year-old boy fell three stories out of a window and miraculously survived without injury because, as the boy puts it after the fall, “The guys dressed in gold caught me.”
Fascinating as it all is, the reporting is not sensationalist. And there is an important message to be learned from this book. Adults have to learn to listen and accept these stories as important information about their children’s natural sensitivity. “Spiritual” experiences are not something that should be repressed, and to dismiss or denigrate these experiences can do real damage.
