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 Morning Sip: Touch Your
Child's Feelings And Find Yourself
It is a wonderful thing
to observe the spectrum of emotions a small child is capable
of feeling and expressing. So genuine are these emotions,
that we feel their energy. Notice how joyful we feel when
our child feels joy and the pain we feel when our child is in pain.
When we were children, we were open to the same spectrum.
As
we humans mature, the breadth of this spectrum often diminishes.
As we become in "control" of our emotions, we tend to block ourselves
off from feeling those emotions that are uncomfortable or taboo.
When this happens (for better or worse) we lose touch with a part
of ourselves.
The practice of mindful parenting involves opening
awareness to our feeling and body states. Doing so is not easy
and can be all the more challenging when emotions pass through
us with which we have lost touch.
Today, be especially
attentive to your child's feeling states. Whether your child
is three or 30, there is much to learn. Each time you observe
a different state take a deep breath and "feel" if you can
tap into the feeling. So, for example, if your child cries,
"I hate you!" observe whether you can simulate, within yourself, the
emotion. If your child expresses profound joy, look deep
and "feel" whether you can relate.
Perhaps you can, perhaps
you can't. And if you can, perhaps it is to a degree.
Once you notice whether you can tap into the feeling state, take a
moment and try to conjure within yourself the state. If it is
uncomfortable to do so, stop whenever you like. But, if you
can open yourself to an emotion you haven't felt or identified with
for a while, you can gain greater insight into both yourself and your
child.
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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