Guiding Parents to Trust*

An Atlantic University Master's Degree Service Project

Sandi Roberts

Michele has an energetic son with attention and learning problems at school. One afternoon he wants to learn to cook and she usually brushes him off because it would take more time and make more mess. She decides to try a parenting meditation and gives him her full attention. She dictates and he writes the recipe they will make. He follows directions and focuses on the project while they enjoy their time together. When they finish, she feels more confident of his abilities and discovers ways for him to learn she had never thought of before.

            As Michele's story attests, parenting can be an exciting and challenging experience. It's difficult to know what is best. There are thousands of books, but which one shall you read? Parents get many different messages from friends, family and the media about how to raise a child. With so many outside influences, parents may have a hard time hearing the wisdom found within. But that's the only way you'll ever get a guidebook written specifically for your child.  Edgar Cayce would remind you that the answers lie within. As he noted, "decision are in you for self to decide in a way best known to self" (3615-1). To be the best parents for your unique child, you need to learn methods to access the inner guidance that will be specifically tailored for your child.

            Edgar Cayce spoke of motherhood as the "highest service to the Maker" (136-16). He recognized the necessity of mind, body and spiritual training in motherhood. Since the mother is not always the sole rearer of the child,  both parents need to develop their spirituality and train the body and mind so these can be used for the most good in the world.

            Mothering has been a subject near and dear to my heart for the past 33 years. In these years, I have learned the importance of not only motherhood, but fatherhood and working together to create a fertile environment for the healthy development of children. Blessed with five children who chose us as parents, they have taught me as much, if not more than they learned from me. Through them, I learned patience, to love life more fully and to trust. When it came time to choose a culminating project to complete my Masters degree at Atlantic University, I knew it needed to involve parenting.

            Based on my parenting experiences and the information I learned through my studies, I designed a program to help parents gain a greater respect for inner guidance. It was to teach parents to become more aware of tools they could use to access this information. Inner guidance can help parents learn to trust themselves. They can learn also to trust their children to grow and learn in ways that are appropriate for each individual child in the family unit. I named the project "Parenting Prowess," because prowess means superior courage. It takes a great deal of courage to be parents who are willing to do what they feel in their hearts are the best for their children and not what society dictates as best. It takes courage to set ideals and use them as a guide when making decision.

Parenting Prowess offers information and activities to empower parents to think for themselves. In class, we drew pictures of dreams to see what information they may contain by looking at them more objectively. Maria's child woke one night with a scary dream. In the morning, she asked her child if she wanted to draw a picture of her dream. The child had fun drawing and displaying the picture and told other family members all about her dream and she no longer seemed scared by it. Susan was deciding about immunizations for her infant. She had read a lot of books and talked with many people. She used meditation and had a dream that helped with her decision. In our classes, parents learned to decide upon their ideal. They learned how to use imagery to listen to their inner voice and turn down the volume on the outside influences.

            As a result of these classes, I put together a "Guide to Parental Trust" It contains lessons on parenting meditation, daily energy exercises, honoring dreams, recognizing each person's gifts and setting a family ideal. This project inspired me to set up an organization to start and provide support to Parenting Prowess groups in local communities.

            *For the "Parenting Guide to Trust" and information about parenting support groups, visit www.parentingprowess.org. The entire project report can be found at www.creativespirit.net/learners/AUCulminatingProjects/cp-roberts.pdf . Contact Sandi at sandir@hotmail.com.