Mimi Doe - 10 Principles for Spiritual Parenting: Nurturing Your Childs Soul

10 Principles

Spiritual Parenting

Every good thing that is pink or red is Gods love, its Gods valentine to me, like a sunrise or a sunset or a rainbow. (Age four)

When youre ready to go into the body, if youve passed all your tests, you get to decide if you want to remember heaven or if you want to forget it. (Age nine)

Children are spiritual beings. They naturally have what many of us spend years trying to reclaim. What if instead of working on ones inner child as an adult, we remain in the light of our intrinsic spirituality and retain our childlike wonder and faith? There is a way to do that. If we recognize and honor our childrens innate spiritual connection they may never have to lose it.

Look at the colors around Lillie. I can see pinks and yellows, oh look, I see them with my inside eyes all around Lillie. (Age six)

We know more about nutrition than did past generations. Weve identified learning disorders and new educational techniques. We give our children every advantage we can afford, and some we cannot. We organize, direct, enroll, coach, and transport our children to and from lessons, games, practices, social events, doctors appointments, and schools. We are trying to be good parents and give our children all they need to develop into well-rounded and successful adults. We may, however, be missing the very core of our childrens being: their spirituality.

Spirituality is the base from which grow self-esteem, values, morals, and a sense of belonging. It is what gives life direction and meaning. Spirituality is a belief in the existence of a non-physical power greater than oneself. It is the consciousness that relates us directly to God, or whatever we name as the source of our being. When we use the word God, we mean God, Goddess, Divine Spirit, the Universe, All That Is, Higher Power. We refer to this Higher Power as He. You may choose to replace our word with She, or any other word you find comfortable. These children have figured out their own way of distinguishing what sex God is:

God is an It because It is more than just a girl or a boy. (Age six)

Girls are made in Gods image so when girls think of God Shes a girl and when boys think of God Hes a boy. When we all think of God togetherGod is both girl and boy. (Age five)

Spirituality involves an awareness of a sacred connection to all creation, and a choice to embrace that connection with love. Our childrens spiritual natures are reflected by their unbounded creativity, vivid imagination, and joyful, open-ended approach to life. Spirituality is not the dogma of organized religion, although organized religion provides a great deal to nurture a childs soul. Not something to be taught to a child, spirituality is already there.

I talk in my sleep, thats when Im talking to my angel. (Age four)

All children begin life with an innate sense of wonder about their world. They are naturally intuitive and open. God is as real to them as Mommy and Daddy. We, as parents, can foster this precious state of being with our words, actions, and attention. Where there is wonder, there is spirituality. The ordinary becomes the extraordinary when we live life as a prayer, a soulful journey, when we endow our daily routine with magic, when we stop the chaos of daily life and celebrate the small moments. We affirm and acknowledge childrens true state of being when we join them in their celebration of life. As we bring spirituality into our roles as parents, we consciously acknowledge the divinity present in ourselves and our children.

Spiritual parenting can offer the everyday spirituality that nourishes the childs soul. If the soul is the Divine in each of us, then to honor and strengthen this essential part is to honor God. When we acknowledge ourselves first and foremost as spiritual beings we can parent our children as the true divine individuals they are.

What if you were told you had a sacred contract to help your child unfold into his full spiritual self? Or if you were certain that living in a manner consistent with your spiritual ideals was the greatest gift you could give your child? What if you knew your life was a sacred prayer your child took as the formula for a spiritual existence? Chances are we would all make a commitment to becoming parents who feed our childrens innate spirituality.

The more you can think of yourself as a channel through which God coparents your child, the more you will do what is right and centered in each decision you face. The more you see your children as the powerful spiritual entities they are, the more they will mirror that back to you. You will create a home where your children will be free to explore and follow what they know to be true: their inside visions.

Lessons they learn from the outside world, which may discourage their natural creativity, can be counteracted when, with you, they are allowed to be free, joyous, curiousand spiritualbeings. Think of your child as an infinite Higher Self housed in a small body. View him as a being who needs time to accept and understand life in the physical plane. You can offer your childs Higher Self a sheltered start in a supported beginning.

Parenting with spirituality is not a rigid, complicated, esoteric project. It is natural, comfortable, and adaptable to any healthy family, whatever its makeup or situation. The understanding, compassionate parent is a spiritual parent. Nurturing the natural visions, experiences, sensations, and dreams of your child keeps the door open for unlimited joy and spiritual aliveness for you both.

I want to find ways for my sons to get in touch with their spirituality. I get so caught up in my busy world that I forget how to do it myself. (Mother of two)

Parenting from this perspective isnt a radical life choice, but rather an easy and natural way to interact with children. Spirituality is in our routine lives with our children, the ordinary miracles. The everyday eventsdinner conversations, lighting candles, creating comfortable rituals, performing daily choreshave the potential to be sacred moments. Think of your childs mind recording each event of her lifesoaking up the ambiance of her environment. These experiences become lodged in her subconscious and her soul. You cant choose your childs memories, but when you embrace a spiritual approach to parenting you increase the odds that her recollections will enrich her life and soul.

Take a moment to reflect on the times with your child that are locked in your memory: the extraordinary moment when he was born, the first time she rode a bike by herself and was free to go to a friends house without you, the day you built a sand castle at the beach with no phone ringingjust the two of you. Think back to the morning he walked into kindergarten without looking back, the day she was asked to write about her hero and wrote about you. Remember the way it feels when her warm hand is tucked safely in yours. These are the moments you hold in your memory that nourish your soul and cause you to treasure your child. They keep you going. These unplanned, glittering instants are possible every day when you bring your attention to the enchantment waiting to enrich your soul and the soul of your child.