The Conscious Parent: Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children

Dr. Shefali offers a new paradigm of parenting in The Conscious Parent. If you are ready to step aside from power struggles and the antiquated days of a hierarchical parent-child relationship, this book is for you. If you are ready to experience your children as special agents on your spiritual journey, this book is your gospel. Becoming a conscious parent is all about the becoming. It is the transformation from our unconscious habits and patterns, inherited by our families of origin and embedded from our cultural norms. Becoming is an act of awareness, an intention, and a conscious choice to mindful living and raising our children. The greatest concept of the book is that through transforming ourselves, we empower our children. As counter-intuitive as it may seem, the real focus of conscious parenting is on the parents, not the children. When parents are able to accept their emotions and live authentically, it is natural for the children to do the same. Conscious parenting is raising ourselves so we are better able to help raise our children. The intention of conscious parenting is to accept full responsibility for ourselves and eliminate the need to control the outcome of our children. It is a conscious choice to replace shame and blame with understanding. Through understanding, we free ourselves and our children to live authentically. Through a combination of personal experiences, client stories, and clinical research, Dr. Shefali shares the human component and natural tendencies of parenting. The book is easy to read and relate to. The Consciousness Compass is a series of questions to guide us along the path of consciousness. This excerpt is a summary of the book and the shift in consciousness. *It is we who teach our children how to be greedy by giving them diamonds instead of sticks and stones *It is we who teach our children how to fear adventure by rewarding their successes and reprimanding their failures *It is we who teach our children how to lie to us by getting angry with them when they tell us the truth *It is we who teach our children how to be mean and violent to others by disregarding their emotions and denying them unconditional acceptance *It is we who teach our children to lose their motivation and zeal by pressuring them to excel and "be something" *It is we who teach our children to dishonor us by pushing them to be who they are not *It is we who teach our children to be bullies by dominating their spirit and silencing their voice *It is we who teach our children to be confused and overwhelmed by giving them all things external, but few tools to look internally *It is we who teach our children to be inattentive and distracted by inundating their lives with busy activities, leaving no space for stillness *It is we who teach our children to live their life looking outward by spending our time and energy on our own looks and acquisitions *It is we who teach our children to disrespect us by not stopping them the first time they are disrespectful and every time after *It is we who teach our children to be defiant by not knowing how to lay down the rules and mean business when we do *It is we who teach our children to know shame by shaming their spirits and judging them constantly *It is we who teach our children to become anxious by denying the celebration of our own present as we constantly focus on tomorrow *It is we who teach our children not to like themselves by constantly categorizing their emotions as those we approve of and those we don't *It is we who teach our children not to trust the world by betraying them every time we don't see who they are in their essence *It is we who teach our children how to love or not love by the extent to which we love or don't love ourselves. We are on this journey together, as parents and in relation to our children. Mindful living and conscious parenting is a means to transform ourselves and empower our children. This book is a great parenting tool to raise our awareness above that which keeps us from loving unconditionally and living whole-heartedly.

I purchased this book as a gift for my sister who is a new mom. I knew she would gain some great insight on how to parent obviously by the title of the book more consciously :-) help her understand her little ones and approach parenting a bit differently then our parents and our culture has. once I received the book I read small pieces of the book here and there trying not to crease the pages or the cover. so lets say I read it gently. :-) as I read the pages I could not put the book down and almost did not give her the gift as promised! I resorted to wrapping her book up and purchasing the book again, this time however, for myself! and although my children are not small toddlers, it still has helped me gain a better perspective and when my children act out a certain way, instead of acting quickly, I take a moment to think of what would be the best solution/action/response. instead of reacting I have learned to respond. It has made us all (my children and I) approach it all in a way that works amazingly for us all. I recommend this book for anyone who is trying to start a family, a family of small children and even teenagers. This book will change the way you look at your life, your family and environment. hands down one of the best parenting books I have ever read!

Great read for those who have been through trauma and are parenting. This helped me a lot and broke down a lot of aspects to how our minds work.

Great book to get you thinking. I am not a parent but wanted to learn how to better relate to my nieces and godkids. It helps to change one's perspective and, for me, it showed how I am responsible for the way that I react and act and to always try to interact with kids from a place of calm/neutrality. I have known for a long time that what kids need most of all is love and acceptance... to feel like they are truly seen and this book shows what that looks like. It is kind of wordy and I think that it may be off-putting to someone who isn't already on a more "spiritual" path. The terminology is of the sort that one might see in "those" sorts of books (which I love by the way). I think it could have been more cohesive and just tighter overall. More concrete clear steps would have been appreciated but overall really enjoyed this book and I wish all parents would read it. My parents were really strict and hierarchical. Lots of times I felt stifled like I couldn't just be... like who I was naturally was just not good enough. I think they did their best and did what they knew but I wonder how it would have been if they had this information back then. Maybe I would have been more authentic, more expressive... who knows. Anyway, overall a really great book. Worth the read and time :-)

Saw this Author on talk show. I'm always interested in ways I can improve so, I decided to give this a read.

this book is very insightful and offers a unique view on what parenting should be for both parent and child. the author gives examples, techniques, and explanation on many situations that come up for parents in their daily life. this book has opened me to recognize a lot about myself as a parent and as an individual from childhood to the present moment. this is not a manual or guide but one big question...”how can you be of service to your child without ego and without including your lacking mentality?” i am forever changed by this book and will go on to explore more of her ideas from this book to become my best self.

I snagged this gem at my local library and found it extremely difficult not to go and highlight all the things. That to me is a sure-fire way of knowing you’ve got a good book... at least the self helping kinds of books any way. Also renewing the book twice so you can really digest it. That’s a good sign for you to go ahead and take the plunge and buy the damn book. I’m so glad I finally have a copy of my own to highlight and sticky note. I’m a new parent and really don’t know what I’m doing. I can’t say this book has all the answers. This book does, however, help you dig deep and tap into the root cause of why and how you are you. In knowing all of this you can become a better parent. Letting go of past conditioning is a big chunk of the emphasis here in this book but is certainly not limited to it. Truly being conscious of your ego and making adjustments accordingly is not just an integral part of parenthood but systemic to life, being human, and seeing more clearly who you are.

Dr. Shefali has brought the most significant golden keys to raising children with softer choices. I found every one of them to be the absolute in every perfection that my wise mother of seventeen children nurtured us. Which is actually the child teaching the parent how to live in love, that is the reverse ways of teaching and learning from the world today. The Conscious Parent nurtures the whole family. In the words of Pope John II: "Motherhood shows a creativity on which the humanity of each human being depends; it also invites man to learn and to express his own fatherhood. Thus, women contribute to society and to the church their ability to nurture human beings." Dr. Shefali pretty much teaches how we can make softer choices to raise happy, healthy, successful, loving children and parents. I highly recommend this is the only parent book you'll need to follow. Thank you so much, Dr. Shefali for making all the difference to our world. You are a blessed genius! Catherine Nagle Imprinted Wisdom

This is the first parenting book I’ve read, which truly describes the journey of parenthood. I’ve read many books - but they often focus on the behaviour of children and how to manage that, OR how to BE a ‘good’ parent. But for me this books goes way beyond that, and gets to a much deeper level. It illuminates what I’ve experienced , and allows me to feel less alone. It also expands my understanding and search for meaning into the spiritual journey that happens when your life changes and you become a parent/guardian of a young person. I have now begun reading The Awakened Family and already I’m excited and uplifted by what I’m reading. These books offer the stripped back essence of parenting, the fundamental values of what it means to be in service to our children, and also the immensity of that responsibility. If you know in your heart that your children are your equal, that they are here to teach you something profound, and that your hearts desire is to do the best thing for them Spiritually, then this is your book.

Shefali te abre los ojos siempre que estés dispuesto a tener autocritica y cambiar tu mismo para tener una mejor relación con tus hijos

Surprisingly good.

This great book changed my entire perspective on parenting . Few chapters in I was to already transformed. I would recommend it to anyone who’s experiencing trouble parenting it’s a good book.

A must read for anyone who's ever had a parent. So many truths and ways to start implementing conscious parental practices.