The Zen of Parenting By Susan A. Haid

Author/Producer, Lily’s Truth, www.lilystruth.com


The world is full of spiritual ideals, and for this, I am grateful. There is nothing I love more than delving into the bigger picture of who we are and why we are here. Exploring consciousness is such a marvelous journey, but at the end of the day, I also embrace the most practical, applicable elements of my discoveries and new understandings. What I laugh about is how often I hear the same spiritual truths over and over again, yet each time I have a deeper appreciation for their eternal meaning. As I continue to grow and evolve, as we all do, I get a clearer and more beautiful picture of life and its inherent wisdom.
Applying wisdom to parenting is certainly experimental is some ways yet not entirely so. And you certainly don’t need to have years and years of parenting experience under your belt to parent with ease and with joy. You also don’t need to have years of spiritual seeking behind you to parent with wisdom. I have three children. As every parent knows, every day is a new adventure, a new experience and a new challenge. What I am learning to do is come to the parenting process with a clean canvas in every moment. I have learned with practice to get out of my head. The thinking mind has its own set of beliefs and its controls. This is fine to a point.
Now, I am not proposing unconscious parenting devoid of logic or reason. What I am proposing instead is very conscious parenting; this type of parenting requires us to let go of all our preconceived ideas and controls imposed by our thinking mind. When we sit in the space of inner stillness, the place of no judgment or control, we actually open the door to higher understanding. We give ourselves the room to perceive events from a place that is truly a superior form of intelligence…the type of expansive intelligence that might be called intuitive. We then use our thinking mind to apply this innate and pure wisdom to our life circumstances.
So many people believe that wisdom must be earned but I can tell you otherwise. Step outside of your thinking mind from time to time and give yourself the gift of “no thought.” Simply allow yourself to be in this place of seeming nothingness, which is actually a pool of unlimited potentials. Play with this exercise as you parent your children. As you develop your skill, you will have amazing insights into yourself, your children, and your family among other things. You just may discover that the answers you’re looking for are innate to you. You may be able to let go of all your controls and find out that there is another way to parent that is better for you as well as for your kids.
Yes, this takes some conscious effort, but the rewards are worth it. The answers may come when you least expect them. The most beautiful part of intuitive parenting is that the answers and solutions are unique to you and your family. This does not imply that you cannot draw solutions from all around you, but it does imply that you are the final authority. This is an empowered way to live and to parent. It is a new way to find creative solutions and solve problems.
Much like the artist who works upon a clean canvas with each new creation, you can step outside of the ideas of your thinking mind and work from a very pure place of higher understanding to create your life in the most beautiful, original and unconventional way.
Although it has been said before, your life is your art. Why work from a soiled canvas when there is a clean, new one waiting for you?
For more exciting information about conscious parenting and raising children in wonderful new ways, or for more information about Lily’s Truth and Susan Haid, visit www.lilystruth.com.