The Mindful Parent

Experience the Joy of Connecting with our Children

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Mindful Parenting is a contemplative practice through which our connection to our child, and awareness of our child’s presence, helps us become better grounded in the present moment

Your mindful parenting practice

tip of the day.

Sip slowly.

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 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 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 submission.  We thank everyone who has made a contribution.


Please contact us with your questions about mindful parenting or to share a mindful parenting experience.  The Mindful Parent conducts mindful parenting  workshops and seminars

 

The Week of April 18, 2010

The Morning   Cup

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If you would like a copy of The Morning Cup column e-mailed to you, click here.

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The Daily Sip: Do I Know This?


While parenting is perhaps one of the greatest sources of joy, it can be a frustrating and painful experience at times. Many of the unpleasant moments are brought about by our reactivity -- our getting caught up in a state of mind and body that resists the events unfolding before us.


Today's Morning Cup looks to a simple mindfulness exercise that you can use to quickly cultivate a sense of connection, compassion, and empathy toward your child during moments that have soured.


The exercise invites you to ask yourself the question, "Do I Know This?" when your child does something that agitates you.


The answer to the question often will arise spontaneously, generating a feeling that offers you relief and insight the moment it is felt.


Mindful awareness and the insights that flow from practicing it suggest that many of the things that bother us are things we know only too well from within. For example, it is common for parents to become frustrated with their child based on their study habits, especially when trying to help them with school work. How ironic that such good intentions can lead to a rupture in the relationship. A deeper look often reveals that the child and the parent share many characteristics in this context -- the bouncing foot, the distracted mind, the difficulty listening, not wanting to be told what to do.


While you can be a great help to your child -- it can be challenging when you are suffering yourself.


By bringing this into awareness -- and asking the question does so at a deep level -- the tension can break as insight flows. Each time we practice, we rewire our brain and prepare ourselves even better for the next time.


If you find "Do I know this?" to be a helpful practice, you may want to try it when interacting with others -- people in traffic, at work, wherever you may find yourself feeling judgmental or distressed by another person's actions (or even your own). The following link to a recent The Mindful Life blog post explores this.


Wishing you all the best,


Scott Rogers


Founder, The Mindful Parent Community and Website

Author, Mindful Parenting: Meditations, Verses & Visualizations for a More Joyful Life