Are you finding parenting difficult ? Then try this, not only does it work, but you’ll get your va va voom back as well

Parents are having a really hard time now, harder than ever before. Parenting these new kids is a full on job and there is NO manual, we're all learning as we go along. So first of all, let me say that I applaud you, parents of the new kids, it's not an easy job.

And secondly, I know you get advice from every quarter - learn this, do that, change the other and THEN all will be well. Before you read this, I want you to give yourself a pat on the back and know that you are doing the best job you can do. Well done.

And thirdly, I want you to know that there is NO such thing as a perfect family. Parents of new kids sometimes look around and see families with children who seem so well behaved and polite and compliant..... well, behind closed doors there is often a different story. Your kids have just chosen to express their authentic selves wherever they are.

And finally..... don't ever look back. You know what you know and you do the best that you can do in the moment.

Keeping the above in mind, I decided to add yet another tip to the pile you've already got. I've been inundated by parents looking for help with their kids and I feel that we've got to pool information about what works to help these high vibration kids feel comfortable on this planet while their parents stay sane (ish).

So here is today's snippet. I'll tell you a story first and then we can look at the details.

The story is that young, first time parents came to see me because their baby wouldn't stop crying. I know a bit about crying babies, I did a disertation on the subject when I was studying homeopathy. So I went through the usual routine, asking questions, looking for problems. Nothing was obvious, they were both very intelligent (iq & eq), educated, healthy, spiritual, loving parents. And yet, the baby was crying and crying.

I sat there looking at the baby and suddenly something clicked. I asked the mom had anything happened to her when she was that age? 'Oh', she said, 'What didn't happen to me, I was in a SCU, lot of pain, in and out of hospital' and, as she talked and cried ...... the baby stopped crying.

So what happened ? The baby was reacting to the pain the mother held deep inside herself from when she herself was a little baby. As soon as the mother connected with that pain and began to release it, her little baby felt better.

Almost all adults hold crystalised pain inside themselves from trauma they experienced as children. Most of us go through life paying little attention to this pain until something happens to trigger it. Identifying and letting go of this pain is often called 'Inner Child Work'.' I've written about this process on the Indigo Essences web site so check it out if you've never heard of it before.

So, it looks like sensitive children will react intensely to their parents inner child pain. But why would they do that, what purpose does it serve? We need to take a step back and look at the job these kids came here to do.

Here's the deal - planet earth and all her inhabitants are ready for an upgrade, scheduled to take place around 2012. The upgrade will shift us into another level of consciousness, much nicer, more loving, less full of fear and struggle. Sounds great and I'm so looking forward to it. The problem is that lots of us haven't finished our lessons in the old level. Solution - send in some kids to lovingly provoke, prod and pester their parents into becoming conscious of what they need to let go off in order to graduate from the old level of consciousness.

Our problem is that we are ONLY just getting what their job is so it's been a bit slow taking off. Now we're all under time constraints, 2012 is meant to be graduation day and we haven't finished our projects. So the kids are intensifying their efforts to get us on track.

So parents, and anyone dealing with kids, if your child is doing something that is really pushing your buttons - making you sad, angry, frustrated, upset etc. and you can't see an obvious cause, look to yourself for a solution. In fact, even if there is an obvious cause (food, environment etc), if their behaviour can push your buttons, that shows you still have buttons to push. The buttons are the unresolved fears and wounds of your little inner child, they are what cause you to react sometimes with the emotional intelligence of a two year old.

Healing the inner child is a vital part of the work we all need to do to move up a level of consciousness. This healing unlocks our frozen and numbed feelings and sensitizes us to the needs of ourselves, our child and every child and this sensitivity will go on to create a world where every being is loved and cherished unconditionally.

And you know something parents - Inner Child healing will also fire you up with a renewed passion for your own life. It will reconnect you with the things you loved as a kid, with the feelings of joy and freedom that you once felt, with the way you were before you took on the responsibility of a family, mortage etc. It is SO worth it.

How to go about it ? If you've had an averagely traumatic life then you can probably do inner child work by yourself. If you've been through a lot as a child it is a good idea to give yourself the gift of working with a professional who can guide you through the process.

I've written a short bit about Inner Child Healing on the Indigo Essences Website and recommended some books that I've found useful.

Essences are really helpful to balance and stabilize you and help you move through things more quickly. The New Child Series and indeed the Combinations for Kids both work very well with the inner child. Browse the sets and choose the ones that shout out to you.

EFT (emotional freedom technique) is another really useful way to move through inner child healing in double quick time, I usually recommend that you do this and use essences as well to speed up the process.

How to make it through the tough times ? Make home

In the last few weeks in my healing practice I've noticed more and more children suffering from tiredness, sickness, sleeplessness and general anxiety. Each one of these children were what I would call 'sensitive'. By that I mean that they are very aware of other peoples mood and emotions, they can read energy, they know what other people are thinking and feeling without being told. In almost all cases they were unable to say why they felt this way.

And in almost all cases we discovered that someone close to them was very worried about something - losing their job, having no pension, swine 'flu etc. In some cases the children were reacting to worries their close friends were carrying. In most cases the childrens' parents said to me that they keep their worries from their children and never discuss them in front of the children. Unfortunately, these children get their information from energy, not just spoken words so it isn't possible to hide everything from them. So what to do?

MAKE HOME

Most of you would say 'Huh? we have a home, 4 walls, a roof, food on the table, what more do you want?' I would say that most people provide the material goods that make up a home but don't pay enough attention to the energy of the place.

Sensitive beings (adults and children) are acutely aware of energy. When these children are overloaded with other peoples' worries they need to be able to return to an environment where they are able to discharge and clean themselves energetically. A child who comes home to a healing environment is much better able to discharge worry, heal and re-charge their energy and is therefore less likely to suffer from stress, anxiety, sleep disorders and illness.

Here is a condensed version of what to do to establish a healing home

STEP ONE

Aim to make your home a sanctuary that is physically and energetically clean, nourishing, healing, calm, safe and protected from outside intrusion.

First, take an 'impressions' audit. Before you start, go outside your front door and become conscious of everything you see, feel and smell. Then re-enter your house taking note of how it makes you feel, how does it smell, do you feel comfortable, welcome, warm, relaxed, friendly or is your house noisy, stressful, cluttered, dark, dirty, cold, unwelcoming, sterile?

Write down your impressions. It is a good idea to ask your children for their impressions too and involve them in re-setting the energy. Decide on the impressions that you want to change.

For instance, if you hallway is dark and unwelcoming, you could place a mirror facing the door to reflect light from the outside and make the space look and feel bigger. You could hang fairy lights to make the entrance feel more magical and light.

Pay attention to the furniture in your home. Is it sharp and angular? Angular furniture emits sharp vibes which make sensitive beings uncomfortable. Replace sharp edges with round edged tables and desks.

If you'd like to learn more about how to change the energy of your house check out some good books on Feng Shui. These books will help you to become aware of the movement of energy through your environment.

Also pay attention to the following:

• Nature

Children thrive in nature, it grounds them and allows them to discharge built up energy. They need access to nature for as long as possible every day. This is more difficult in winter so be sure to bring nature into your home by having plants in most rooms. Make sure all plants in your home are alive and vital. You'd be amazed how many people buy plants for their home, let them die and then live with the energy of dead, neglected plant!

• De clutter

Spend a weekend clearing all the old mess and clutter out of every room in the house. Throw out anything that is never used, gathering dust, cluttering up corners etc. Hoover every room, under every bed and in every corner, you'll be amazed to feel how much lighter the energy is when you've finished.

• Electromagnetic stress

Do away with as many electric gizmos as you can. Only keep essential equipment. If you or your child are particularly sensitive, move your fridge/freezer to a different circuit and turn off the electric current at night. This gives your body an energetic holiday, really improves sleep quality and mimics the conditions of sleeping outdoors. If this is a step too far, then make sure that you at least turn off all non essential equipment as often as you can, particularly any wi fi equipment you might have such as broadband.

• Chemicals

Do away with all chemical cleaning aids, especially toxic air freshners. Use natural products and expose your home to sunlight and fresh air on a daily basis by opening curtains and windows for a few minutes every day, even in the coldest weather. It is important that there is an air flow so that discharged energies don't get the chance to build up.

• Get an animal

Animals help children to discharge built up stress and can help sensitive children stay grounded.

• Create a chill room

Devote one room or at least part of a room to becoming a chill out zone. Remove bright lights and use fairy lights or candles to light the area. Candles are particularly good as their flickering light is very restful and quite magical. (check out the Settle Candle from Indigo Essences, specially good to light around 5 pm when everyone is having a melt down). Have warm fuzzy blankets and soft pillows, maybe create a canopy to shield the area and make it feel more womb like. Ban the use of pc's, play stations etc in this area.

• Install a small water fountain

The sound of tinkling water is very restful and also helps to re ionize the air. You can add essences to the water to increase the healing effect. Some suggestions are Settle - to calm and settle the energy. See end of this article for a few more essence suggestions.

• Bake

The smell of fresh baking is very comforting and adds to the feeling of being nourished

STEP TWO

Ensure that you and any other adults in the house are aware of the stresses you are feeling. Children are not adversely affected by emotion as long as it is moving but they can be adversely affected by emotions that are suppressed or stuck.

Be aware that your child can read you like a book and will know if you are upset. Become aware of your own feelings and needs and take steps to change or deal with anything that needs changing in your life. Seek help if you are under a lot of pressure and are not able to resolve it by yourself.

STEP THREE

Teach your child about their energy body and how to clean it.

Although all children are unconsciously aware of energy, they need to be taught how to clean and protect their own energy body.

• Talk to them about their energy 'bubble'

Sit down with your children and talk to them about their energy body. Maybe ask them to draw the energy outside their body, at the very least bring their conscious attention to the fact that they have this bubble of energy.

• Teach them how to clean their energy bubble

There are many different ways to clean your energy, teach them your favourite method if you have one. If not, then use something simple, like the notion of having a shower of golden rain that cleans out anything that does not belong to them.

• Teach them how to protect their energy bubble

As before, use whatever method you personally prefer. If you don't have a preference, ask them to imagine a golden egg surrounding them. Talk about how this egg will protect them from taking in any energy that doesn't belong to them. Make sure they know that this egg will let in good energy, like the energy of your love for them. Ask them to draw what this egg would look like and to imagine it forming around them.

• Set a time every day to clean, clear and protect their energy bubble

This process must become part of your daily routine. Decide with your child when would be the best time to do this - morning time when brushing teeth, night time before bed? Choose a time, stick to it and make sure you do it every day.

• Use essences

Essences are a very useful tool and will help your child get to know the feeling of being grounded, safe, protected. There are many Indigo Essences to choose from but in general I would recommend essences from the Crystal Series.

• Software - a kind of spam filter, to filter out unwanted thoughts and feelings from others.
• Bubble - to protect from electromagnetic stress
• Safe - gives a feeling of grounded-ness and strength

The Indigo Children Ten Years Later

Lee Carroll and Jan Tober have just published another Indigo book and this time, yaba daba do,  I'm in it.

Lee wants to put right the notion that Indigo Children are soft, sweet psychics. The truth is that many Indigo kids are having a really rough time and are resorting to drink and drugs to try and numb the pain of trying to live in a society they were sent to change.  I haven't seen the book yet, I hope it's good and I hope it keeps the Indigo debate going. These kids are in trouble and we all need to take a look at what we can do to help them.

Sleep Easy - an Indigo Essence to help you to sleep

Sleep Easy is our best selling essence.  Parents are endlessly asking us if we have something to 'make' their baby sleep.  Not in our tool kit, we say. You have to take something with molecules in it to do that. However, we do have an amazing essence to help children and adults with a particular sort of sleep problem.

Indigo Essences have been mentioned on TV !!

The queen of imperfect green-ness, Janey Lee Grace, has been talking about the Indigo Essence Sleep Easy on the Wright Stuff on Ch 5 TV.  Janey has written several books - Imperfectly Natural Woman, Imperfectly Natural Baby & Toddler and, coming soon as far as we know, Imperfectly Natural Home. Her website is a mine of information on all things green for the family and home. I love her attitude. She describes herself as 'lime' green and says she isn't perfect. I think she is inspiring lots of people by describing her own experience as a working mother of 4 children who is doing her best, in a fun way, for her children and the planet.