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.
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The Daily Sip: Opening Your Purse
or Wallet
And Your Child's Birth
Most everyone carries a purse
or wallet. Inside are many things which we
turn to throughout the day -- makeup for our appearance, money
for our possessions, keys for access to important places.
Inside is also a place where we may keep pictures of our
child. In this regard, and as mentioned in Monday's column,Reviving Mindful Parenting Cues: The Photograph, we have available
a mindful parenting cue to open awareness to the presence of our child
in our life.
Your purse or wallet can also serve as a mindful
parenting cue. Your child spent approximately 40 weeks inside
his or her mother's womb, then emerged. Each time you open your
purse or wallet and take something out, something emerges.
I reach into my [purse/wallet]
And as something emerges
I sense the birth of my child
As you recite this verse, you can
visualize or remember the moment your child entered the "world."
Even more powerful, you can sense that moment. Instead
of quickly pulling out a credit card or eyeliner, slow down the process.
Breathe deeply and slowly move your hand as it reaches in and pulls
something out. With your arm moving slowly, sense the movement
of your child exiting the womb.
As you pull out the
card or makeup, expand awareness to that wonderful moment your child
was born. Turn what appears to be the trivial into the extraordinary.
For indeed, every moment we live and breathe is extraordinary.
Expand
awareness from your child at the moment of his or her birth to the
present moment. What is your child doing now?
