The Conscious Parent

persona of grandiosity, as Jonathan did, in an effort to overcompensate
for not feeling good enough. As a result of this grandiosity, we project an
energy that treats others as less than ourselves. We walk with an
overbearing sense of entitlement or put on an air of being better than
others, when the truth is we suffer from a lack of self-worth.
Jonathan carries this energy into his parenting role, pressuring his
children to excel at their academics, urging them to pursue those
activities he determines worthwhile and judging their performance.
Since he’s only comfortable in the role of a “powerful” parent, his
children fear him. As a result, his oldest son has turned away from him.
Never home, Joshua is failing classes and wants to drop out of school.
Giving up on himself is easier than living in constant fear of
disappointing his father.
Many of us exude an energy that screams, “Life better satisfy my
needs!” Driven by this energy, we seek to extract pleasure from life in
the exact package we think we require. Because we are steeped in this
demanding energy, anything that doesn’t meet our expectations feels
worthless. Even when something precious is offered us, we find no value
in it. Highly judgmental, we resist not only life in its as is form, but also
our children in their as is form. Of course, our resistance gets us nowhere
because life remains true to its essential nature, flowing in its own way.
If we are wise, we recognize this and start flowing with it rather than
fighting it.
The lack of self-worth that hides behind a facade of grandiosity is
sometimes the result of insufficient acceptance from our parents, so that
we are left hungry for more. In other cases, it may be the result of being