Excerpt



Whats happening to our children? Even after entering the new millennium, people the world over are still asking the same question. We all have someone to blame. It must be too much television, or computers and videos, or the music that children are listening to. These questions and concerns seem to repeat themselves generation after generation.

I remember when my sister was growing up in the 1950s. We heard parents cry out, Rock and roll is poisoning our youth! Twenty years later, hippies and flower children supposedly caused all the problems. There appeared to be some outside force that could profoundly affect our children. As time went on, family needs changed. It often became necessary for both parents to work outside the home. Then society lamented, There is not enough parental guidance at home. Politicians referred to this as the breakdown of the American family unit. Parents wondered if this could be the cause of the problems with todays children, resulting in violence in schools, lack of direction in our children, and excessive drug use, or worse.

Parents everywhere, even prospective ones, are concerned about what problems they may face that could affect their children. What obstacles will our children have to surmount? When did things get so out of hand? Is there somewhere we can go for help? Is there a way to prevent these mysterious outside forces from affecting our children? Where does the breakdown really begin? How can we, as parents, change this? Where are the answers?

Parents generally look outside themselves in an effort to answer these questions. You may be surprised to learn that many of answers lie within.

The two most important questions parents need to ask themselves are:

1. What are we doing right?

2. What might we be doing wrong?

The answers may be challenging to find, but I believe that you are up to the task, or you wouldnt have asked them to begin with. The first place parents have to look is within themselves. Yes, thats right, your own backyard. We, the parents, are the source and possibly the best place to start finding the answers. This statement might shock some people, but wouldnt you rather ask and answer your own questions now, rather than let society decide for you sometime later on?

Guardians of the Gift: Your Guide to Spiritual Parenting offers parents and other caregivers the opportunity to look at parenting from an entirely new perspective. Spiritual parenting is a new concept that can enhance your understanding and communication with your children and help set them on the path they are destined to travel in life. It can provide new opportunities for parents to relate to their children in ways they never dreamed possible.

This book is designed for new parents, those already on the job, and even parents and caregivers with grown children. It provides an opportunity to learn new skills, reinforce and strengthen existing skills, and let go of ineffective methods that are no longer working for you. This concept will help parents sort through difficulties, misconceptions or pretenses that have influenced their parenting skills to date. This book offers the authors personal experience as a guide to help you discover parenting in a whole new light, the light of the spirit within you.

This book provides you with an entirely new dimension to parenting. Practicing these skills as you parent your children can give you the opportunity to grow spiritually while expanding your parenting experience. As you read this book, please keep an open mind and heart. I suggest that you also keep a pen handy, and dont be afraid to highlight pertinent points that you can relate to, or make comments in the margins. Its your book, your work in progress. If possible, I suggest that both parents or primary caregivers participate in responding to the questions outlined in the chapters. This helps everyone get a clearer understanding of what you grew up with, both good and bad, and will serve as a reference in helping you decide what to utilize and how to enhance your new spiritual parenting skills in a more effective way.

Spiritual parenting is a living, enlightened process between parent and child, not entirely connected to religious practice because it is connected to all life and the spirit within everyone and everything. It can, however, be enhanced by religious beliefs if one chooses.

Parenting is a lifelong vocation that can always use improvement. I believe that raising a child is the most important job any person can be called to do. This book provides opportunities to discover new pathways that work best for your children and you. I urge you to take the next step toward the new light and walk on the road divinely chosen for you. Let us take this journey together, as parents willing to trust the guiding light within. I now invite you to become the Guardians of the Gift sent here to serve your children, humanity and our universe.

It is an honor to share this spiritual parenting experience with those who answer the call. My love and best wishes are with you today and always.