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 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.
Sign up for The Mindful Parent newsletter and receive information
and tips on mindful parenting. It's easy, free, and fulfilling.
The Daily Sip:
You
and Your Child: Here, Now and When
A powerful mindful parenting
technique is to become mindful of what is not yet.
By doing so, you open to an even deeper awareness of what is.
Today,
take note of a time when you are with your child. It
makes no difference whether you are in the same room or in the
same building but different rooms. If you are interacting with
your child, find a comfortable and easy moment to extract yourself
from the exchange. Remain where you are; simple observe
the setting -- your child and his or her actions, or images
of what your child is doing at the time, the room, the temperature,
any odors, your posture. Breathe deeply.
Then, imagine
moving forward in time to when your child is not with you.
If your child is young, then such a time may be when he
or she leaves home as an adult. If your child is visiting you,
then it could be when your child returns to his or her home.
This moment is like water
Seeping
between my fingers
As you observe the setting, shift back and
forth between the two time periods. Observe the present moment,
and then transport yourself to a distant time and experience
the sensation of your being in the same place as you are now
but with your child no longer there with you.
The present
moment is a gift like no other.
