From Intentional Conscious Parenting to Spiritually Aware Parenting by Efrat Shokef, PhD

Observing our local and broader international realities, we are invited to tune back into our hearts. Tune into our hearts, and from there into the possible for humanity. Awakening, remembering, shifting back to a worldview of LOVE, of unity, and of care.

Raising children in such turbulent times invites our intentionality. This invitation extends beyond our intention to provide, care, mend family wounds, and become better in all the ways that brought lack into our lives as we grew up. We are invited to be intentional about every choice, every word, and every moment of our shared time, because every moment counts. It can be an aligned soul moment or an unaligned one, shining light on what we are invited to transform.

With growing awareness, more and more parents and inspiring humans walking with or by children embrace intentionality in every interaction. More and more parents and significant adults to little ones become conscious of who they are and who their children are, and grow in their power as choice makers. However, there is an aspect that many skip, avoid, or fear exploring. An aspect woven into who we are: our (beyond religion) spirituality, the energy we are, the more that we each are. This is where Spiritually Aware Parenting comes in, not to replace but to add to other intentional and conscious parenting approaches.

Spiritually Aware Parenting adds three aspects to our approach to parenting and raising little ones (and sometimes also ourselves): 

1. Parents and Children are on a Shared Journey. 

Old paradigms focus on raising children to fit in, grow into adults who fit into their social environment, and succeed in what their environment perceives as success. They focused on hierarchy. Parents and elders know what it takes to survive, and be a human, and children must learn all the do’s and don’ts. A one-directional relationship. 

As we open ourselves to the spiritual, energetic, and the more that we are, we are invited to shift our mindset and open our hearts to seeing and walking by the children in our lives as equals. Embracing the teachings they offer. The invitations they present. Accepting them as our teachers. Reminding us of who we, too, are. 

Accepting our children as teachers does not make us students only. It is a shared dance. We guide them on being human in this time and in our local environment, which is most likely one of the reasons they chose us as their parents. They remind us of who we were before we embraced the human way as the only way.

2. We Are All More Than Just Our Human Physical Selves. 

Children are still connected to the more that they are. Sensing energy, conversing with nature’s children. Connected to their spiritual guidance. As we embrace Spiritually Aware Parenting, we are invited to awaken to and embody these same qualities within ourselves. Open up to our energetic self, nourish our children, and guide them on how to stay aligned with the energetic, soul, spiritual and the more that they are and will be, within their human form, and along their human journey. 

Guiding children on how to care for their energy, cleanse, or nourish is not yet part of the common child-rearing curriculum. Spiritually Aware Parenting invites our attention and intentionality to these aspects of our shared journey.

3. Raising Children Who Stay True to Who They Are

The wish and prayer of almost every spiritually aware parent is to find a way to guide their children in staying true to their beauty. Beauty that is the expression of their soul, their wisdom beyond time, and their luminosity, weaved into who they chose to be in human form in this lifetime. 

As we forget our soul promises to ourselves, we cannot know what soul promises our children made to themselves. As we embrace Spiritually Aware Parenting, we are invited to take responsibility. We embrace their choice in our potential and do what needs to be done, in any healing modality that works for us, to heal, resolve, see, know, and become our beautiful potential. It is only when we walk our soul’s path and beauty that we can create the conditions our children need to stay aligned to their soul’s path and luminosity.

We are raising the future leaders. Luminous leaders who will need to be in their power as responsibility shifts to them. Raising them to stay aligned with their blueprint, soul’s wisdom, and the Love they all are is the key, and our contributions to growing ethical co-creators. Co-creators who will lead with care and Love for all of Mother Earth’s children.

As more and more parents and significant adults to little ones, and growing ones (teens…) awaken to the possibilities available to us today, and as more and more families open their hearts to the invitation embedded in the shared journey with the children in their lives, we raise and nourish our energetic vibrations. 

Every step we take to stay true to who we are and grow into who we are ripples, inviting others to align as well.

One by one. Family by family. Community by community.

Efrat Shokef, PhD, is the author of award-winning books: The Promise We Made: Three Universal Soul Promises We Made to Our Children and UniverSoul Promises: Foundations for Creating the Conditions Our Children Need to Thrive in Times of Transformation. She is a mother, writer, cosmic-journeyer, and shamanic energy-healing practitioner who works primarily with children, teens, parents, and families worldwide. Learn more at www.efratshokef.com