Beautiful scene
Many parents
Many children
Mindful Parenting is a contemplative practice through which we become more mindful of our children and, in doing so, experience a more joyful life.
Your mindful parenting practice tip
of the day.
Be sure to
sip
slowly
Experiencing
the Joy of Connecting With Our Children
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.
The Mindful Parent
Wednesday
September 15, 2004
The Daily Sip:
Sharing
Yourself With Your Child
Life is filled with all sorts of stressors
that can get to the best of us. In addition, we all have our
own baggage that we carry with us. The practice of mindful parenting
helps us to distinguish between the two when we are interacting with
our child. The important difference is that when the latter
comes into play (i.e., our idiosyncratic baggage), greater awareness
can help us to more appropriately assess the threat we are feeling
and, perhaps, deal with it more in line with the actual threat.
When our child is in the balance, and our awareness opens, we
have greater strength to do this.
Breathing
deeply I know this feeling
Resides deep in myself
I can teach my child
To see it for what it is
If you should find yourself overreacting
to a situation, or an encounter causes you undue stress, recite the
above verse. If you are with your child at the time, you may
want to share with your child what you are feeling and explain that
you are working on learning how to better deal with it. When
you do this, open awareness to the present moment so that the content
of your speech is genuine and not compromised by the” baggage.” Breathe deeply and slowly for a few minutes before speaking without
attending to the thoughts floating across your mind.
If
you are not with your child, make a note to discuss it with them sometime,
as your child likely has observed the behavior and will
develop a better understanding of both you and him or herself. Also, your connection with your child will deepen.
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A complete archive of "The
Morning Cup" colums can be found here.
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2003-2004 Zen Health. All rights reserved.
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