Parenting as a Spiritual Practice :: 8-week virtual course
Experience the full potential of parenthood: a transformative vessel for evolving yourself, your child, and the future.
A community learning experience facilitated by Miriam Mason Martineau
~ Now available as a self-directed version: Enrollment is open! ~
Parenting can be a most powerful vehicle for spiritual growth, compassion-in-action, and evolutionary activism.
Yet… people on a personal development path often feel their practice must be put on hold when they take on the full-time job of parenting. How can changing diapers become your new meditation, or playing with legos your most advanced yoga?
And… many parents are awestruck by the responsibility of raising a child. They are overwhelmed by vastly different schools of parenting wisdom, struggling to forge a path that honors themselves and nurtures their children. How can we hold the truths of such varied perspectives to raise our children with the most consciousness, love, and creativity we can muster? How can we raise the bar for ourselves as parents while forgiving our very human limitations?
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In the hardest moments of being a new parent, and in the gentle arc of expansion, I found again and again, gems of wisdom that would surface in the perfect moment. This course was priceless!
— Adrian W. (father of two)
Miriam Mason Martineau has spent over 20 years asking such questions: as a researcher, integral practitioner, and mother. She has found the practice of parenting undergoes a radical shift when placed in a new context: an integral, evolutionary perspective. Parent, child, and the relationship between them are all invited to stretch the limits of their human potential — all while honoring the ever-present, already-whole perfection of the spiritual realm.
Join us for this transformative, 8-week online course! Together we will explore this new frontier in the parenting adventure. From meta-perspectives to daily practices, you’ll discover just how powerful this integral-evolutionary context can be in creating the fullest, richest, most loving parenting practice. Raise the bar for how you show up as a parent, and provide your child with the very best foundation for being a loving, creative, conscious being — while discovering an unshakeable ease amidst the inevitable ups, downs, and doubts of parenting.
Experience the full range of yourself and your child in the vessel of parenthood: immanent and transcendent, becoming and simply being, fundamentally connected and undeniably individual.
This Virtual Course Includes:
> Eight weekly teaching sessions + practice recordings,
> Handouts with guiding questions, practices, journalling reflections, and resources,
> An exclusive Facebook group to connect with others and deepen the exploration together,
> Bonus calls: Three interviews with renowned parenting experts to supplement the course content and deepen your exploration— Dr. Daniel Siegel (psychiatrist, and synthesizer of neuroscience and mindfulness), Michael Gurian (author of over 25 books on parenting, education, and gender studies), and Dr. Gordon Neufeld (developmental psychologist, international speaker on child development, and bestselling author).
> 60-page article by Miriam Mason Martineau on parenting your whole child, considering the individual and collective aspects of the parent-child journey, as well as the interior and exterior modes of experience and reality.
> Reduced rate for one-on-one private counselling/coaching sessions with Miriam, should you choose to add this supportive element to your journey during your course time.
> The course cost is: US$ 275.00 self-directed / US$ 325.00 live version (next live cohort - dates TBA)
> For the live version of this course: if you miss any of the sessions, you can access on our online course members’ page all the course session materials (recordings to listen to by playback or by download to your audio player, as well as all accompanying handouts and materials).The beauty of this format is that you can work with this course at the time that is most convenient for you and your family! For details on course dates, times and cost, please scroll down to FAQ.
Week 1. GETTING STARTED !
- Upon registering, you’ll receive a warm welcome to the course, and an email with access to the course members’ page, all the details about participating in this course as well as an invitation to the private Facebook group where you can introduce yourself and start sharing your journey with others.
- The first course week is an introduction to the transformative potential in approaching parenting as a spiritual practice.
- Included is also your first practice session, to give you an experiential taste of this approach and how one small shift can make a huge difference.
- As with all the following weeks, you’ll also receive a handout, as well as prompts for journalling reflections.
Week 2. STRETCHING THE CANVAS – AN INTEGRAL EVOLUTIONARY CONTEXT
- Discover what we mean by an integral evolutionary context, and how placing parenthood in such a context changes everything.
- Learn how parenting approaches have evolved over time, and why this moment marks a historic juncture in the challenges and opportunities present in raising our children.
- Answer the invitation to bring more consciousness to your parenting — while replacing self-doubt and stress with loving compassion for yourself and our expanding abilities.
Week 3. THE “WE”: WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER!
- Nurture the space between you and your child: the relationship is the sacred vessel at the heart of your parenting.
- Discover why dancing with seeming paradoxes is essential to the art of parenting.
- Learn specific, integrally informed practices around discipline.
Week 4. THE “YOU”: DISCOVERING AND MEETING YOUR CHILD AS FULLY AS POSSIBLE
Your child is a whole person, both “human being” and “human becoming”. Learn how to engage in the ongoing inquiry of balancing these two truths.
- What are the deeper dimensions present in your child, which are often overlooked? Learn to hold space for them within a developmental context.
- Learn how understanding your child’s temperament, strengths, growing edges, and learning style will prevent all kinds of unnecessary frustration and friction.
- Discover the invaluable skill of taking multiple perspectives — and how this will make a world of difference in every interaction with your child.
Week 5. Navigating the “IT”: INTERFACE WITH THE WORLD ~ My Roles as a Parent
- Learn the 3 key roles you occupy the interface between the world and your child — and why knowing them is so important.
- How can you navigate this interface between your family and the world at large (friends, extended family, and other kids), with grace and clarity?
- How has a parent’s role at this interface changed over the last century?
- Examine your choices around aligning with existing structures, systems, and cultures: from aligning with them, distinguishing from them, and exploring the potential of co-creating new ones.
Week 6. THE “I”: MY GIFT AND WORK AS A PARENT
- What role does your own growth and awakening as a human being play in facilitating your child’s unfolding potential?
- ‘Know Thyself’: Discover how self-awareness and self-knowledge are critical in optimizing your child’s wellbeing and development.
- Meet yourself fully, so that you can fully meet your child. Growing and waking up for the sake of your child.
Week 7. DANCING THE EVOLUTIONARY EDGE: CREATIVE, JOYOUS DISCOVERY
- How can you create a parenting style that honors the future, includes gems from the past, and creates moment to moment in the present?
- Learn the art of creating culture and meaning with your child.
- Identify the agreements & understandings necessary for your journey together.
- Exploring the skills and qualities our children need to navigate and contribute to our shared future.
Week 8. BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
- Weave the many threads you’ve explored in this course into one dynamic, real-life tapestry.
- Enjoy and engage commitment, accountability, and mutual support.
- Identify your next steps… and take them!
BONUS CALLS Three 1-Hour Interviews With Renowned Parenting Experts
Supplement the course content and deepen your exploration:
BONUS CALL #1
With Dr. Daniel Siegel from the Mindsight Institute on The Neurological Underpinnings of Attentive Parenting: Helping Our Children Grow Up Whole
Daniel Siegel, MD, is a Harvard-trained physician and codirector of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. He is clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, where he is also on the faculty of the Center for Culture, Brain, and Development. An award-winning educator, Siegel is executive director of the Mindsight Institute. He coined the term “mindsight” to describe our capacity for insight and empathy. The Mindsight Institute promotes insight, compassion, and empathy in individuals, families, and institutions by examining the interface of human relationships and basic biological processes.
Dr. Siegel is the author of numerous books, including Mindsight and Parenting From the Inside Out: How a Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive. His latest parenting book, The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind, with Tina Bryson, PhD., explores the application of the mindsight approach to parenting. Dr. Siegel’s ability to make complicated concepts exciting as well as easy to understand has led him to be invited to address local, national, and international groups of educators, parents, public administrators, health care providers, policy-makers, clergy, and neuroscientists.
For more information on Dr. Siegel’s work, please visit www.drdansiegel.com
BONUS CALL #2
With Michael Gurian from the Gurian Institute on Nurturing Our Children’s Core Nature: Tuning into and supporting your unique child
Michael Gurian is the New York Times best-selling author of The Wonder of Boys, The Wonder of Girls, The Good Son, Boys and Girls Learn Differently! and Nurture the Nature, and more than twenty-five books in twenty-one languages. A social philosopher, family counselor, and corporate consultant, he is cofounder of the Gurian Institute, which conducts field research, launches pilot programs, and trains professionals and parents. Michael is a pioneer in the fields of family development, education, and gender studies.
Michael provides keynotes and consulting throughout the world, and his work has been featured in professional journals and major media, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, Time, Educational Leadership, Newsweek, the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, PBS, and National Public Radio. He has been called “the people’s philosopher” for his ability to bring together scientific principles and people’s every day lives. He has pioneered efforts to bring neuro-biology and brain research into homes, schools, corporations, and public policy. A number of his books have sparked national debate.
For more information on Michael Gurian’s work, please visit www.michaelgurian.com
BONUS CALL #3
With Dr. Gordon Neufeld from the Neufeld Institute on Attachment Theory and Practice in a Developmental Context
Dr. Gordon Neufeld is a Vancouver-based developmental psychologist with 40 years of experience with children and youth and those responsible for them. A foremost authority on child development, Dr. Neufeld is an international speaker, a bestselling author (Hold On To Your Kids) and a leading interpreter of the developmental paradigm.
Dr. Neufeld has a widespread reputation for making sense of complex problems and for opening doors for change. While formerly involved in university teaching and private practice, he now devotes his time to teaching and training others, including educators and helping professionals. He appears regularly on radio and television. He is a father of five and a grandfather of three.
For more information on Dr. Neufeld’s work, please visit www.gordonneufeld.com
Generally About This Course:
- This course includes experiential, explorative, practical, and theoretical components.
- It’s at least as much about you, the parent, as it is about your child: You and I and all of us growing up (and waking up) in order to help our children grow up. As such, the shifts in perspectives, the personal work, and learning we offer are mostly directed towards you, the parents.
- This course is practical, concrete, and useful. In all of life — but especially in the realm of parenting — it all comes down to action and practice. How you think and what you intend is a first, very important step… What really makes the difference for your child, though, is who you are, how you show up, and what you do.
- We will outline the underlying principles and overarching perspectives at work in an integral approach to parenting, and provide concrete examples of how these play out in day-to-day, real-life parenting situations.
Who is this course for?
Our primary focus is on on laying a solid foundation between parent and child. Because of our emphasis on the inner work of the parent, and the underlying principles and practices of integral parenting, this course is applicable to any stage of your journey as a parent: whether your child is newly-born, six years old, twelve, or seventeen.
Pregnant parents and those considering becoming parents are very welcome too! We also welcome anyone curious about how we can parent so that our kids don’t have to “get over their childhood”. And of course, aunties, uncles, grandparents, and caregivers, who make up “the village” that raises our children, are a wonderful addition, providing much-needed support.
Course Facilitator
Miriam Mason Martineau is a mother, counselor, writer, and researcher. She has spent the last 25 years studying and applying Integral-Evolutionary theory, educational frameworks, and spiritual practice. Miriam holds an M.A. in Psychology from the University of Zurich, with specialization in Youth and Child Psychology, and has been working in private practice as an integral therapeutic counselor since 1995. She is presently writing a book on Integral Parenting called “Raising the Future” and is passionately interested in parenting as a spiritual path — both in theory and in practice. What a humbling and delightful adventure it is! She is vice-president of Next Step Integral, an international organization that brings an integral perspective to ecology, education, parenting and community. She lives near Nelson, BC, Canada, with her husband, Stephan and their daughter, Adonia.
"My heart is moved at its core by the mystery of what it means to be a human being fully alive on this earth – I stand in awe at the potential, the fragility, vulnerability, strength, and resilience present in the human being, and the responsibility we carry to accompany the little ones into this world at this time. I look forward to journeying with you here, sharing what we have discovered, learned and practiced thus far, and explore with you where we can take this, and how we can put the idea of “Parenting as a Spiritual practice” into actual Practice, for the benefit of our children and our shared future!"
Miriam Mason Martineau on the Future of Parenting (TED-like talk at What Next Conference):
Past Course Participants share:
Miriam and Stephan shine a brilliant light of discernment on the multifaceted adventure of parenting. This course is divinely inspired.
—Mark B. (father of four)
I am so thankful for you and your approach! The best gift I received from the course was the permission to shape the kind of relationship that I want with my child…not the one that was modeled for me or that I see other parents practicing. By taking time to consciously look at myself, my partner and our children I immediately felt more connected and at peace with my parenting. Thank you for this wonderful course! I am eternally grateful!
–Amy
Thank you again for putting together the course. What an amazing gift. I have loved every second. This is the best explanation of the Integral context that I have ever experienced. I feel like your material could be translated for use in Leadership Development, etc. It made Integral so much more accessible than many other resources that I have accessed over the years.
–Michelle B. (mother of two)
My husband and I treasure our experience with the course we attended, it will forever affect the way we parent.
—Shannon D. (mother of two)
Firstly I wanted to say that I loved each and every second, it has helped us already in so many ways and made such a contribution to our lives. I love that you give so many answers to the HOWS of bringing up a child in this way. That is a question I get asked a lot by family etc. and now I feel so prepared and in such a position of strength to bring up our son in the way that he deserves! And so much help there for evolving ourselves, which in turn has a direct effect on our children.
—Sharon G.
I would recommend this class to everyone! It would change our world if everyone could embody this information and practice. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for doing this work and offering such a powerful learning experience for people!
–Navarre Miya, mother to Scarlett, age 2, Oakland, CA
I am grateful beyond words for this course. It is exactly what I was calling into my life. I am amazed at the articulate clarity in which Miriam conveyed concrete examples and defined pathways. What has really sunk in for me is the beauty that along with my children, I am a being and a becoming. Learning to nurture myself right along with them is really a gift. The resources and clearly defined tools are accessible and I find myself eager to stay within this deep well of learning. I feel a growing ease and gentleness with myself. Which in turn energizes my relationship with my children as well as with my spouse. Miriam, your encouragement to embrace this journey of parenting, your shared tools for learning to tap into each precious moment, and your guidance to see further into the deeper truth and beauty of my children has been a heart-felt fulfillment of my soul’s desire. I found the interviews enlightening and informative. Miriam, you are an incredible interviewer. I also want to add that your voice exudes with energy and passion, making the course completely delightful and melodic to listen to.
–Tonia (mother of two)
Reflections on Miriam’s Work:
Miriam Mason Martineau redefines and uplifts the task of parenting to be one of our greatest opportunities for personal growth and spiritual activism. An inspired evolutionary visionary, Miriam is a living example of what she teaches, and she has created a path of practice that enables us to grow alongside our children, catapulting our own developing while causing our children to thrive. While most of us are focused on transforming the present, Miriam’s calling is to transform the future, one child at a time. She does it with such deep goodness and heart, that one cannot help but become a better parent in her presence.
—Katherine Woodward Thomas, author of Calling in “The One” and co-founder of the Feminine Power Global Community
A hundred years ago Sigmund Freud called the adventure of parenting an “impossible profession”. Seen from an integral evolutionary perspective, our children and our parenting are both more exciting, more important, and lighter and more free. Miriam’s daughter Adonia is remarkably happy and poised, able to play and be silly in one moment, and to be present and related to adults in a remarkably mature way in the next. Having studied the map with tremendous dedication even while she has given herself unreservedly to swimming and flowing through the actual territory of parenting, Miriam has rich embodied wisdom to share with anyone interested in better understanding how to enjoy the impossible roller coaster ride of doing your best to raise healthy, happy, balanced, high-performance kids who can become your lifelong friends.
—Terry Patten, author, Integral Life Practice, Integral Evolutionary Practice, The Integral Revolution
I recommend this course without reservation. I’ve had a chance to watch Miriam and Stephan raise their beautiful daughter, who is a vivid display of the intelligence, the purity and the natural joy that shine in our children, when we learn how to parent them. My deepest sense about witnessing this is that if more parents could learn to be with their children in this way, we would have a very different world, one in which children would be deeply and joyfully engaged with their lives – curious, alert, and present. It’s so easy to think that parenting will all come to us naturally. I don’t think this is true. It was not true for me, and it is clearly not true for many of the families that I work with. Don’t wait until your children are in their teens and you feel desperate. Start early and take your time! I rejoice that this kind of support and wisdom is now being made available.
—Shayla Wright, mentor and master coach, writer, founder of Barefoot Journeys
I spent a weekend with Miriam and Stephan in their home, watching them parent and I have never seen anything like it. So beautiful, integrated, healthy, whole. Their daughter is curious, intelligent, socially integrated, and heart happy. It was a joy to be in their presence. If all children were parented in this way, we’d have a very different world. Check out this program, consider joining or pass it along to a friend.
—Venita Ramirez, partner and faculty at Pacific Integral, coach and psychotherapist
Miriam has done a terrific job in creating a genuinely viable version of Integral Parenting – one of the themes I am most often asked about. Those of you who would like to apply the principles of the Integral approach to parenting itself can now do so! Simply sign up and begin your very own Integral Parenting approach. Not only your child, but you, will benefit enormously, I’m sure. Very best wishes, Ken Wilber.
—Ken Wilber, integral philosopher, author, founder of Integral Life and the Integral Institute
FAQ
NOTE: Until new dates are set, this course is only available as a self-directed course, which means you have access to all course materials, but without the two live calls mentioned below.
In the words of course graduates…
As a single working mother of a delightful nine-year girl, I have sometimes found parenting to be a struggle. Feeling pulled in different directions with my work, and the needs of my child has been really challenging for me. The Parenting as a Spiritual Practice online course has been a beacon of light – I can now see a pathway ahead full of hope and possibility, and with the robust information, tools and resources in this program as the guide ropes along the way, I feel much more confident that I can navigate the terrain. I had real concerns about how I would manage the teenage years to come and now I know in my heart, my daughter and I are building a better foundation upon which to listen to and understand one another. I also have a much broader context in which to hold myself, my daughter, and the world, as it relates to us.
Listening to Miriam’s warm, humble and highly professional sessions has been so enjoyable. She can present sometimes complex ideas with a simple clarity and immediate practical applications. Already my daughter and I are experiencing a deeper sense of connection, warmth, understanding and considerably less conflict, angst and power games.
Miriam’s excellent skills at listening, gaining understanding and paraphrasing back definitely enabled me to integrate the learnings quickly. This was blatantly apparent in the Q & A calls, and the interviews with Dan Siegel, Michael Gurian and Gordon Neufeld. I also really loved all the specific examples she gave of her family’s experiences, which illustrated the information beautifully. I am so deeply inspired by this course and can wholeheartedly commit to using parenting as a spiritual practice. By committing to my own ongoing practices of self care, continuing to build my self awareness and wherever possible, offering non-reactive interactions, I will support my daughter’s development into a kind, compassionate and secure adult.
–Danielle Conroy, Management Consultant
Hi Miriam, I wanted to thank you for this incredible course. I have been deeply moved and impacted by this work. It has already drastically changed the way that I meet and hold children, parents and my self. It has also profoundly informed my unique emergent offering to the world.
I am so incredibly grateful and feel so blessed to have had this opportunity to learn from/with you!! You are an inspiration for what I hope to be for, and offer to, children and families.
A member of my cohort with Pacific Integral recently saw you speak in Denver and described it as 300 people being enveloped in the sacred feminine. He painted such a beautiful picture of the experience which so resonates with my experience of your holding in this class. Thank you for offering your self and your wisdom so authentically! I am so grateful to have been a part of this experience!
I very much hope we meet in person one day! Until then… All Love, Light and Grace to you and yours!
–Katie Bedor
Just a note to let you know how much I am enjoying the course! Thank you so much for sharing your experience, wisdom and guidance. I was listening to your recording as I went for a walk on Christmas day and was struck by how perfect a gift this course was for me and my family. This is one of the finest courses I have ever taken in terms of quality and value for the investment. I wholeheartedly recommend this course to all my family and friends!
I am excited to go back through each section to spend more time with the practices and journalling. I feel that this course has given me enough material to last several more months! Maybe a year…and likely, many years to come Love and all the best to you and your family!
–Sonja Podstawskyj
Thank you *so* much for this course and for enabling me to pursue this work at this particular time in my new relationship to motherhood. This course invited me to land in a safe space to explore my relationship to parenting the way I’ve explored my relationship to life. Yet, as a new mama, I am often exhausted and overwhelmed, feeling segregated from the people, places, and inspiration that once encouraged me to rest in myself. The course content, community and inner-work provided me a reconnection to the ‘me’ that was desperate for spiritual practice, and didn’t know how to integrate it into such a dramatically new lifestyle. I am especially grateful for two convenient technologies in this e-course: the mp3 file teachings that allowed me to learn in my car and the facebook group that offered a dynamic and collaborative interaction among like-minded parent classmates. Truly, this work has forever sculpted my relationship to myself and my daughter as I learn how to parent… as a parent!
–Jess Anderson
Parenting as a Spiritual Practice was truly an inspiration in my life as a parent as well as in my spiritual practice. The evolutionary developmental approach offered so much in terms of understanding who my child is (and who I am), and where she is at in her journey towards growing up and waking up. This facilitated so much expansiveness in our relationship! The class was presented perfectly so that newcomers to Integral and experienced practitioners alike could really sink their teeth into the content. I found the mixture of theory and practice were beautifully balanced so that I could really get a feel for the ideas through experience. I also feel that I could take the course again and again, and get more and more from it.
–Navarre Miya, mother to Scarlett, age 2, Oakland, CA
I felt as a parent that some ‘professional development’ would be a good investment for our whole family, and I am so happy I made the investment of time and money into this course. I have a different perspective about most everything now, I feel the course has helped me not only become a more loving parent and partner but a more compassionate person in general. Miriam is an inspiring, gentle, loving and thoughtful instructor who was a joy to connect with. I have more tools when parenting through difficult situations with my children, relating to them, my partner and others; all of these tools being based on love and compassion. I would recommend this course to anyone whose interest is peaked by the content.
–Laura Parr (mother of one, with another almost here!), Canada
I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation for the time and life energy you have invested in creating and offering this course to the world. The course skillfully placed parenting within an integral evolutionary framework, providing opportunities to engage experientially through the spiritual practices you provided. I was also able to learn from others in the community spaces that were established and enjoyed reflecting more on how an integral framework can expand and inform the roles, responsibilities and opportunities of parenting. Finally, I am grateful for your embodied example as a teacher and parent.
–Scott A., (father of two children, 8 and 6)
This method of parenting has brought me closer to my children, my authentic self, and God.
—Julie M. (mother of three)
I have already recommended this course to a number of other parents and will let them know, when the next round is on. In the meantime I will work myself through all the material that I have not yet been able to go through and I am very much looking forward to this. It is a wealth of material that must have cost years to put together. Thanks Miriam for sharing this so generously.
—Bettina Geiken
This course was an important step on my journey into conscious and creative parenthood. Connecting with other parents through the course offerings was insightful, fun and engaging.
—Marlo R. (mother of two)
The course was the foundation for our family’s journey into deeper mindfulness and conscious contribution to the evolution of the next generation.
—Rachelle M. (mother of two)
I think online courses are amazing in what they make possible. This course was really good – really clear and I got what I wanted from it – which was an understanding of integral theory and your framework of how to identify parenting as a spiritual practice. I loved your presentation and have printed out the material and like having it to reference. I really enjoyed the interviews you did. Thank you for all your work getting it together! Joanna W (two grown-up children)
I loved the course and found it just raised the bar. It helped reset my intentions around parenting. It reaffirmed choices I have and continue to make and just helped keep me on track. I enjoyed the online format because there was a lot of freedom around scheduling. I highly recommend the course to any parents or parents to be. I found it very informative and thoughtful.
Lindsay L. (mother of one)
Thank you again for helping A. be a part of your parenting course. She has really been blown away by your work. We’ve had a number of conversations about just how powerful and transformative it continues to be for her. She recently sent out a letter to her network of doulas, midwives, Reiki practitioners and masseuses telling everyone to check out your work.
Devin M.
I am so grateful for your help, Miriam, in supporting a shift in my awareness and presence with all of my family. The balance of I, We and You is a dance, that can be seen with love and not tainted with the anger that would arise when my agenda was not being met. By knowing and meeting everyone in the family more fully, we don’t set agendas that are doomed to fail. There is so much more peace and love in our home. Thank you for sharing your perspective on inquiry, I am a more curious parent now, and look forward to more learning about your evolutionary angle as I continue to delve in to the materials. Keep up with what you are sharing, it is a true gift! Wow – I have fallen in love with my family in a deeper way, words cannot (?) describe…. It is amazingly lighter for me theses days.
Gratefully, Nicole C. (mother of 2)
With all of the demands of life and parenthood, it honestly felt like quite a stretch to take on ‘yet another thing’ and register for Parenting as a Spiritual practice this past summer. Which I could see was all the more reason to say yes and dive in. In just the first week I noticed a shift in myself and how I related to parenting and after the second, my relationship to my young son was dramatically more intimate and connected. There’s so much depth to this program, the course material will no doubt serve as a companion for years to come. What felt so rich about moving through the weeks is that nothing felt like it was left out. “I” wasn’t left out, “we” weren’t left out and “he” wasn’t left out. I feel more relaxed as a parent, more committed as a parent and way more awake as a human being. Thank You, Miriam, for this amazing gift.
–Chela Davison
This course came along at just the right time for me and has been an enormous help in my day-to-day parenting struggles. The extremely valuable information and insights were expertly balanced with very practical ways to help me experience what a more connected and mindful relationship with my daughters could be like. The weekly conference calls were also a very special way to connect with like-minded parents and to feel their support as I travel what can sometimes feel like a lonely road.
–Anne Pender, Ireland
Dear Miriam (and Stephan), I have been meaning to write to you and let you know how tremendously valuable I have found this parenting course to be. The audio presentations, both by Miriam and the guest speakers were so engaging and rich with insight and wisdom. I feel the course allowed me to organize my own perspective on parenting in a much clearer and more coherent way, so that my higher understanding and intention is able to inform more of my daily actions. The result has been nothing short of miraculous; I feel like I’ve grown up so much myself and I am better able to attend to the needs of my family (including myself!) by responding in each moment instead of feeling trapped and controlled.
The talks really crystallized an insight that has been forming for several years – I have come to clearly see and feel free to exercise my own choice in each precious moment. I’m able to assess my parenting (and other life situations) free from the guilt and anxiety that have plagued me in the past. My husband feels like I’ve let go of the fear that each parenting indiscretion means something cataclysmic about who I am or what my child will be and that instead I can simply see it for what it is, a mistake or an unexplored pattern, and decide that I’d rather not respond that way anymore. I feel free of that vicious cycle of self-doubt and ridicule and empowered to become the mother my son really needs. My relationship with my six year old child is so dramatically improved following this course – he remains an intense young man, but he moves through challenges so much more quickly now, and he seems so at ease and playful during most of the day. He is beginning to exercise his own choice in each moment and to recognize that he is fully in control of his own reactions. I feel like my own improved capacity to stay centered in challenging circumstances has been a comforting embrace that he has been desperately seeking. I am able to hold firm boundaries, while still conveying my deep abiding love for him regardless of his behavior in a way that I never thought possible. I delight in seeing him awaken and grow strong in his healthy attachment to me and am encouraged to see the sparkling light that I remember from his toddlerhood returning to his beautiful face. I feel like we are moving together on this journey instead of fighting each other, and that his esteem for me and his own inner confidence are blossoming beyond my wildest dreams. Thank you so much for putting together such a wonderful resource for those of us walking this path.
Thank you again for all you’ve done here. It was such an enriching experience for my husband and I. It sure makes the path seem a lot smoother. Deepest gratitude.
–Keri S.