Mindful Parenting is a contemplative practice through which we become more mindful of our children and, in doing so, experience a more joyful life.
Sign up for The Mindful Parent
newsletter and receive information and tips on mindful parenting.It's easy, free, and fulfilling.
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
recent events are taking place and of changes to The Mindful Parent
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.
Today's Sip: Holding Hands Across Generations
The
practice of mindful parenting is all about connecting -- connecting
with our child -- connecting with ourselves -- and connecting with
the cosmos. Connecting with the cosmos can mean many things.
Among these many things, it refers to connecting with other people, animals
and plants, the Earth and the universe. When the depth
of this connectivity is explored and realized, great meaning is evoked
and unbounded joy emerges.
A beautiful connection we can make
with our child is one that embraces a loved one who has passed
on.
Today, when you find yourself with some quiet time, look
at your two hands for a few moments. Breathe deeply and fully.
Relax your shoulders. Enter a state of calm. Smile as
you feel yourself coming home to yourself. Then, close your
eyes and bring to mind a loved one you are very fond of who has passed
away. Perhaps it is a grandparent or a parent, a good friend,
an aunt or uncle. It can be anyone for whom you have fond, beautiful
feelings, and had enjoyed a loving relationship. Imagine them
holding your right hand. Open your eyes and visualize their
hand touching, embracing your right hand. Bring to mind memories
of them and time you spent with them.
Then, with your right hand
in view, shift your attention to your left hand. Bring
to mind your child and visualize his or her hand holding your
left hand. Open awareness to your child. Feel the
strength of the presence of these two wonderful people. Continue
to breathe full breaths.
Feel the sense of balance brought
about by this exercise. It is almost as if you are a balance
scale, even weight on either side. Close you eyes and,
feeling the touch of each person's hand in your own, slowly bring
their two hands together so that they embrace. Then,
lower your own hands and sense the connection between your child
and your loved one.
