Lately, simply getting through the day has been difficult, and for some, even the nights feel heavy.

Tension meets us at every turn. Wherever you look, the news speaks of death, wars, toxins, destruction and disease.

Yet the people we pass on the street each day keep replaying their own stories and private troubles, and few pause to notice anyone else. Many have forgotten the present moment and the reality we share, along with the people and the natural world from which we have drifted away.

We are living through a time of profound cleansing, a rebalancing and a renewal of connection. As in an ayahuasca ceremony, universal consciousness heals itself through purging and releasing whatever is unwanted or untrue. We now witness harsh negativity and sweeping divides, yet all of this belongs to the cleansing process within each of us.

As we rub our blurred, confused, tearful eyes, we ask why. When answers do not appear, we seek out kindred spirits in the hope of hearing something that helps.

We are not afraid to decide, to try, to step forward, to act, to express ourselves, to feel, to be... to be what we desire. We are alive.

What is life? A journey from birth to death, a chain of events, a handful of coincidences, some kind of plan, good fortune and misfortune... or is it something else?

Conscious parenting is not a checklist of rules for parents to follow. It is a set of beliefs about what children need in order to grow and thrive.

I invite you to step outside the traditional parenting mindset and reconsider everything you thought you knew about how children learn and what they need to become mature, responsible adults.