As Cohen gets older and starts becoming his own sentient being, I feel like it’s go-time in regard to parenting and helping him become a spirit-minded kid. We’ve recently returned to attending church regularly, so even though right now he just plays in the nursery most of the time, he’ll soon be in Sunday School learning the divine principles of life. I feel like this is the perfect time to instill such principles into his life. One thing I don’t regret about my Christian upbringing is the discipline, connection, and active-relationship with the Divine that it helped me develop. It taught me how to pray, how to be still and listen, how to see the light and love in others, and most importantly, how to know my worth and that I am unconditionally loved by my Creator. I had such confidence as a child because I knew I had God on my side. It made me feel like anything was possible. Limitless. I want my kids to know such truth.
I’ve started saying the Unity Prayer for Protection with Cohen at night. It’s weird having to kind of make things up as I go regarding raising my kids to be mindful and connected to Source/Spirit/Universe/Life/God. Since I don’t cling to traditional beliefs, it’s not like I’m going to teach my son to get on his knees, confess his sins, and pray to Jesus each night (though that’s not a bad idea). However, I still want to instill some sort of spiritually-minded traits within him. When our older boys were this age, we were so distant from the church that none of the traditional spiritual activities felt right to us. We had to go through a phase in which we learned to distance ourselves from old dogma and carve our own paths. However, this led to the boys not really knowing what to think about God, Jesus, etc. They knew plenty about crystals and chakras and reiki, but they didn’t really know anything about who Jesus was other than what they’d hear here and there when we’d attend church. With Cohen, I want to be able to instill in him some sort of connection to source energy, to the Divine Creator, to the energy of all that is while also giving him a semi-Christian upbringing that will give him a good foundational understanding of the faith since, due to our location on the planet, the majority of the people he will interact with in life will identify as a Christian. This is why I connect so deeply with Unity. It has the Christian foundation while also teaching beyond Christianity’s typical limits.
The Unity Prayer of Protection was the first thing I read that turned me onto Unity. Its words so deeply align with the truth my soul wants to speak.
The light of God surrounds us;
The love of God enfolds us;
The power of God protects us;
The presence of God watches over us;
Wherever we are, God is!
Unity Prayer for Protection
After praying this with Cohen, we go through a gratitude list. “Thank you, Spirit, for my mama and my papa,” etc., etc. A grateful heart is an excellent way to acknowledge the Divine. All major belief systems teach the importance of a grateful heart.
Since we’ve been attending Unity Church for a few months now, we figured this would be a great way to start for him. He’ll learn this prayer in Children’s Church, and it will be his go-to for connection to source. As we carve our path in this world, leaving behind old dogma and exploring new territory, we get to decide what we teach our kids. They can grow up having a completely different view of the Divine and their connection to it. Imagine how strong and powerful they will be when they are told their whole lives that they have the creative power of God within them, and that they can connect to God anytime they need without needing anyone to intervene for them instead of being told that they are separate from God and sinners in need of saving? You know how much guilt and shame I had growing up with such a strict, limiting worldview? Enough to cause lasting problems into adulthood.
My kids will not be told they are sinners in need of saving. They will never be threatened with eternal damnation for their actions. They will be told they have the power of God within them to do all they want in the world. They will be taught to believe in magic and miracles. They will learn how to radiate divine light and love. And when they let fear and hate rise up within them, they will be taught how to see the Divine in others and how to trust and have faith in the divine order of life.
My prayer for my children is this – that they will know their divine worth and interconnectedness to everything on this planet, that they will see the divine in all things and always choose to show love (even if it’s “tough love” from time to time). I pray that when they are scared, they quiet their minds and listen deeply, and then follow the inner truth they hear. More than anything, I want my kids to know that they are free to explore and develop whatever beliefs they choose, that they are free to question and critique me, that I will always be open to hearing their story, and that this is all part of our journey in figuring it all out together. Someday, I will ask them “What do YOU think?” and I can’t wait to hear their answers.
