“We Will Mess Up, and That’s Okay”: Dasee Berkowitz on Becoming a Soulful Parent

Parenting is one of those subjects where it always feels like there’s a reverse correlation between how much it’s talked about and how well it’s understood. Like, the more we talk about it, the dumber we get. This is why I was so happy to read Dasee Berkowitz’s new book, Becoming a Soulful Parent, and talk with her about it – because what she offers is a new way of talking about parenting that actually has the potential to make us wiser, and possibly even help us grow as people. Berkowitz, Director of the Becoming a Soulful Parent program at the Ayeka Institute in Jerusalem, explains the essence of her approach as asking ourselves this question, originally posed to the first human by his Creator – Ayeka? Where are you? – as a prompt for introspection: “Where are we as parents? What’s triggering us? What’s inspiring us? What can we imagine being different? Where are we stuck?” With a model that invites us to “really listen to ourselves and embrace our own vulnerability” – she offers a refreshing contrast to the “parent expert” approach. By her own account of her experience leading parenting workshops, being honest and real about her experience invites other parents to be honest and real about theirs, and listens deeply to each other.