It’s one thing to explore your own spirituality and to use some esoteric practices to enhance your life and to bring you a deeper sense of happiness and overall wellbeing. But it’s a whole other thing to be able to help and guide your children through their own spiritual journey.

So how can you do this in a way that is practical, with minimal woo, but will still greatly benefit your tribe? And how can you help your child tap into their own spirituality?

I want to let you in on a little secret – your child is already very spiritually-savvy! Even if they (or you) haven’t realised it yet. Young children especially are super-tuned in to the energies in and around them – I can’t tell you how many parents have contacted me saying their child talks to people who aren’t there, or they report seeing colours around people.

So what you can do to help? You can nurture their already-existing spiritual side so that it (and they) can flourish.

Here are my top tips for nurturing your spiritually-savvy child:

Don’t Freak Out

It can be unsettling to an adult when a child is sharing these experiences because a) you can’t see it, b) you’ve been taught that ghosts are scary, or c) your rational mind can’t make sense of it. I get it. It used to spook me too! I remember sitting in my loungeroom nursing my daughter when she was around three years old. This was years before my own spiritual journey started and I was completely clueless. It was night time, and we were having a lovely cuddle on the couch when she suddenly sat upright, eyes wide with excitement, and pointed to the ceiling saying, “Man in hat, mummy! Man in hat!”

I freaked out! I flew off the couch, with her safely shielded in my arms from this ‘ghost’, and turned on every light in the house as I ran to the bedroom. She was only three, but she saw and felt my reaction and the confusion on her face was obvious. She wasn’t afraid – not one little bit! She was excited and really happy! But my reaction quickly dampened her instincts and she too became afraid and upset.

Moral of the story: I had unintentionally transferred my own fears and disbeliefs onto my daughter, and this had the potential to close her off from her gift and to become afraid of these beautiful, magical energetic experiences.

So my top tip here is this: if your child is comfortable and happy, roll with it! Try to not let your own fears of the unknown or of your past experiences hamper your child’s spiritual experience.

Be Inquisitive

You can greatly advance your child’s spiritual development simply by being curious and asking some engaging questions. Now, you know your child better than anyone so please be guided by your own instincts here – you’ll know whether to proceed gently and subtly or whether to just dive right in and fire some big questions at them. Keep your questions age-appropriate, and always gauge your child’s response carefully so you know whether to keep going or change tactic.

Here are some sample questions that you might like to try for a spiritual encounter:

• Was it a man or a woman?
• Could you see their clothes?
• Did they seem friendly?
• Do you recognise them?
• Why do you think they were here?

And here are some sample questions for any other spiritual experience:

• Could you see any colours?
• Did you feel anything?
• What do you think it was?

When you are having conversations with your child around their spiritual experiences and encounters, always try to be as positive and calm as possible. And if your child is older, don’t be afraid to dive deeper into the conversation! Older children may not be as open and receptive to these topics – especially if it hasn’t been a normal or regular part of their upbringing – but don’t let that deter you from having a conversation about it.

I believe that many older children who are suffering from anxiety or having trouble sleeping, concentrating, social issues etc can greatly benefit from exploring esoteric topics and techniques – this can often be contributing to the ‘gap’ they have been feeling, and can also explain the things they’ve been experiencing that they haven’t been brave enough to talk about. So dive in there and have those interesting conversations because it may just be the missing link your child has been looking for!

My top tip here is this: Don’t overanalyze! Even if you can’t understand or explain the answers your child is giving you. Perhaps journal it down, or if your child is old enough and interested enough, ask them to write it down. Just try to be observant and curious – you’re not looking to solve the mysteries of the Universe here.

Keep it Simple

So many people dive into spiritual stuff and quickly become overwhelmed. This has the potential of being short-lived and can end up being a disappointing experience.

Children are often more attentive and receptive when the learning experience is fun – so when you are sharing your wisdom with your kids, keep it light and entertaining. There will be some children who need to go deep and get quite intense with this stuff, but if you are introducing anything spiritual to your child for the first time, make it fun.

I believe that one of the most effective ways we can bring more spirituality and therefore more harmony and happiness into our lives, and to make it ‘normal’ in society, is to take the taboo out of it. Believe me, you can have a deeply profound and healing experience while still having fun and enjoying yourself. Yes, sometimes the work for spiritual growth needs to be hard and you need to be challenged to your core – but this isn’t always the case.

Here’s a fun exercise you can do with your children to enhance their intuition: place three food items in front of them and ask them which one they feel like eating the most right now? Let them choose, and then let them enjoy eating that piece of food they were feeling drawn to. You can also try asking which food is not making them feel very well right now? (This is especially effective if your child is unwell with a cold or feeling rundown, stressed, or off in any way! One of the first things I always ask my children if they are unwell is what would they like to eat? My daughter almost ALWAYS says watermelon, and this has been her intuitive go-to food remedy for years now. My son often chooses a herbal tea of some kind.)

Your child is such an intuitive and energetically-sensitive little soul, and you can help them learn to embrace these gifts and enhance them! Imagine if you had received this kind of spiritual support when you were young, rather than learning it all later in adult life? How different would your life have been? This is such a powerful and beautiful gift you can give your child, and it is something that will benefit them throughout their entire life.

Has your child ever shared a story with you about an encounter or spiritual experience they have had? Please share it with me in the comments below!

Jo x