Enlightened Parenting

Staying on your spiritual path was undoubtedly a whole lot easier before your kids were born. But as Meryl Davids Landau realized when she became a mother—with no time to run off to yoga or meditation retreats (or even to read many spiritual books)—parenting would have to become her prime spiritual practice. It turns out that was a blessing. As she details in the warm, embracing essays that make up this book, parenting is the perfect practice for staying on a spiritual path, because connecting to the love we feel for our child opens us up to the lofty energy of our highest self.

In 55 essays ranging from shifts in your thinking (Don’t Try to Just Get By, Pass the Pepper With Adoration, Say Goodbye to Guilting) to actions and activities to undertake (Make Silence Truly Golden, Put a Spiritual Mark on Birthdays, Hang Uplifting Art, Act Outrageous Sometimes) to little things you can do to nurture yourself (Anoint Yourself Each Morning, Carve Out a Sacred Space), Meryl Davids Landau shares from her heart and her experience, as well as that of friends, spiritual teachers and authors, and members of her spiritual parenting discussion group. Whatever your religious leaning, you’ll find love, inspiration, compassion, and non-judgment—plus a touch of humor—in her words.

Also available as an ebook, $4.99. Award-winning writer Meryl Davids Landau is the author of the spiritual women’s novel, Downward Dog, Upward Fog, a book of the year finalist in fiction in the small-press competition by Foreword Reviews. She has been published in O: the Oprah magazine, Glamour, Parents, Redbook, Self, Reader’s Digest, Yoga Journal, The Huffington Post and more. Her work has won numerous awards, including a nomination for a prestigious National Magazine Award and a first-place outstanding-article award from the American Society of Journalists & Authors. She is also a certified yoga teacher and the moderator of the yoga folks group on Goodreads. Meryl lives with her husband in South Florida, and is the mother of two children, now young adults.

“Every parent hopes to be a wise, loving, and supportive presence in the lives of their children. And, thankfully, every one of Meryl Davids Landau's beautiful essays sheds light on the concerns, challenges, and doubts we all face along the way. The valuable lessons Meryl shares will no doubt help readers develop their own unique, gratifying, and mindful parenting practice.”
—Priscilla Warner, bestselling author of Learning to Breathe and co-author of The Faith Club

“This delightful collection of essays encourages us to celebrate the lives of our children and our role as their guide, their student, and their companion. Meryl Davids Landau helps awaken us to our authentic selves and thus cultivate that quality in our children.”
—Louise Goldberg, bestselling author of Classroom Yoga Breaks and Yoga Therapy for Children with Autism and Special Needs

“Enlightened Parenting is an insightful and soulful collection of essays on how to parent centered in our heart. Meryl Davids Landau includes practical suggestions for bringing spirituality into the busy daily family life most of us lead, and for nurturing our own spirituality as parents, so that we can model and inspire our children by example. Her down-to-earth approach, including many anecdotes from her own family life, makes this an engaging read that parents of any faith will appreciate.”
—Lisa Erickson, blogger at Mommy Mystic

“Reading Enlightened Parenting feels like you’re being embraced by a loving sister who’s been there and is helping you along your own mindful parenting journey.”
—Susan Caruso, director, Sunflower Creative Arts for children

Book launch party in South Florida
Media outreach to spiritual and parenting publications and blogs
Blogging on Huffington Post, Care2 and other sites where author is a blogger