Conscious Parenting Is Self-Centered

I don’t mean this as a bad thing. As new agers, many of us believe that our outer world is a reflection of our inner world. Our internal conflicts, our joys, our mental focus, can play themselves out in our everyday lives. A connection can usually be found if you look beneath the surface and allow yourself to think expansively and make connections at a symbolic level.

The same sort of thinking can be brought to bear on our interactions with our kids. When something they’re doing is consistently driving us nuts or worrying us, chances are it’s triggering our own unconscious stuff. (Which is not to say that kids aren’t just plain irritating sometimes.)

If you’re dealing with a longstanding conflict or repetitive sore spot, my advice is to look within and see if you can identify an old pattern or conflict in yourself that’s being triggered. One way to do this is to think of a time when you were very young and you experienced the same feelings. Once these subconscious conflicts and hurts have been explored in the light of day, you might find you’ll be able to deal with the situation with your child with much greater ease.