Spiritual wellbeing impacts your teen’s respect for life and feeling of belongingness in the world.
Listen to today’s episode or read the post below to learn about my top 3 tips on what you as a parent need to focus on in terms of your teen’s spiritual wellbeing.
Welcome to the fifth post of this 8-part series on holistic wellbeing for teens.
This series is on what you as a parent should be paying attention to when it comes down to the holistic wellbeing of your teen or preteen.
This post is about spiritual wellbeing.
In the previous 4 posts, I talked about physical, emotional, mental and energetic wellbeing, and these 4 involve having a healthy relationship with the self.
In this post, I’m going to discuss having a healthy relationship with Life, Life with a capital L.
My other words for Life is Spirit, Source, Soul.
You can choose whatever word resonates with you.
I call the healthy relationship with Soul as spiritual wellbeing.
Spirituality is often misunderstood and mixed with religion. But spirituality does not have to be religion.
It is actually the relationship with Spirit.
Spirituality to me is about love and respect for life and belongingness in this universe.
It’s about learning to celebrate our own story: who we are, what we’re here for, where we belong and where we’re going. We can choose to do so through religion, but not necessarily.
Why is spiritual wellbeing important for our teens?
Because it gives them connection with life, connection with something greater, and in turn this connection with life strengthens their connection with self and their connection with other people.
Spiritual wellbeing also relates to our teens’ sense of life-meaning and higher purpose. It helps them know that they are supported by the universe, that miracles do exist, that the possibilities are endless.
It strengthens their resilience as they go on this human journey.
It gives them a higher perspective. It lets them see life from the point of view of the soul.
And it allows them to have compassion towards themselves and others.
Here are my top tips for parents around their teens’ spiritual well being:
Tip 1 – Get your teens to spend time in nature
This is a very simple thing related to spirituality; it’s so simple that we tend to overlook it.
Get your teens to spend time in nature, close to trees and plants. Get them to just be outdoors, under the sky, under the clouds, watch the sunset together, watch the birds.
I find mother nature as the perfect place to connect with spirit, with soul, with Life. Nature is a space where the divine is present in a very beautiful pure form, without the projections of people, without the projection of religion if you are triggered by religion.
Spending time in nature allows you and your teens to return to the pure connection with spirit.
Tip 2 – Get clear on your own spirituality as a parent
Get clear on your own spirituality and become aware of its role in your life.
Become aware also on how you project it onto your teens.
Ask yourself:
What spiritual beliefs do you have?
What role does your religion play? Is it fear or shame? Is it indifference? Is it forced gratitude or genuine appreciation?
How do you express it to your teen?
What would you do in times of crisis?
If your teen is rebelling against your beliefs, do you get triggered?
How much can you accept? Where are you being righteous?
What inner journey is waiting for you?
Asking yourself these questions will help you become aware and intentional of what you want to pass on to your teens.
Unless you are intentional about it, you will unconsciously project things on your kids that you might not necessarily wish to do so.
Tip 3 – Encourage open discussion at home.
Allow your teens to be curious. Let them ask questions and let them explore different points of view.
Spirituality is not something you can force on your teens.
At the same time, it’s better that you do get involved. Don’t be passive about it. Your teens will pick things up from their surroundings, from their friends, from their community, from social media.
Stay involved as a parent. Keep the conversation going. Focus on maintaining that connection with your kids.
You might be surprised by your teen’s needs. They might be wanting some sort of spiritual family routine at home. They might be interested in a completely different spiritual modality.
The more you as a parent, you’re able to hold space for their exploration, the more that they will trust you and stay connected.
Quick Recap
In relation to your teen’s spiritual well being,
- Let your teens spend time in nature,
- Get clear on your spiritual values and what you might be projecting onto your kids
- Encourage open talks with your teens about the topic of spirituality
As usual, I invite you now to pause and reflect on your top takeaway from this post.
Was there anything that made you pause?
Is there anything you’d like to change?
What small, simple step can you start doing today to improve your teen’s spiritual wellbeing?