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.
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The Daily Sip:
Your
Child's Body Temperature And The Sun
Our day to day experience
takes us in many directions, often without notice. While we
try to plan, there is much in this world that cannot be anticpated.
Sometimes we are pleasantly surprised with what materializes.
And, at other times we are disappointed.
The art of mindful
living is to embrace all that crosses our path for what it is
-- an expression of the present moment. When things become uncomfortable, we
know deep inside that there is nothing to be gained by resisting. We
intuit that our energy is better directed at responding to the
situation at hand. And, of course, when things are proceeding
smoothly, we do not want to risk disrupting them.
The practice
of mindful parenting can help open awareness to the heart of the present
moment. Awareness of the presence of our child, when felt
deeply, guides us into the here and now. Awareness of our
child's body temperature is one such pathway.
Deep inside my child's body
There
is an energy
As powerful as the sun
Our child's body is its own vast cosmos,
with its own sun. While, from time to time there are unprectable
and perhaps undesirable fluctuations in our child's body temperature,
just as the Earth is warmed by the sun, so to our child's
body is warmed by an internal sun. This is a beautiful
reminder that while life bounces us around, there is a stabilizing
force that transcends the moment.
Today, look to the sun
and really "feel" the termperature. When you do, recite
today's verse and open to the extraordinary beauty of your child's
presence on this Earth. Sense the sun, inside your child's body,
regulating so many functions and sustaining your child.
