14. SPIRITUAL PARENTING

by Dick Rauscher

Abstract

The art of spiritually creative parenting is an important part of any spiritual journey in life. The future of our world requires that we become skilled in helping our children grow into the authentic persons that they were meant to be.

Attachment theory is showing us clearly that it is only when our children experience a safe and secure base, where their attachment needs to others are fully satisfied, can they move out into the world confident and trusting enough to explore, grow, and mature

Creative parenting enables and encourages children to explore and discover what they care about. What is really important to them. Spiritually mature parenting helps children learn that to be happy in life, they need to learn how to give in healthy ways to others. To put others first without losing site of their own spiritual needs. Creative parenting encourages exploration into self awareness. Spiritually mature parenting teaches children the spiritual disciplines required to walk the middle path in life. A self-aware life path that embraces all truth, and teaches children how to live their lives in ways that does no harm to others or to the earth they live on.

Finally, creative and spiritually mature parenting teaches children that for creation to be perfect it requires all of creation working together. It teaches children that diversity is not simply a democratic concept, it is an essential part of reality. It teaches them that a spiritually mature developmental path requires that we learn to transcend a procreation focused humanity and develop into spiritually mature “universal humans” with the skills required to live in community as co-creators with all of Creation.......to become a spiritually mature human species that has the spiritual maturity to live with all of Creation and do no harm to it.

Parenting workshops offered here at Stonyhill focus on becoming creative and spiritually mature parents. The primary focus of our parenting workshops is grounded in attachment and the developmental needs of children, and the various spiritual practices that work to support those important developmental needs. We can only lead others as far into the wilderness as we have been willing to travel ourselves. Stonyhill is dedicated to training parents the skills needed to lead their children confidently into the wilderness of our modern world.