It is my joy to present Michael Mendizza's excellent book MAGICAL PARENT, MAGICAL CHILD, a must read for every parent and educator who's interested in holistic growth and education both for the child and her/him-self. The book can be ordered from Amazon.com and other major retailors. Regards, Reza Ganjavi

In the 1970s Joseph Chilton published his National Best Seller, The Magical Child. Magical Child describes nature’s agenda for unfolding unlimited human capacity. A core concept that weaves throughout all of Pearce’s works is what he refers to as the “model imperative.” The unfolding and development of any potential capacity is “experience” dependent. It is the model-environment that provides the experience that mentors and develops every possibility.

Magical Parent-Magical Child written by Michael Mendizza with Pearce explores what it takes for adults to BE the optimum model-environment for humanities next giant leap forward, that is to parent, coach, educate or mentor a child.

Everyone knows that childhood is a transformational journey for children. Few realize that loving, caring for and mentoring children is, like it or not, a developmental, transformative practices for adults. Certainty no adult emerges from these relationships the same as they begin. The explosive learning, personal growth and yes deep, profound transformation children experience throughout childhood is available to adults right now, at any age. 

My work weaves together three basic themes. First, parenting, coaching, caring for and the educating children are developmental, transformative practices or stages for adults, just as leaning to walk and talk are transformative practices for the child. The adult-child relationship represents an explosive opportunity for adults to reach beyond the limits most have accepted for themselves and the childlike qualities, the genius of childhood, being modeled by the child in this relationship represents the optimum “state” for this transcendent journey to take place.

Second, learning, performance and wellbeing, at any age or stage of development, are “state specific.” The specific state of the body and mind as one meets a challenge defines what is learned and how well one performs. Meaning, content, what we usually call “the score” emanates from the specific state of the body and mind as it meets any challenge. If we want to change the outer, the score, we must begin by optimizing our own inner state.

Third, if learning and performance are “state specific,” the next question is, “what is the optimum state? The great rule according to Pearce is: Play on the surface and the work takes place beneath awareness. Play we discover is not an activity. Play is a state of being, the optimum state for relating to any challenge. Athletes call this optimum state the Zone. Researchers call it Flow. For centuries people have been researching the “psychology of optimum experience.” Play, the Zone and Flow have similar characteristics. They are in fact one state expressing differently at different developmental stages. The state of Play we discover is nature’s expectation for optimum learning and performance lifelong. My work applies this optimum state to parenting and to education.

The child is desperately looking to the adult and adult culture for transcendent models that awaken and challenge the child’s innate transcendent nature. The only way adulterated adults can provide this “model imperative” is by taking their cues from the child and rediscovering, in relationship with the child, their transcendent nature, which most adults have forgotten or abandoned long ago. My work helps adults rediscover the playful, childlike genius of their own nature as they guide, learn from and mentor children. This awakening develops in adults’ new capacities and possibilities, which transforms the adult. Adults modeling their transcendent nature create radically different learning environments for children, which transforms the child and cycles back to challenge and transform the adult in new ways. Joe and I call this playful, reciprocal-dynamic, the Optimum Learning Relationship.