COCOON STAGE

THE TRUTH OF MY SOCIAL MIND (SENSIBILITY INTELLIGENCE) AND ITS HEALTH

Social health (Sensibility Intelligence) through a secure and loving environment to learn how to stand independently.

SELF-SUFFICIENCY

 The Cocoon State – lasting from birth through ages 6 or 7 – is when the Social Mind comes into being. Just as the caterpillar shelters itself inside a cocoon to transform into a butterfly, children develop their Social Minds in the safe and secure environment provided by their parents, family, and community. The role of the community is not just important; it’s integral in this process, providing a nurturing environment for the child’s development. The final act of the Cocoon Stage is becoming a beautiful butterfly in flight, a transformation that is a testament to the community’s collective effort.

The Cocoon Stage is a time for learning, growing, and practicing social skills through play. It’s a period of developing a sense of self and sensibility. These people’s skills cannot be taught or learned in a classroom. They originate from the child’s curiosity, imagination, and creativity. The child’s natural inclination to play, dream, walk, talk, sing, dance, and imitate others is the foundation of their growth and development. With all its beauty and complexity, this natural learning process deserves our utmost respect and unwavering support as parents and educators. The transformation from baby to toddler to child is a journey that each human being must undertake, and it’s a journey we should honor and facilitate.

In the first seven years of life, the child learns on an unconscious level through different forms of play. This involves physical activity but should be restricted within the safe boundaries imposed by parents and teachers. Therefore, organized sports are not usually included in the Cocoon Stage. Being part of a team comes after the butterfly has emerged at the end of the Cocoon Stage.

Babies first learn coordination with their five natural senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. They learn to focus their eyes on familiar faces and objects. They become aware of different sounds and voices. They recognize how to coordinate their body parts to reach, grasp, roll over, or pull themselves up to stand. They sense when they are being held securely through touch. They develop their sense of taste and learn to distinguish between foods they like and dislike.

Play and creative expression are needed in a child’s environment to bring them through the final stage of development into a healthy, happy, and loving person, ready for life’s journey. As young adults, we still need that sense of freedom and play. When not playing or having fun, we merely use the recorded reactions in our brains. We become serious and nervous. We begin to think and worry, creating fear and stress. This leads to negative thoughts of anger, greed, ego, lust, and addiction. There is no freedom of creativity or imagination; coordination becomes impaired; we are no longer grounded in learning anything new and live every day in fear, causing us to dwell on past mistakes or fear of the future. Dwelling in the past wastes energy and wears us out physically as our minds become clogged with unhealthy, unhappy thoughts that can develop into ill health, depression, and thoughts of suicide and violence.