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.
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.
The Daily Sip:
Listening
To Your Child's Heart Beat
Through the practice of mindful parenting,
we are able to open awareness to the presence of our child in our
lives, even when we are not physically with our child. Doing
so opens a connection to a deep source of joy and peace.
Today,
if you are able, press your ear to your child's chest and listen to
his or her beating heart. Don't rush through this. Breathe
deeply and relax. After a second or two you will begin
to hear your child's heart beat. Sink into this experience and
become very present in the moment. If there is a lot of
commotion, open awareness to apparent dichotomy of the swirling events and
the stillness surrounding each heart beat. Hug your child.
As you release your embrace, listen for the soft echo of the
heart beats, allowing your memory of them to linger for a moment.
(If
it is uncomfortable to press your head to your child's chest,
then perhaps you can press your child's wrist against your ear. If
your child is not with you, call and ask your child to listen
to his or her wrist and make a sound each time their heart beats for
about a minute.)
Then, when you are out and about, listen for
the rhythms of nature, and allow them to bring to mind an image
of your child and to the heart beats you heard. With engaged
awareness, you will find that cues abound -- the periodic tweeting
of birds, the sound of waves, the road passing under a car, the beeps of
an elevator passing floors, the clanging of an air conditioner, a
blinking yellow or red traffic light, water dripping, the shuffling
of feet, the stop and start of another's speaking, the to and
fro swaying of leaves in the wind.
Smile, as these cues bring
to mind your wonderful child. Give thought to what you
child may be doing at that time.
