Parenting is your greatest opportunity for spiritual growth, find out how!
My son was born 8 years ago, he is my greatest gift, an outstanding blessing and my most profound teacher!
Thank you son.
As a mother what I quickly learn’t was that part of this life changing experience is facing challenges. Messy challenges, emotional challenges, crazy, scary, frustrating challenges. It’s a roller coaster to say the least. Of course weaved into those challenges is love, bliss, tenderness and joy! It is never one sided, thank you God.
As I’ve come to realize, my challenges are my greatest blessings. They are the keys to making change, they are the gift that is often disguised as the set back.
One of the challenges that I’ve faced as a mother has been my ability to be PRESENT, fully, completely present.
Now don’t get me wrong, I know I’m a wonderful mother, and my son tells me all the time that I am ‘THE best mum in the world’, bless his heart!
However, what I know is that I have struggled with surrendering completely to the simple life of a child, the long stretched out days, the ‘doing nothing’, the going slow, the endless repetition.
In many ways my benchmark for success has been how much I achieve, what I physically create, how much I earn, what I produce. I grew up with lots of spiritual practices but still somehow missed the foundational understanding that to simply BE is the ultimate creative state, it produces infinite success, joy and peace.
Fortunately over the years, I have developed an enormous amount of gratitude for my resistances to the simple life of a child.
Long drawing sessions, games, creative play, and many hours putting my son to sleep have become my most treasured moments, they have brought forth my greatest learnings.
My resistance to BEING raised my consciousness. I developed the ability to compassionately observe myself and therefore see that the reason I was suffering was simple, I was resisting the present.
I realize that of all the ‘spiritual’ practices that I embark on, all the meditating, praying, questioning, reading, all the yoga, retreats and relaxation…it is without a doubt PARENTING that is my greatest opportunity for spiritual growth, my son is my guru!
Being present with my son is my ultimate practice, it now brings me my greatest joy and my son, his greatest happiness.
My top 4 tips on how parenting can be your greatest opportunity for spiritual growth:
- Become AWARE of your unconsciousness, notice all the times you want to run, distract yourself, say NO, or make an excuse. Notice when you feel uneasy about spending an hour putting your little one to sleep or sitting and building blocks for an entire afternoon because there’s a million other things that ‘need’ to be done. FEEL the feelings, accept what’s coming up breathe into them.
- Be the LOVING WITNESS – notice all this from a gentle space within, forgive yourself often, be compassionate with yourself and know that you are doing a great job. If you berate yourself, put yourself down and tell yourself what an awful mother you’re being, it will do nothing but take you further into stress, anger, upset and separation. What you need in that moment is light, love and understanding, from there we can heal and choose again.
- Be WILLING to see the situation differently. A great way to clean up your energy, especially when you can feel yourself going to ‘crazy town’ is to simply say to yourself, ‘I’m willing to see this differently’, ‘I’m willing to feel differently’, ‘I’m willing to see my child differently’. RESISTANCE will shut you down, willingness will open you up to a shift in perception, which also means a MIRACLE!
- Welcome the fact that being with your baby, toddler, or young child is a MEDITATION. Really BEING with them requires one pointed focus, your unwavering attention. Use it as a time to deeply connect with your breath, your body, feelings and sensations. When our babes are young we may not have much time to step away and take 30 minutes to sit in stillness, however simply BEING with them can be our time to connect, to tune in and to listen to our eternal teacher within. As they feel your presence they will light up! It is the greatest gift you can ever give your child, and they will never forget it.
I hope these ideas help you as they have helped me, it is my passion to support mothers from a gentle space of understanding. May all our journeys be filled with light and love, great learnings and much letting go into the present moment of utter bliss.
A wonderful book that I’d highly recommend is Mitten Strings For God – by Katrina Kennison. It is full of simple yet profound teachings, practical ways that we can all come back home and enjoy each other, BE with each other and make this time with our children one that is magical, vibrant, nourishing and soulful.
Find out how I can help you transform your journey through parenting or pregnancy.
Join one of my Prenatal yoga classes, my weekly hatha flow class or one of my monthly workshop classes, check out my website for further details on how to work with me and to book in to a class or workshop. http://www.thelifepod.com.au/work-with-me/
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Lauren xx
