Mindful Parenting is a contemplative practice through which we become more mindful of our children and, in doing so, experience a more joyful life.
The Mindful Parent is an organization devoted
to sharing with parents and other child caregivers ways in which to
enhance the many joys of parenting. By mindfully attending to
our children, both when we are physically present with them and when
we are physically separated from them, we can enhance our sense of
connection to them and, in turn, our connection to the cosmos.
This makes us a better parent, a happier person, and a more vital
human being.
To facilitate a more mindful approach to parenting,
The Mindful Parent publishes on its website, and in its bi-weekly
newsletter,
mindful parenting
verses and commentaries. The Mindful
Parent website also serves as a community forum that encourages and
supports a mindful parenting dialogue and the sharing of mindful parenting
experiences.
In the spirit of developing a mindful parenting
community, we encourage you to
submit a mindful parenting
experience through verse, commentary, and imagery to share with others.
We believe that through our collective experience, we can help
each other develop a deeper and more meaningful mindful
parenting practice.
Click here to learn more about making a
submssion. We thank everyone who has contributed or is considering
making this very compassionate contribution.
Click
here to learn what
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website. Please
contact us with your questions about mindful
parenting or to share a mindful parenting experience. We are
devoted to working with you to enhance your ability to "be" with your
children, and to experience the bliss that awaits you.
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The Morning Sip: Starting The Car
The practice of mindful
parenting is available to us every moment of our lives. Simple
everyday and routine events can serve as wonderful cues to the practice.
In fact, because of their repetitive nature, they naturally create
opportunities to open awareness to the present moment and to the presence
of our child in our lives.
Many of the verses available
on this site apply to everyday situations. While this
column does not generally draw on the verses already available
on the site, today's column is based on the verse "Starting The
Car." This serves as a reminder both that the verses are
available and that you are welcome to proffer your own for publication
on the site.
I put on my seatbelt
And start the car
May my child be safe
As she steers her life
Every time we get into our car we embark
on an adventure. Driving serves many purposes and has its associated
risks. We buckle up and drive and seldom stop to think about
what we are doing. Off we go. So it is with our child
as he lives his life.
We do what we can to ensure our child's safety,
but ultimately our child is out there in this world, exposed. This verse reminds us that driving, like much of life, is all too
often reduced to an automatic process. Reciting the verse as
we start the car (or the car is started) helps to make us mindful
of the vulnerable child that is out there in this wonderful and complex
world. Realizing this reality deepens our connection to our
beautiful child.
