Recipes for Living Nancy Seybert

My life took many turns before I came to where I am today. Mother and Dad tried unsuccessfully for five years to have a child, and finally I came along. The importance of the timing will become evident as the story unfolds.

When I was very little, every night Mother read to me from the Bible. As I remember it, every night she read the story of Hannah, Samuel's mother, who dedicated her son to God. I asked her later why she had chosen that story, and her answer was, "Because you asked me to." When I was a toddler, she and I went to church, and she would send me to wake up Dad to ask him to go with us. Dad was an agnostic, and even though I didn't have the words for it then, I knew I didn't like doing that because I innately respected his free will. Later, on his own, he joined the Masonic Lodge, and became quite active in the church.

Dad had been born into poverty. When he started working, he made 10¢ an hour. But he was determined to get an education and organized a dance band to put himself through college. He became a pharmacist. Mother was an innovative school teacher. She started elementary school libraries in Indiana and the idea spread throughout the state. Both of them made admirable career choices and were influential in them, but I regarded their jobs as routine. I wanted something more creative.

Ours was a musical family. We had many hours of enjoyment listening to good music. My desire was to play the pipe organ. I knew my legs weren't long enough. I had to wait until I grew, but when I turned 16, Dad said okay. However, he stipulated that I had to take violin lessons first. Now, I confess to having a one-track mind. I have to go after something until I get it. All I could think of were the horrible screeching, scratching noises that instrument made during the learning period. I dutifully agreed to take classes that summer. However, I took the bus to town, horsed around, and came home, but I didn't attend the classes. Dad never knew. Finally the time came when I was able to take organ lessons. I chose a blind teacher. I was fascinated that this man, with his handicap, was doing something great with his life. He was a college professor who was a concert organist and concert pianist as well as a composer. He inspired me a lot. If he could do these things, surely I could do something worthwhile with my life, too.

It is so great to look back on our lives and see how our early interests indicate talents that lie dormant. For instance, when I was in elementary school, I loved to play with maps. Mother bought them for me, and gave me map puzzles. Later, when I asked her why, she said, "Because you asked me to." I remember in geography class in elementary school, the teacher would sometimes ask if we had been to different places we were studying, and I would always raise my hand even though I had been nowhere. One day she asked about Washington, D.C. By now she had become suspicious and when I raised my hand, she asked, "What street is the White House on?" I was caught! What do I do now? Suddenly I thought of a way out and answered, "I was just a baby when we were there. I don't know." I don't know if the teacher said anything about it to my parents, but starting the next summer, my parents took me on trips all over the United States. This became very significant when I worked fulltime in IPM (Inner Peace Movement). I had experience driving in all conditions, knew where all the places were, how to read maps, how to book motel rooms, and make all arrangements that were necessary for lecture tours.

I majored in choral music in college, and when I graduated, I taught in a tiny school district in Indiana, close to my home. It was a great experience largely due to our principal, a dynamic fellow. The kids loved him. Teachers appreciated him, because he told us, "Send me your discipline problems and you do the teaching." It relieved us of all pressures. I've never met another principal like him.

I lived at home during that year and saved money for a trip to Europe. My senior high school classmates wanted to go, also, but they were interested in tours, and I was motivated to go alone. Traveling alone was a breeze. The only luggage I had was a backpack into which I put two dresses that I alternated each day. Part of the summer, I studied at the Mozarteum, a music academy in Austria. There I learned a creative way to teach children music in the classroom. The teacher didn't have to follow a rigid pattern. It could all be fun. It opened a whole new world, and from then on, that is the way I taught.

I returned to teach in the same school one more year, during which the principal gave me the leeway to do whatever I wanted. I suggested that the students write and perform a musical; then we would use the proceeds to buy choir robes. He questioned that we could make enough money to do that, but he let us proceed. The students wrote the musical - I simply encouraged them to implement their ideas. The newspaper carried a story about it, and all the Indianapolis radio stations promoted it. The first night turn-out was so great that we performed it the following night as well. We charged 50¢ a person, and in this little town of 1500 people, we made $635. I discovered through this experience that I had promotional skills. I began to see that, when I was in a conducive environment, I could do good things, and from this principal I learned how important it is not to squelch somebody's enthusiasm and initiative.

These were life-changing lessons, particularly because all my life I was very shy. If I saw an acquaintance coming down the street, someone I recognized but didn't know well, I wanted to duck into a store until they passed. I was awkward meeting new people, a trait I got from my father. My mother was outgoing, and my sister took after her.

There was another way, at this point in my life, that I followed my father. By the time I was 12, I didn't believe in God anymore. I had become an agnostic, as he had been. I didn't see anything that proved God existed.

For a long while my college roommate had encouraged me to come teach with her. She arranged that she would teach orchestra, and I would have choirs in the same school. I had a horrible feeling in my solar plexus that it wouldn't turn out the way she envisioned, but I went against my gut feeling. When I arrived, instead of choirs, I found I had all general music classes. Additionally, the junior high classes were chaotic. Every teacher except those who had the gifted and talented students had discipline problems. Half of the students were children whose fathers were associated with the Mafia, and the other half were students of very rich families who traveled a lot and were seldom home. The faculty usually told the new teachers, but they forgot to tell me. I soon found out that the principal was afraid to talk about the problem to the parents.

In September, I could stand it no longer. I went to the music supervisor and told him my frustration. MISTAKE!!! Unbeknownst to me, he was such a close friend of the principal that he had been best man at his wedding! When I found that out, the earth shook. I realized I had made a huge boner. He took the side of the principal and blamed me. I was so humiliated and felt like such a failure that by October, I was holding onto the bed at night to keep from committing suicide.

One day a teacher friend came to me and said, "My father is the Assistant Superintendent of Schools for the state, and he wants to see you." I didn't know what to expect, but the first thing he said was, "Nancy, none of this is your fault." He started telling me the whole background of the principal and his fear of standing up to parents. We talked for a long time. It was truly a healing experience! He restored my sense of worth. To have someone of that stature, way above the principal in terms of rank, see the good in me, was reassuring beyond words! All of this happened nearly 40 years ago and one of the lessons I learned from it is never to take anything personally.

I went to church the next Sunday. The youth minister was giving the sermon. Like TV's Dr. Schuler, he radiated love and joy. We met after the service, and talked for about an hour. My heart sank when he said, "I can't help you." But I quickly rebounded when he added, "I met someone in Chicago last week who, I think, can help you. His name is Francisco Coll. I've invited him to speak in our church."

He didn't tell me that he later wrote Francisco to cancel his visit, because he was afraid people in his church wouldn't be receptive. Francisco wrote back and said he was coming, even if he had to sit on the doorsteps of the church, because there was someone there he was supposed to meet.

The first night Francisco spoke, he explained his background and what the Inner Peace Movement (IPM) was all about. It grew out of his background of being born in Puerto Rico; his mother was a Catholic; his father was a Mason, and his parents gave him his choice of beliefs. By the time Francisco was seven, he knew that he had guardian angels. He could see them, they talked to him, and they helped him with practical things in his life. He didn't know this was anything unique. He took for granted that everyone had similar experiences.

At the age of 16, Francisco was alone in the mountains of Puerto Rico, when his angels spoke to him about what he had come to earth to do. They told him that most people understood the role of God and Jesus, but they didn't really know much about the Holy Spirit or angels. They said that he came to help others have a deeper communication with their guardian angels, such as he experienced, and to receive guidance in the very practical matters of life as well as in their spiritual growth.

When I heard Francisco explain the program, I remembered that my father had read Napolean Hill's books and taken Dale Carnegie courses, so it didn't sound foreign to me. When he talked about self awareness and positive thinking, I knew this was something I needed. He talked about our relationship to God and the universe, and added that each of us had a purpose in life. This resonated with thoughts I had, but since I didn't know anyone else thought that way, I hadn't voiced them. When he suggested that I had guardian angels, I was amazed! He taught us practical ways to work with our angels. I tested these techniques over and over and found they worked for me.

I went to school the next day thinking, if this is true, it should work in my classrooms. It was a typical day. All the students were out of their seats as usual, hitting one another, being rowdy, disruptive, and unproductive. I mentally said, "Okay, Guardian Angels, if you are really here, have these kids sit down in their seats and be quiet now." All of a sudden, the kids got quiet and began going to their seats. I was flabbergasted! For one month I experimented with what Francisco had said. I learned more about how I could work with my students. In class I started talking to them about respecting themselves and believing in themselves - the positive thinking aspect of the program. Pretty soon the girls were bringing their friends to me, asking me
to help them with their problems. Boys came in after school with books on these subjects, wanting to talk. The ringleader came to my home and told about the pressure he was under because of his father's terrible temper. I didn't realize the impact I had on them until the last day of school.

Francisco came back a couple times and gave us more material. He had me help him with a youth workshop. We had more advanced classes, because we used the tools and techniques he had given us to work with, and people had discovered that it made a terrific difference in their lives.

Before the last day of school, the announcement was made on the intercom about the teachers who weren't coming back in the fall. When I went to say goodbye, the principal called me into his office. He said, "The parents are ringing my phone off the wall, begging me to persuade you to stay." He asked me how I had changed the atmosphere in my classes. I told him I was in a positive thinking program called the Inner Peace Movement and when I tied the concepts into my classes, I captured the students' interest.

The next year I took a job teaching in Michigan. The school was large enough that there were two music teachers. I could use techniques I had learned in IPM and be creative with my lesson plans. The principal was so impressed with what I was accomplishing in my classes that instead of giving the student teacher to the one who had 25 years experience, he gave her to me.

When Francisco came through Detroit and Cleveland, I went to his programs. In Detroit, he always arranged that I could stay with his host family. One day when he was going to meditate, I asked if I could meditate with him. He gave me permission providing I didn't talk. Later he asked me, "What insights did you receive?" I said, "I saw myself spending the summer traveling with you and two other leaders."

I did travel with him and several other leaders to Denver where he gave a seminar for people from all over the country. During a meditation segment, I heard a voice that said, "Some people come to do one thing in life, some to do something else. What you have come to do is to help people free themselves like you have been freed." I ended up traveling to almost every state. I introduced the program in over 20 countries, in Europe, the Pacific, Asia, Mexico, and the Caribbean. During our expansion, IPM had up to 200 fulltime representatives who toured nationally and internationally. There were over 300 on the board of directors and many more local leaders.

One of Francisco's basic lessons for leaders was that nobody get caught up in his own importance. He believed that everyone had the ability to unfold their unique qualities and become any kind of person they wanted to be. No one was greater or lesser than anyone else. All had unlimited potential. Francisco believed that everyone should be free to come and take what he needed and move on. Then those who wanted more could come back at any time.

In the early years we were expanding the program rapidly through radio, TV, and newspaper interviews. In 1968, IPM bought the Lutz farm outside of Osceola and established the first national campground. By that time the movement was known throughout the nation, and that summer a conference was held that drew over 400 people from throughout the country. Forty-eight people wanted to become leaders like I was. Francisco had me take new leaders with me on tour to give them on-the-job experience. One thing I learned from my years of doing this work is that in any team you are working with, it is important to emphasize each other's strengths and cover for each other's weaknesses until those persons have time to build the weakness into a strength. That makes for solid teamwork.

Osceola did not understand IPM. Clifford Underwood attended some of the evening lectures and when asked what IPM is, he answered, "It's a spiritual Dale Carnegie course." I found that to be a very accurate description. People from all the major religions of the world, intellectuals, businessmen and women, homemakers, parents -people from every walk of life are part of this program.

Toward the end of Francisco's life, he came up with the idea for Cherie Buchanan and me to start a magazine with features on people in Osceola and Clarke County, who had done something positive with their lives. We called it "The Spirit of Osceola." I had a wonderful time becoming acquainted with people as I interviewed them and wrote the articles. Cherie and I did over 100 interviews, which only scratched the surface of the many outstanding citizens here, most of them quietly helping others without notice. Francisco's death forced us to suspend publication.

Many of us feel a deep loss from Francisco's death, but he made sure that the leaders were well prepared to keep the program going without him. He believed no one was greater or lesser than anyone else and because of that he had a positive influence on people from every station of life throughout the world.

One young man whom I greatly admire, wrote about his life under the title of "The Roller Coaster." We did not have the opportunity to use it in our magazine and I would like to share it here:

Just what, exactly, are the morals and lessons that have guided people through their lives? Well, for every person, there is a different story to be told. That is the wonderful thing about life: Everyone has different experiences. During my life, I have been affected by poor judgment, a group of wise mentors, and a few values that should never be forgotten.

When I became a freshman in high school, I thought I knew it all. I was cocky, young, and just didn't care. That all changed one December day I will never forget. I got expelled from my high school mid was sent to a school for the bad when I was caught fooling around with drugs. Some people have said, "Oh, I wish this had never happened," but I, on the other hand, was thankful for the lesson I may never otherwise have learned. After my expulsion, I hit a state of maturity that changed me into the young man I am now. I have been on the school honor roll ever since and have always tried to earn everything I receive instead of just having it handed to me.

Considering myself lucky to have parents and family like the ones I have is an under statement. I feel they were chosen for me by the grace of God. Growing up, I started to realize that a lot of my peers were a little different from me. When I hit middle school, I had a choice to be with the popular kids and make fun of everyone else, or I could be myself and be made fun of. Believe it or not, that stage of a kid's life can be hard. However, with what I was taught by my parents, I decided to be the kindest person I could be, and I still am. I also had an aunt that was a gifted education teacher and a beacon of light for me. She, along with my parents, taught me how to develop my creativity and do anything I set my mind to.

If I ever decide to marry and have children, there are a few values I would like to pass on to them. I would make them understand that just because the world can bring you down and sometimes confuse you, it's always important to be who you are. I would also teach them to always remain kind-hearted and meet the world with open arms. It is also very important to realize that life has lessons to be learned at every moment. If you take advantage of these lessons, life will be a lot easier to handle in any situation. All these values have made me into who I am and who I'll always be.

If I had to sum up what life is really about, I'd say that it's one giant roller coaster. It has its low points, and it has its high points. It must have restraints and handle bars to keep you safe, but that doesn't mean you're still not going to have a thrill.