The BEST Advice for Parents of Wayward Children
What is the best way to help a wayward child? Michael J. Merchant, the President of Anasazi Foundation, suggests that “our love is irresistible,” and that it will eventually invite our children home. Transcript of The Best Advice for Parents of Wayward Children: Parents often ask me what can they do? Even if they don’t send their child to Anasazi, what could they do to actually help a child that they’re concerned with and struggling with. And I always tell them: “Look, you’ve got to find a way to connect with them. You’ve got to find a way to make sure that they know that you care about them deeply.” And so, too often we’re focused on correction. We’re just, we’re at that correction level all the time and I say: “Mom and Dad, let’s move a little bit deeper. Let’s listen a little longer. Let’s try and build a…
Forget Your Labels – See Your Greatness!
What if, instead of concentrating on the negative, we concentrated on the positive? What if we ignored labels and instead focused on our seeds of greatness? Ezekiel Sanchez, the co-founder of Anasazi Foundation, talks about a different approach to seeing ourselves… Transcript of Stop Seeing Your Labels | See Your Greatness!: There is hope for a new beginning. Because Anasazi is not configured, or designed, like the regular therapeutic approach. We don’t concentrate on labels. We concentrate on their seed of greatness and what they can become. We don’t concentrate on the past either. What we do, is we take a child where they are and then we invite them to become better. And the only way to invite them to become better is by concentrating on their seed of greatness and seeing the good in them and not being judgmental or to blame them, or to make them do…
How to Make Primitive Fire | Hand Drill
Skilled Trail Walkers from the Anasazi Foundation demonstrate how to make primitive fire using a hand drill. To learn more about Anasazi Foundation click HERE.
POWERFUL Native American Wisdom | Good Buffalo Eagle
Good Buffalo Eagle, co-Founder of Anasazi Foundation, talks about the Sacred Gift of Choice, given to all the Two-Legged Beings. From the book The Seven Paths Transcript of The Sacred Gift of Choice | Native American Wisdom: I am Good Buffalo Eagle. Hear my words. The Creator gave all two-legged beings. We call this the Gift of Choice. Regardless of where we are born, all come to earth with this gift. Along with the Gift of Choice, all Two-Legged beings have a sense of knowing right from wrong from the one Who Stands Within. Therefore, the Gift of Choice allows us to choose knowingly. My Pauline, the Woman of my Heart, states that in her Navajo language, life is a walking, a journey. So, if life upon Mother Earth is a journey, there are two ways to walk. By applying the Gift of Choice, we can choose to walk forward…
A SURPRISING Way to Change Negative Behavior…
Do you have a rebellious teenager? Are you struggling with troubled youth? How do you get them to change their negative behavior? Some would say you can’t change someone else. But according to Michael J. Merchant, the President of Anasazi Foundation, there IS a way to get someone to change, but the way to do it might surprise you . . . Transcript of A SURPRISING Way to Change Negative Behavior: Look, when young people are making choices they shouldn’t be making in their life, they’ve created a new need in their life and that’s justification—they have to explain it away. They have to explain it away—they have to make it okay to make those kind of choices—choices that would be harmful to themselves or their family. They have to justify it. And, too often, we give them the very justification they need to explain it away. And so, by us…
Do We “Hydrate” Mentally?
We all know that hydration is important for our physical health. But according to Michael J. Merchant, the President of Anasazi Foundation, it’s also important to “hydrate” in a mental, emotional, and spiritual way. Transcript of Do We “Hydrate” Mentally?: Yeah, we often like to use the metaphor—when we think about mental health—of hydration. If you or I were to get severely dehydrated, we would show symptoms of illness and if we were to go to an emergency room with those symptoms of illness before a doctor would diagnose us they would—they would put an IV in us and fill us up with fluid. Because they can’t really tell whether there’s a connection between some sort of illness and what we’re experiencing—the symptoms we’re experiencing and the hydration. And so, until we’re hydrated they won’t know that. Sometimes, the symptoms are directly related to dehydration, other times there’s an illness…
Do You Want A New Beginning?
Have you ever wanted a new beginning? Ezekiel Sanchez (Good Buffalo Eagle), co-founder of Anasazi Foundation, offers hope and advice for a new beginning. Transcript of A New Beginning: In the beginning, when we developed Anasazi Foundation, one of the things that we wanted to invite was for people to have a new beginning. And so, I’m often asked what is—what can Anasazi offer a person? And it comes in one word that I give, and I say: hope. And of course, the next question is: ‘Well, hope in what?’ Hope in a new beginning. All of us, at one time or another—during our walking through this earth—have always wished, sometimes, that we could just start all over again. If only I could start all over again, or if I could just have a new beginning. But really, there’s not too many places that will invite you and I to…
The Legend of the Moccasins
Kira Roerig, a Family Therapist at Anasazi Foundation, shares the Native American legend of the moccasins and talks about the importance of parents allowing their children to have their own journey. Transcript of The Legend of the Moccasins: So, something that I often share with parents: there’s this old Native American story about a father and a son. And, in this story, the son is walking about the face of the earth. And he’s stepping on rocks and things that are pokey and prickly and thistles and thorns. And so, this loving father, out of love for his son, covers the earth with leather to help his son’s journey. And, as his son goes on, walking about the face of the earth, he continues to get poked and pricked by the thistles and thorns and so the father lays more leather over the earth. And then, eventually, the father realized…
What Is Your TRUE Identity? (Hint: It’s Not What You Think)
What is your true identity? Nathan Mitchell, the Clinical Director of Anasazi Foundation, talks about the difference between IMAGE and IDENTITY and shares some profound insight . . . Learn More About ANASAZI Foundation Read The Seven Paths
More Connection, Less Correction
How can parents help their troubled teen? Michael J. Merchant, the President of Anasazi Foundation says “The more connection, the less correction,” and that “Our influence as parents rests on how often we have those connections with our children.” He then shares a remarkable story of a mother who wouldn’t give up on her son. Watch the video to learn more. Transcript of The More Connection, Less Correction: Our influence as parents rests on how often we have those connections with our children—those windows of time when we’re just right with one another, when my child knows that I care about them deeply and I know they care about me, right? Just those windows of time. If those are happening regularly, then I have a lot of influence in a child’s life. When those are happening few and far between I have very little influence to help a child. And…