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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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: When You
Worry:
Take Another Look
When our child worries or panics we
often see through the concern and know that all will be well.
We do our best to soothe our child and trust that as he or she
matures the tools for dealing with life's stresses will be close at
hand.
When we worry, it is not always so easy to see through
the concern. Even when we intellectually know better, our restless
minds and bodies have a difficult time calming down and
seeing clearly.
The practice of mindful parenting brings us into the
present moment. Opening awareness to our child can help
center us in the here and now.
Today, if you find yourself worrying,
bring your thoughts and awareness to an image of your child worrying.
Visualize your child's tense or anxious body and sense your child's
thought patterns. Essentially, shift the worry into your
child and observe its effects.
This practice allows
us to more easily see through the concern. The child we observe
is not so much our child but the child within ourselves.
Our connection to our child is so penetrating that this practice
opens doorways long since closed. We begin to develop a greater
compassion for ourselves, and, at the same time, we open our
hearts more deeply to our child.
