Welcome to the first newsletter of 2005! This bright, unlimited, shimmering, new year awaits you to be all that you can be both as a parent and as a divinely guided person paving a path of possibility. By intending to become a spiritual parent, not only will your children flourish but your own soul will be fed.
The purpose of Spiritual Parenting Thought for the Month is to provide you with action based ideas for raising happy, kind children who remain connected to their spirits and their families. It has also become a community for those of us who want support, tips, resources, and stories about how to find more depth in our family lives. This newsletter also provides you with ways to create a more balanced life, and raise spiritual children and teens.
I want to invite you to discard the burden of perfect parenting and meet me here every month to explore the exhilarating honesty and joy that comes through nourishing your child's spirit, creating a soulful home, articulating your dreams and seeking balance in your life.
Let me begin this year's broadcasts by answering some basic questions that are frequently asked when I'm giving a workshop or an interview so that we might begin this year's Spiritual Parenting Program on the "same page":
Q: What is Spiritual Parenting?
A: Spiritual Parenting occurs when we expand our awareness to include our children's vivid inner lives. When we approach our kids as grand spiritual beings housed in rapidly changing bodies we are parenting spiritually. Spiritual parenting is not limited to any one religion's teachings but rather is an authentic, honest way of interacting with our children day to day.
Q: What is spirituality?
A: I define spirituality as the consciousness that relates us directly to God, or whatever we name as the source of our being. That consciousness can be activated when we are making a mud pie, singing a lullaby, observing a spider web, or deep in meditation. Spirituality can be thought of as a positive sense of life purpose and a feeling of hope for one's future. Spirituality is a connection with a power greater than ourselves and with all creation. The process we follow as we quest for more knowledge of what is inside and outside of ourselves is our spiritual journey.
Q. How is Spiritual Parenting different from other parenting philosophies?
A. Spiritual Parenting isn't a scientific approach to parenting or a formula to follow but rather an attitude and consciousness to acknowledge, connect, love, and honor your child's very being. When parents incorporate the 10 Principles For Spiritual Parenting into their days, all areas of their lives seem to flourish in a peaceful yet often miraculous way. Like their children, they are awake to the wonder of daily life. When we parent with God as our loving guide our center is secure no matter how rocky the journey. Parenting becomes a soul satisfying process for us and for our child.
Q. How do kids benefit from being parented in this way?
A. When kids are encouraged to create their own intimate relationship with God, feel connected to their families, lead a busy but balanced life, are loved by their parents--they thrive. When children are spiritually parented their self esteem increases, they feel empowered, they have a belief sysstem to count on, they feel connected to something greater then themselves, they have hope, they articulate their dreams and follow them, they begin to ask of themselves: "What is it I might give?" rather than "What is it I might get?"
Q: What about my teenagers? Do they really have a sense of spirituality? It seems they just want me out of their lives.
A: Yes! All teens are spiritual beings. Despite increased contact with a world that often tells them otherwise, their nature is divine. They crave a connection to something greater than themselves while questioning the adults with whom they live. Teenagers need, as we all do, to experience a sacred connection with Spirit that provides meaning and direction to life. They also desperately want to maintain an open, loving relationship with us, their parents, even when it appears that they are pushing us away.
Adolescence is a time when we experience a spiritual hunger that is often misunderstood as restlessness, frustration, or anger. When we acknowledge this ripe sacred yearning, the teen years can be seen as a time of possibilities and expansion. Our sons and daughters are on the brink of discovering their vast potential and feel this calling, although it is often blurred and confused by the pull of the culture in which they live and the bodies that house their spirits. Sure, we have to shift our parenting as our kids become teenagers. Who we are is more important than what we say. Pick up a copy of "Nurturing Your Teenager's Soul" and follow the principles offered to move into a more delightful relationship with your teenage sons and daughters.
Q: How can I find the time to nurture my family when I'm frantic just getting through the day?
A: I believe you have the potential to live a balanced, alive, joy-filled life. You can make a difference in your children's futures, manifest your own dreams, and create a soulful home. When you scan your life, take the time to ponder what you see, and generate a plan, you have a vital blueprint to follow. More energy and serendipitous events will follow as a result. It just works that way. You will experience a positive shift. Your family can't help but benefit as this grace radiates to them. They will, in turn, begin creating their own blueprints for fulfilling lives and be sustained at home as they move these dreams into action.
The fresh new year is just the time to dive in and begin balancing your life. Start by re-evaluating family priorities and developing a plan to honor those choices. Consciously making decisions about how you connect with those you love is the first and vital step in creating more harmony in your life. Your relationships at home can sustain and ground you and your children. Follow the monthly ideas offered in "Busy but Balanced" such as:
Create a visual image of what you would like your family life to be like in the upcoming year. Find pictures of dream vacations, an organized beautiful home, festive dinners, symbols of harmony, and glue them on a poster board with a photo of your family in the center. Place it in a prominent spot and enjoy visualizing together.
Q: How can I best use these Spiritual Parenting monthly newsletters and the SpiritualParenting.com website?
A: Each month our Spiritual Parenting newsletter touches on a timely issue, and keeps you updated on related resources on our website (www.spiritualparenting.com). We also include news of my books, and TV, radio, and Internet appearances, so you can find the information you need for your family. We'll let you know when the newest Reel Appeal movie discussion guide is available as a free offering on our site, and how you can use discussion questions from the many Reel Appeal guides to spark personal and intimate family discussions. Links to articles and discussions are also found on the website, and the message boards put you in touch with spiritual parents from around the globe. Because so many of you have requested it, we continue to update compiled contact information for Spiritual Parenting Groups meeting around the world. Thousands of you are meeting monthly to support one another, learn practical tips for parenting, and following along with one principle per month. We have meeting outlines on the site as well as the list of existing groups you might join in your neighborhood.
An Invitation
You are invited to contribute your own stories, questions
and resources such as articles, books, conferences, to this
broadcast.
*Visit my monthly column, The Spiritual Parent,
on BeliefNet.com (click on parenting). Make
sure to write your comments next to the article
in the dialogue board:
http://www.beliefnet.com
*Mark your calendars now for my upcoming 10
week radio series on Talk America--Wednesday
evenings from 6-7 EST. I will focus on a
principle per week.
TALK AMERICA
"The Tony Trupiano Show"
6-7p.m. ET -- Wednesday
Tony's show reaches approximately
80 stations around the USA
LISTEN LIVE ON THE INTERNET
www.talkamerica.com
then to "Talk Network 2"
call in and share your thoughts.
888-822-8255
Series Begins: February 7th
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