The Conscious Parent

Hence a conscious approach to parenting urges parents to address issues that are the hallmarks of consciousness, such as: Am I allowing myself to be led toward greater spiritual awakening through my relationship with my children? How can I parent my children with an awareness of what they truly need from me, and thus become the parent they deserve

Even when we are called upon to discipline, consciousness shows us how to do so in a manner that bolsters our child’s spirit rather than diminishing it.

We have seen that our ego is a blind attachment to the image we have of ourselves, the picture of ourselves we carry around in our head. Our entire way of thinking, emoting, and acting is rooted in this self-image.

It certainly isn’t out of a lack of love that we impose our will on our children. Rather, it stems from a lack of consciousness. The reality is that many of us are unaware of the dynamics that exist in the relationship we have with our children.

Approaching life from fear stifles the emergence of their genuine, uninhibited, unaffected being. Our ego therefore needs to crumble to allow our authenticity to emerge, which in turn frees our children to grow up true to themselves.

On the parent’s side of the equation, the problem with the traditional approach to parenting is that it rigidifies the ego with its delusions of power. Since our children are so innocent and ready to be influenced by us, they tend to offer little resistance when we impose our ego on them— a situation that holds the potential for our ego to become s

When we are unable to accept our children, it’s because they open up old wounds in us, threatening some ego-attachment we are still holding onto. Unless we address why we can’t embrace our children for precisely who they are, we will forever either seek to mold, control, and dominate them—or we will allow ourselves to be dominated by them.

On the contrary, consciousness emerges progressively from unconsciousness. Those who walk the path of consciousness are no different from anyone else, except that they have learned to mine their unconsciousness for its potential for heightened awareness.

Our children come to us so we may recognize our psychic wounds and call up the courage to transcend the limitations these wounds place on us.