The Daily Sip:  Meta Mindful Parenting

 

Today's tip deals with meta-mindful parenting, or awareness of being a mindful parent.  It's a Catch-22; when you become conscious of being mindful, then you are no longer mindful (though you might have been a few moments earlier).  It's when you are so present in the moment that you are unaware of whether you are mindful, that you are mindful.  Joyfulness resides in a state of mindfulness.  In contrast, more ephemeral, pleasant feelings of competence and success reside in the state of thinking that you may have been mindful.

 

This is because mindful parenting it not a goal.  It is a way of being.  Once the ego takes it on as a goal, then whenever it enters the scene, we move into a less mindful place.

   

But that is all a part of being human.  So today, let us take notice of those occasions when we become aware that we had been in a mindful place.  Doing so offers the opportunity to open to mindfulness.

 

Perhaps you will have an uncomfortable interaction with your child and, upon reflection, experience insight.  You begin to think about having this insight.  Perhaps you will share a beautiful moment with your child, and then become aware of how beautiful the moment was.  Perhaps you will be deeply present with your child and then become aware of the fact that you were deeply present.  These are all marvelous opportunities to deepen your practice.

 

Look inside yourself for cues to when you are thinking about having been mindful.  When those times arise, simply observe those thoughts and feelings.  Do not try to do anything.  Just smile in awareness of that part of you that likes to be mindful. 

    

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.