Conscious Parenting Evolves! – Part One
Unconsciousness, lack of awareness, agendas, behavioral triggers, our own stubborn inner child—do we really carry all of this preexisting baggage into our parenting? What do these terms even mean, and how do they sneak up and affect us, our children, and our relationship?
These were some of the questions that 350 parents sought to answer last weekend with Dr. Shefali Tsabary in New York at Evolve 2016—her annual three-day conscious parenting summit!
On the first day, Dr. Shefali invited us to her “Revolution in Parenting.” She beckoned us to step up to the challenge of addressing our own issues so that we don’t unload them on our children. During this three-hour session, her message clearly aligned with Rumi’s quote, “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” Firmly, but poetically, she asked the audience to “turn the spotlight within” as the first step to consciously parenting our children. You could hear a pin drop as she used drama therapy to help us visualize the inner workings of our parent world, opening our hearts and minds and planting the seeds of the teachings that would follow.
Day 2 was a full day of conscious parenting principals delivered seamlessly in Dr. Shefali’s signature style. Each was coupled with examples and parent testimonials that reassured parents that they are not alone in the issues they have with their children and that even moments of chaos can consciously be turned into secure threads of connection.
Aric Bostick, one of my all-time favorite motivational speakers, fired up the audience with his humorous yet deeply touching segment on “How to Be an Awesome Parent.” His honesty, integrity, and commitment to co-parenthood shone through every word he shared.
The education panel on this day was über-informative! Teachers shared their perspective with a focus on the issues they face that create a disconnect with parents. The open conversation between teachers and parents really helped bridge this all-too-common gap. One parent said to me, “This really encourages me to understand what issues the teachers are facing and how important it is for me to stay connected with them.”
With all this introspection and examination of our past issues, we needed the meditation and mind-body-spirit balance that renowned yoga expert Elena Bower, brought to the room. She walked us through some relaxing yoga poses, which I was able to do in my business suit. When the day ended, the crowd stayed for more than an hour, reflecting, tearing up, hugging, and sharing their aha moments.
Day 3 began with my talk with Dr. Shefali and an “up close and personal” round of questions. I’ve never had so much fun on stage! I probed her journey on the path of conscious parenting, her trials, her tribulations, her family story, and her own conscious parenting challenges. I mixed in some fun questions about her gorgeous necklaces and her favorite herbal tea. Dr. Shefali was gracious enough to play along—though she passed on answering what parenting advice she’d give Donald Trump. There was a lot of laughter before we got into the conversation about why boundaries are more effective than traditional hierarchal discipline, and the audience seemed to enjoy this conversation as much as I did.
A Q&A session filled the rest of the morning, and as parents shared their experiences, we realized that we all have similar issues with our children. Dr. Shefali led us through conscious parenting teachings that helped the audience take home information and tools to resolve conflict and create connections not only with children but also with spouses. Individual and team exercises helped clarify how to understand our inner child and prevent the unmet needs of our childhood from getting in the way of our parenting.
Later Dr. Edward Hallowell, best-selling author and world-renowned ADHD expert, shared some practical solutions to personal challenges. Weaving in the story of his own struggles, he offered groundbreaking advice on how to survive in an ultra-competitive, ultra-fast, attention-deficit society. He shared how-to’s on raising children consciously while preserving and growing their self-esteem, self-confidence, self-respect, and self-love. An engaging and informative speaker, he proved once again why he has been a frequent guest on Oprah, the Dr. Oz Show, NPR, CNN, CNBC, and 60 Minutes, to name a just few.
The day ended with the entire audience yearning for more yet ready to return home and practice what they had learned about being present, conscious, and in the moment with their children. I was reminded of Jack Johnston’s words from his song Monsoon: “All of life is one drop in the ocean waiting to go home.” The feeling of oneness was prevalent and powerful.
Being such a supporter of Dr. Shefali’s work, I can’t help but boast about the growth from last year’s summit to this one, specifically:
This year 68 men attended, as opposed to 10 last year.
We had attendees from 18 countries, versus 3 last year.
Clearly this Revolution in Parenting, as characterized by the subtitle of Dr. Shefali’s new book, The Awakened Family, has taken off and will only continue to soar higher and higher. I can’t wait for #Evolve2017!
Last but not least, infinite love and gratitude to the TOG followers who flew all the way out to New York. I am inspired and touched by your commitment to mindful and conscious parenting. Besides people from California and New York, our TOG team at this summit consisted of mothers who came out from Hong Kong, London, Florida, and Wisconsin.
Stay tuned for Part Two of this blog next week. I’m so excited to share with you the amazing sponsors and their fabulous offerings. Get your holiday shopping lists out. You will walk away with much of it checked off, I promise you!
Here I am with Dr. Shefali and two of my dedicated conscious parenting thought leader friends, Suzi Lula from The Motherhood Evolution and Sandra Fazio from The Conscious Parent Blog.
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