Customer Reviews

Soul to Soul Parenting: A Guide to Raising a Spiritually Conscious Family

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Based on the other reviews, it's clear this book has many fans already (of which I am now one), so I'll try and provide some additional detail about the book that may help you decide if it's right for you and your family.

The main audience for this book is parents who consider themselves spiritual, but are not necessarily religiously affiliated. However, because the book is organized around general spiritual themes that are valued in many religions, I feel there is also a lot of material here that any parent could draw from, including religiously affiliated ones (and atheist/agnostic parents as well, for that matter.) The key is selecting approaches that work for you and your family, and the author stresses this continually - that a spiritually conscious family doesn't look one way or talk one way.

The book is organized around two main sections - Vehicles and Themes. The Vehicles are ideas for places, times and ways to integrate spiritual themes into your daily life as a family. Examples are family discussions, family rituals, vision boards, role play, art projects, or, my personal favorite 'make-her-day moments'. Some are formal and some are more casual. The Themes are values or topics that you can explore with your family, such as connectedness, authenticity, gratitude, cause/effect/free Will, mindfulness and more.

The vehicles and themes provide a framework for you to consider how best to integrate spirituality into your family life. I lean more towards a very unstructured approach - modeling being front and center - and I also have read a lot of 'mindful parenting' type books, so I initially wasn't sure how much I would get out of this one. But I found this really gave me a lot of new ideas, and inspired me to become more conscious in the way I am integrating spirituality into our lives, especially as my children grow older.

One of the things I especially appreciated was the book, movie and music suggestions, corresponding to each theme for both children and adults. The appendix also lists all the suggestions in list form, and the children's spiritual book list is probably one of the most comprehensive I have seen. I also appreciated many of the author's personal sharings about her spiritual path and family.

A note on language: The spiritual language of this book is very much in the vein of Eckhart Tolle (Power of Now, New Earth), Neale Donald Walsch (Conversations with God), and Esther and Jerry Hicks (Law of Attraction teachings). Although I have read all these authors and appreciate them, in general my own language tends to be more Buddhist in nature, but I didn't feel that was a problem here. The author is very flexible in her spiritual terms, and stresses the importance of finding a language that works for you, so if you can read past the terms, into the universal themes, I think it has a lot to offer anyone.

My friends and I have been eagerly waiting for this book to be published - for good reason!! We went to one of Annie's Soul to Soul Parenting workshops and are thrilled to finally have it all at our fingertips... This guide is an incredible resource for those who wish to learn how they can realistically share with their families of all ages a journey of acceptance, kindness, self confidence, and love... You will ear mark this book like crazy!! Thank you, Annie, for being so generous with your life experiences!!

Empathy is contagious. "Soul to Soul Parenting: A Guide to Raising a Spiritually Conscious Family" is a guide for parents who want to help open their children's minds to the spiritual side of life, how to integrate spirituality into everyday life, and practices that will unite and empower families. For parents looking for positive ways to build stronger bonds, "Soul to Soul Parenting" is highly recommended.

Soul To Soul Parenting is jam packed with spiritual information, engaging family activities and universal tools. A superb guide to formulate a deliberate family foundation that can carry on generations to generations.There's enough information to jump start any family on a conscious parenting path. There's a reason Soul To Soul parenting won the 2011 Nautilus Silver Book Award. It's exceptional!
~ Carol Lawrence and Stacy Toten
Intentional Conscious Parenting
Soul to Soul Parenting: A Guide to Raising a Spiritually Conscious Family

Annie's book, is truly a wonderful guide, written from her heart, reaching out to the hearts of parents. It has such fun wisdom in it, that helps you as a parent find your own way to be there spiritually for your children, whereby allowing their souls to flourish.
I had considered myself a spiritual parent, but having read the book, I found more tools that I could use to help align myself in such a way that would have an impact on my son too. I am and will continue to refer to it again and again to touch on the bits of wisdom dotted all over in the book as I too "grow" with my son.
I recommend this book so highly to all, especially as a parent myself. It is a very easy read, and so thoroughly enjoyable and definitely a book I can relate to with regards to parenting. Thank you Annie, for following your soul wisdom and creating this for the parents of the world. Together we create this world, soul to soul, one by one.

Annie's beautiful and heartfelt book has not only impacted the way I parent my children, but has also opened my eyes to a whole new level of spirituality within myself. Her book - and honesty in sharing her own story - makes it easy to let spirituality flow more openly in daily interactions in the home. It encourages parents to step back from the ever-constant to-do list to appreciate the joy that is present when we live in the moment, in a state she calls "wakefulness."

The suggestions in Soul to Soul Parenting often bring a touch of magic to the mundane - encouraging readers to look for the divine and angelic in daily life. It's a book I will certainly refer to time and time again for inspiration as I attempt to raise my 4 sons to trust and rely on "the voices of their own souls."

Soul to Soul Parenting is a must read for all parents who struggle with the question -- how can I help my child find his/her inner connection to the divine? We have a big job to do as parents! Raising the next generation of brilliant children who will step up and take part in solving global issues. Wouldn't we want our children to find the inner strength that gives them the courage to not only step up, but to find their passion and persevere? Reading Annie's book helped me to see what I can do to help each of my four unique teens become more aware of their sense of spirit within. She takes what sometimes seems so out of reach and brings it to a place where we can work with it in our own family.

What I really appreciate about this book is that Burnside gives positive suggestions and direction. She writes about what worked and what produced positive results and she does it without pedantry or condescension. We all know what those positive results are because we see it mirrored in the faces and behavior of our kids. So many books about children are so dire -- chapter after chapter about what's wrong with our culture, our schools, our families, our kids. Burnside gives real, workable ideas about how to bring more love and connection into our parenting. I am a Christian and I feel that the spirituality here does not conflict with my values at all; Burnside taps into the real lessons that Christ was trying to teach us. It's simply about love.

Annie's book Soul to Soul Parenting is a true gift for any parent wanting to incorporate more spirituality and divine awareness into their family's lives. I've read lots of books on spirituality but never one on spirituality for children. It has truly opened my eyes and broadened my awareness of my children's gifts and inner spirit. Every mother should have this book on her bookshelf.

Annie Burnside has a gift for distilling what's important in parenting today. I like to use her book as a daily affirmation, page a day book that keeps me centered on what my priority is in raising my son. More connection, less chaos sums up her approach...Not necessarily easy to accomplish in my house on some days but nevertheless worth striving for.