{"id":4831,"date":"2023-04-26T22:11:49","date_gmt":"2023-04-26T22:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflexologyforthespirit.com\/blog\/?p=4831"},"modified":"2023-04-30T17:17:19","modified_gmt":"2023-04-30T17:17:19","slug":"learning-as-self-care-with-3-stories-featuring-maria-talamantez-and-sister-athenasius","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflexologyforthespirit.com\/blog\/2023\/04\/26\/learning-as-self-care-with-3-stories-featuring-maria-talamantez-and-sister-athenasius\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning as Self-Care With 3 Stories Featuring Maria Talamantez and Sister Athenasius"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>As we grow up and experience adolescence, or adulthood, many of us leave our religious beliefs behind. Or maybe we never had a childhood religion to leave behind.\u00a0 This can create the experience of having no beliefs at all.<\/p>\n

Mother sent me as a young child to local Vacation Bible Schools every summer.\u00a0 That meant I spent a week each with Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Baptists, and the Church of Christers when I was quite young.\u00a0 The Catholics didn’t have Vacation Bible School and I never quite understood why.<\/p>\n

I absorbed different things taught by different Christian Sunday School teachers in an unsophisticated format intended for preschool and elementary school children.<\/p>\n

Elementary school influenced my religious beliefs, but not how you might think.\u00a0 This was the American Bible Belt in the early 1950’s.\u00a0 In the classroom each morning, right after reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, a student recited a prayer.<\/p>\n

For some of my classmates, this experience may not have been so bad.\u00a0 For others, it was excruciating.<\/p>\n

Standing in front of the class is hard on a lot of little kids.\u00a0 Standing in front of the class and reciting a prayer can be excruciating, especially if they don’t really know a prayer.\u00a0 It was hardest on the Catholics because they began and ended each session with the sign of the cross.<\/p>\n

My memory always brings up Maria Talamantez when I recall the morning prayer.\u00a0 Standing at the head of the class, Maria appeared embarrassed, flustered, frightened.\u00a0 And, while she struggled with the Sign of the Cross and the Our Father, I was over at my desk praying quietly and fervently to God and Jesus and anyone else I could think of just thanking them that my name hadn’t been called that morning.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Maria prayed as fast as she could and so quietly that she couldn’t be heard by most of us in the room.\u00a0 I don’t think the teacher cared, really.\u00a0 She was simply filling a slot required every morning and looked forward to escaping into a math exercise or reading a story.<\/p>\n

For me, this was a time of pure torture.\u00a0 And I was so grateful that I was an Episcopalian because I didn’t use the Sign of the Cross.\u00a0 And the Episcopalian Lord’s Prayer seemed shorter and faster than Maria’s Roman Catholic version.<\/p>\n

This is part of my journey into adulthood.<\/p>\n

Both adolescents and adults spend time thinking and rethinking things they read, heard, and believed as children.<\/p>\n

To dismiss these experiences as part of the move into adulthood is a gross oversimplification.<\/p>\n

Abandoning our childhood beliefs can be difficult.\u00a0 It’s challenging to move beyond the childhood religious stories we either grew up with or didn’t experience at all.<\/p>\n

As a pre-adolescent, I attended a Catholic School in my middle-school years.\u00a0 (The Sisters didn’t call it middle school.)\u00a0 Sister Athanasius had a whole list of books we weren’t supposed to read.\u00a0 And, since I wasn’t from a Catholic family, Sister suspected every book she saw me carry.<\/p>\n

Several years later, as a student at St. Mary’s University, I found all of those books she was looking for in my book bag.\u00a0 They were in the university library, sitting on those shelves for the students.\u00a0 Amazing!\u00a0 Forbidden fruit in middle school became the main course in college.<\/p>\n

Later in life, my best Reiki therapy and Reflexology students admitted to me that they were struggling with their meaning-of-life path.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Now, as an octogenarian, I find myself smitten with Mother Mary and the birth of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If you find yourself at a moment in time where you are taking a look at your life, now can be a good opportunity to explore your childhood teachings.\u00a0 They may be holding you back from focusing on things you otherwise might be interested in.<\/p>\n

This place in time opens an opportunity for self-care.<\/p>\n

As an adult, you can slow down, seek the solitude, and listen to the silence.\u00a0 Allow your intuition and life experiences to guide you along your path.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The answers you seek may not come immediately but they are there.\u00a0 As you journey on your path, you may encounter changes to your lifestyle which help you connect with your own truth.<\/p>\n

You can develop an understanding of your own experience.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Thanks for reading this article.\u00a0 Please share it with your friends and family and forward it to your preferred social media network.<\/p>\n

You can find out more at www.thurmangreco.com.<\/p>\n

Want more information on self-care?\u00a0 Check out some older articles on this blog.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You may also enjoy my YOUTUBE shows:\u00a0 “Let’s Live with Thurman Greco”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Thanks again!<\/p>\n

Thurman Greco<\/p>\n

www.thurmangreco.com<\/p>\n

Subscribe today!<\/p>\n

Visit the website and see what books might interest you.\u00a0 The first edition of “But for Gabriel” is available as an eBook.<\/p>\n

Finally, include a Reiki therapy or reflexology session this week.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we grow up and experience adolescence, or adulthood, many of us leave our religious beliefs behind. Or maybe we never had a childhood religion to leave behind.\u00a0 This can create the experience of having no beliefs at all. Mother sent me as a young child to local Vacation Bible Schools every summer.\u00a0 That meant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,1634,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,23,110,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,111,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,2020,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,103,104,105,106,107,109],"tags":[2191,2386,2706,3201,3200,3189,3186,2779,3184,3188,1892,3187,3183,1313,2876,2963,3182,1071,3181,3185,3191,3192,3190,3180],"yoast_head":"\nLearning as Self-Care With 3 Stories Featuring Maria Talamantez and Sister Athenasius - Reflexology For The Spirit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As we grow up & experience adolescence or adulthood, many of us leave our religious beliefs behind. 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