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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.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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(c) 2003-2004 Zen Health.  All rights reserved.
The Mindful Parent is a servicemark of Zen Health.
Friday July 23, 2004
Today's Sip:  License Plates
 
We are inundated with numbers.  Much of the time we see right through them, having habituated to their presence.  One example is automobile license plates.  Whatever vehicle we might be in and regardless of whether we are driving or a passenger, at any given moment we can see numerous license plates, and they are always changing.
 
This routine observation can serve as a wonderful cue to mindful parenting.
 
Today, look at license plates with intention.  Scan for a number in your child's age.  Perhaps your child is seven; look for a "7."  Perhaps your child is 23; look for the combination "23" or merely for the presence of a "2" and a "3" in the plate.  When it clicks and the numbers are seen, relax.  Smile and open your awareness to your child's presence , wherever he or she may be.  Is she sitting in the back seat?  Is she on another continent?  In the moment of awareness, allow your awareness to incorporate imagery of your child -- a glance at what they might be doing at the moment. 
 
Instead of so many of the thinking-events taking place in your mind while you are driving, let this tip clear your mind of the hectic thought process you experience for so much of the day.
 
This is not a time for more thought.  It is an opportunity you create for yourself to clear your mind and deepen your connection to your child.
 
You might even feel an unexpected joyful surge.
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