About a month ago my mom was listening to WGN and heard an interview with Annie Burnside, author of Soul to Soul Parenting: A Guide to Raising a Spiritually Conscious Family. She enjoyed the interview and emailed me immediately – she knew this book was right up my alley.
Well, life gets in the way and I didn’t follow through, and when I showed up at my parents house in Galena a few weeks later, my mom handed me the book – she had taken it upon herself to order it for me (thanks mom!).
Standing in her kitchen, I started flipping through the pages and realized quickly that this book was special. I read a lot of self help and personal growth books (my basement is filled with them), but this book was really speaking to me. Not only is it about self care and personal and spiritual awareness, it’s about how to engage the entire family and build a more conscious household.
It offers ideas and inspiration about how to incorporate spiritual guidance into the family culture (not based on a specific religion, but a personal awareness of divinity).
Not only does she share her own wisdom and experiences, but she suggests games, movies, music and books to support the process of learning. It’s impossible to read this book without finding a number of ideas to engage and connect the family.
I noticed that Annie lived in the Chicago area, so I wrote to her the next day to tell her how much I appreciate the book – I think my exact words were “it’s like coming home”.
Our email exchanges have been fun and inspiring (our stories have so many similarities) and I am so excited to have a new friend, as well as a spiritual and professional support system.
During our conversation, Annie said she wrote this book because of the changes witnessed in her own family due to their conscious parenting style – more presence, more accountability and more empowerment – for both parents and children.
She also said she wanted to offer both practical and theoretical guidance for parents, not from an expert perspective, but rather from the perspective of a parent and spiritual journeyman.
If you are interested in greater awareness and a more spiritually connected family, then this book is a must! And even better news, Annie will be at Equilibrium in Chicago tomorrow night (Wednesday, September 29
th
) from 6:30-8:30 to discuss her amazing book.
To read more about Annie or to purchase her book, check out her website http://www.annieburnside.com/index.htm.
