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
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.
(c) 2003-2005 Zen Health.
All rights reserved.
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The Daily Sip:
Riding In The Elevator
A
common experience is riding in an elevator. Today's sip and
verse explores how the elevator ride can serve as a powerful
mindful parenting cue.
I start at the beginning
And I arrive
In the hear and now
No matter which floor you may be visiting, you
begin on the bottom floor. So it is with life, and with your
child's life. When you step onto an elevator, open awareness
to the beginning of your child's life. Imagine your child in
utero, or as a newborn or infant.
As the elevator begins
to lift, sense your child's growth and development. As you pass
floors, and see or hear the floor number, open awareness to your child
passing though those ages -- whether they be ages passed or ages yet
to come.
When you arrive at your destination, and the elevator
comes to rest, sense your feet touching the floor of a box in
a building whose foundation touches the Earth. Sense yourself
connected to the Earth and imagine your child as he or she is today.
Breathe
deeply as you walk out of the elevator and smile in awareness
that your child is with you.
Thursday January 27, 2005