Pregnancy as an Inner Journey
(Prenatal consciousness — the mother walking with the child before she ever holds the child in her arms)
Pregnancy
is usually looked at as a time when the mother’s body changes and the baby
grows inside her. There are medical check-ups, food, rest, exercise, medicines
and many practical things to take care of. But The Mother asks us to look at
pregnancy in another way too. The child is being formed. And the mother is not
only carrying a body. She is living with a new being who is already part of her
life.
The Mother says that during this period, the expecting mother should be protected from influences that can disturb the formation of the child. She speaks of an atmosphere that is beautiful, harmonious and peaceful.
“the mother, throughout the gestation, should be
in an atmosphere absolutely protected from all degrading influences”
— The
Mother, Mother’s Agenda, 19 April 1967
This
is not about creating a perfect life for nine months. That is not possible for
an ordinary mother. It is about understanding that the atmosphere in which an
expecting mother lives during pregnancy matters. What is she seeing every day?
What is she listening to? What is filling her mind? What kind of conversations
surround her? What kind of beauty is entering her life? The Mother does not speak only about avoiding
what is bad. She speaks about bringing something beautiful into the life of the
mother.
“an ideally beautiful place, a wonderful climate
where everything is harmonious”
— The
Mother, Mother’s Agenda, 19 April 1967
These
words make us look at pregnancy differently.
Beauty. Nature. Music. Good thoughts. Uplifting conversations. Peace. These may seem like small things. But during
pregnancy, The Mother asks us not to treat them as small.
What A Mother Sees and Feels
She
speaks of ancient Greece:
“It is by surrounding women with forms of art and
beauty that, little by little, the ancient Greeks created the exceptionally
harmonious race that they were.”
— The Mother, Words of Long Ago,
“To the Women of Japan”
She
then tells us about two beautiful twin girls whose appearance reminded her of a
famous painting by Reynolds. Their mother had kept a reproduction of the
picture above her bed while she was pregnant. Before sleeping and immediately
after waking, she looked at it and held the wish that her children would have
faces like those in the picture. The Mother of the Twin Children said, “You see
that I succeeded quite well!
The
Mother gives this as an example of how the mother’s attention and surroundings
can influence the child during pregnancy. This makes us think about what we
repeatedly place before the eyes and mind of a pregnant woman.
But
if we can obtain such results on the physical plane where the materials are the
least plastic, how much more so on the psychological plane where the influence
of thought and will is so powerful. Why accept the obscure bonds of heredity
and atavism—which are nothing else than subconscious preferences for our own
trend of character—when we can, by concentration and will, call into being a
type constructed according to the highest ideal we are able to conceive? With
this effort, maternity becomes truly precious and sacred; indeed with this, we
enter the glorious work of the Spirit, and womanhood rises above animality and
its ordinary instincts, towards real humanity and its powers.
— The Mother, Words of Long Ago,
“To the Women of Japan”
A Mother’s Atmosphere
“beauty, harmony, peace and well-being”
— The Mother, Questions and
Answers, 27 June 1956
If
we know that a woman is expecting a child, we can ask how we might protect her
from unnecessary disturbance. We can stop bringing arguments, frightening news,
criticism and tensions to her. We can create more peace around her.
The
Mother says:
“the mother herself should have the ideal of the
new child.”
— The Mother, Mother’s Agenda, 19
April 1967
This
is a beautiful thought to hold during pregnancy. A mother can spend some time
quietly with the child inside her. She can speak to the child. She can share
her happiness. She can tell the child that it is loved and welcomed.
The Child Is Not Unaware
The
Mother also speaks about the close physical relationship between the expecting
mother and child during pregnancy. She explains that the material link is
extremely close and that the mother may feel what the child feels.
“the link of substance, between mother and child
is extremely close”
— The Mother, Questions and
Answers, 14 April 1954
The
Mother is careful to explain that this is the material basis of the connection,
and that the emotional and deeper aspects can vary from person to person. She
does not make one rigid rule for everyone.
This is important for a mother to remember.
Every
pregnancy is different. Every mother is different. Every child is different.
We
should not turn prenatal consciousness into another reason for mothers to worry
that they are doing something wrong.
The
Mother herself says of such matters:
“Everything can happen.”
— The
Mother, Questions and Answers, 27 June 1956
So,
the purpose is not fear. It is consciousness.
A Pregnancy Surrounded By Beauty
The
Mother’s examples from ancient cultures are interesting because they show that
this understanding is not entirely new. She speaks of women being placed in
beautiful and harmonious surroundings while carrying a child. She also speaks
of an African woman who was accustomed to walking long distances while carrying
heavy loads, as an example of the natural physical strength found in some
traditional cultures.
The
point for us is not to copy another culture.
It is to ask what we have lost in modern life. Pregnancy can easily become full of
appointments, tests, worries, advice, restrictions and fear. All of these have
their place. But the mother also needs space to live, breathe, enjoy beauty and
remain inwardly quiet.
The
Mother describes the ideal very strongly:
“a wholly spontaneous, free and harmonious and
beautiful life sheltered from all vulgarities of life.”
— The Mother, Mother’s Agenda, 19
April 1967
We
may not be able to create such an ideal completely. But we can move towards it.
A Mother Can Be With Her Child
The
Mother speaks of this whole process as something conscious and creative:
“not as a mechanical but as a conscious, willed
thing”
— The Mother, Mother’s Agenda, 19
April 1967
This
may be the heart of prenatal consciousness.
A mother is simply not waiting for the nine months to pass. She is living them consciously.
A Simple Way to Live The Pregnancy
A
mother need not make a complicated programme.
She
can simply try to give herself and the child:
• some quiet every day;
• some beauty through nature,
music, art or something uplifting;
• good and peaceful
conversations;
• less unnecessary fear and
disturbing influences;
• enough rest and care for the
body;
• moments of happiness and
gratitude;
• a little time to be inwardly
with the child.
And
above all, she need not feel guilty when life is not perfect. The Mother is not
asking a pregnant woman to become superhuman.
She is showing us the possibility of becoming more conscious of what is
happening while the child is being formed.
Things to keep in mind
1. What am I allowing to fill my mind and my
surroundings?
2. Am I giving myself enough peace and beauty?
3. Am I spending some quiet time with the child
who is growing within me?
4. What kind of inner atmosphere am I helping to
create for this new life?
A Quiet Conclusion
Pregnancy is not only a physical journey. A child
is growing. A mother is changing. And between them there is already a
relationship. The Mother asks us to make this period as beautiful, harmonious
and conscious as we can. Not perfectly. Not fearfully. But consciously.
§ The child is being formed within the mother, and each day gives her another
opportunity to live this journey consciously.
§ Pregnancy can become a quiet time of love, beauty, peace and inner contact.
§ This too is part of Conscious Conception. This is prenatal consciousness.
§ This is the mother walking with the child before she ever holds the child in her
arms.
Next
Reflection
Every
Child Is Born for the Future
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