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.
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through our collective experience, we can help each other develop
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The Daily Sip:
Raising Your Arms And Deepening Your Connection To
Your Child
The practice of mindful parenting opens us to the
deep presence of our child in our lives. It enables us to more
easily be with our child, both when we are physically present and
distant from our child.
Many of us engage in one or more forms
of exercise, whether it be the more spiritually centered yoga,
or the more Western traditional fitness club regimen. Today's
mindful parenting tip can be incorporated into your
exercise routine, or if you don't have one, can be engaged at practically
anytime throughout the day.
Today, extend your arms outward
and prepare to slowly raise them over your head. When fully
extended, palms up, look to one hand and imagine balancing
your child, as a baby, in your palm. Then look to the
other hand and imagine holding yourself, as a baby, in that palm. Breathe
deeply. Slowly begin to raise your arms, lifting them as
high as you can, all the while continuing to feel your child's
presence in one arm and your own in the other. Sense the vibrant
energy of your child's life force and your life force swirling
within and about the arms and hands. Then, imagine
your child's presence and your presence sinking into you arms, your
images slowly disappearing. Bring your hands together
and as your palms touch, sense your child's energy and your own mixing.
Lower your head back and look up at your hands. Breathe deeply.
Smile.
When you are ready, slowly lower your arms. The
power of this practice resides in our paying mindful attention to
our presence and our child's presence and to the connection of our
energy states. Such a connection always exists, but we
can deepen our awareness of it through exercises like this one.
