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
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making this very compassionate contribution.
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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 Daily Sip:
Clapping Hands
And The Present Moment
As our child matures, the smiles and laughter
once exhibited spontaneously and with such exuberance begin to change
form. This transition is a slow one and its influence
trickles along like water meandering along a shallow creek. Soon
enough our child is an adult, beset with all of the real world issues
with which we all grapple.
Clapping hands is a wonderful way
to share and exchange feelings of joyfulness. It is one that we
often outgrow, and as a result, one we help our child outgrow.
Today,
jump out of the creek and stand firm on the shore by clapping your
hands when you wish to express pleasure, excitement, and joy. When
your child does something that is funny, loving, or for approval,
respond with a big smile and heartfelt clapping. Let your
child know how much his or her behavior fills you with love and appreciation.
As
you clap, breathe deeply in rhythm with the motion of your hands and
really "feel" your hands as they meet each other. Open awareness
to the muscles in your arms and shoulders, driving your
hands together. Listen deeply to the sound that is generated.
Sense the feelings moving inside you and your child. Lose yourself
in the clapping.
The practice of mindful parenting expands
the connection between you and your child in ways that deepens
your awareness of the present moment. You may want to experiment
with clapping hands with awareness at other times as well.
Each
time I clap my hands
The sound I hear
Beckons me into the present moment
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