firm are as much a part of good parenting as are accepting and
embracing our children.
The heart of conscious parenting is the ability to be present in any
situation that arises. Are you able to respond from a place of awareness
rather than attachment? Do you discipline from a place of authenticity or
from your ego?
To parent consciously means you respond to your children’s needs, not
cater to them. You don’t indulge your children when they behave in a
spoiled, undignified manner. Your task is to help them find within
themselves the emotional strength to become self-sustaining and
resilient. A large part of gaining such strength involves managing their
emotions when they are being disciplined.THE SPIRITUAL APPROACH TO DISCIPLINE
Conflict is a hot button for most of us because we carry an unhealthy
imprint when it comes to dealing with someone who behaves contrary to
our expectations. While some of us respond by becoming overinvolved
and over-controlling, others feel overwhelmed and withdraw. In
particular, disciplining our children has the power to unleash within us
either the control monster or its opposite, the emotional avoider. Which
of these reactions conflict evokes in us depends on the combination of
our upbringing and our temperament. How aware are we of our
projections and our ego issues when we raise our children? For instance,
are our children truly acting in a defiant way, or are we being too rigid?
To discover the answer, it’s helpful to ask ourselves, “What emotions are
being roused within me right now? How am I being triggered? What from