Your Guide to Contemplative Parenting & Conscious Caregiving
Many on the contemplative path ask themselves how they can better nurture their children’s minds, bodies, and spirits. Contemplative parenting can be especially challenging for those overcoming trauma from toxic religion, spiritual abuse, and faith deconstruction.
Are you no longer connected to the church of your childhood and want your family to have a different kind of faith experience? Do you feel too overwhelmed by the day-to-day struggles to engage your children in a loving way?
These free resources offer support to parents and caregivers on the spiritual journey:
Learn About the CAC: An Educational Nonprofit for Contemplative Christianity
The Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) is an educational nonprofit sharing Christian contemplative wisdom and practices that support transformation and inspire loving action.
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Discover Resources for Contemplative Parenting
Contemplation can help sustain the energy, commitment, and selflessness that’s endlessly demanded of parents. Even a simple practice of 5 minutes of silent contemplation each day, while washing dishes or folding laundry, can inspire loving action.
- Listen: Seeing Nature as a Child by Brian McLaren, Learning How to See podcast
- Read: Conscious Parenting Weekly Summary, Daily Meditations
- Watch: Practicing Resilience in a Divided World With Paul Raushenbush and Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, Love Period podcast on YouTube
- Practice: Loving Kindness Meditation, Daily Meditations
Explore Contemplative Teachings to Support Conscious Caregiving
Contemplative wisdom can help parents and caregivers act lovingly even in painful times, like trauma from faith deconstruction, spiritual abuse or church hurt. Contemplation helps us feel God’s presence with us — even in suffering.
- Listen: Welcoming All of Ourselves on the Spiritual Journey, We Conspire
- Read: Midlife Musings by Erin Sanzero, ONEING: Falling Upward
- Watch: Richard Rohr on Falling Upward, YouTube
- Practice: Loving Your Inner Child, Daily Meditations YouTube Practices
Embody Contemplative Wisdom Before Becoming a Parent
Practicing contemplation can encourage us to enter confidently into new life stages, like faith deconstruction, becoming a parent or moving away from family, with greater love and deeper awareness.
- Listen: Our Children Are Not Ours, Richard Rohr’s Homilies podcast
- Read: Creating Space for Sleep and Imagination by The Nap Ministry’s Tricia Hersey, We Conspire
- Watch: Parenting, Another Name for Everything podcast, YouTube
- Practice: Breath Prayer, Daily Meditations Practices on YouTube
Examine Contemplative Wisdom for Coping with Empty Nest Syndrome and Loss
Contemplative practices can help you make sense of second-half-of-life parenting challenges, such as empty nest syndrome, death of a child, or loss of a relationship.
- Listen: Tips for the Road with Richard Rohr and James Finley, Everything Belongs podcast
- Read: Becoming a Mature Elder by Richard Rohr, Daily Meditations
- Watch: What is Trustworthy About Death by James Finley, YouTube
- Practice: Letting Go of Things, Daily Meditations Practices on YouTube
Apply Contemplative Parenting and Conscious Caregiving in Your Life
Children are bombarded with modern crises such as climate change, challenges to LGBTQ+ rights, continuing to strive for gender equality, environmental stewardship, spiritual abuse, and working towards true social justice.
CAC founder and Franciscan friar Richard Rohr writes, “The older we get, the further we move from the delight and curiosity of childhood. We must always be ready to see anew.” We hope these resources help you see anew while walking the contemplative path with your children and those you care for.
We invite you to share your stories of contemplative parenting with us.