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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.
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Experiencing the Joy of Connecting With Our Children
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The Mindful Parent 
Tuesday July 27, 2004
The Morning Sip:  Joy In Every Number
 
Your child is always changing.  At the same time, there is a core essence to your child -- the part of them that you know so well. 
 
As time passes, it is not necessary to wonder "where the time went" or "how did my little child grow up so fast."  If you look deeply at your child right now, you will see in them the child who was just born, the little baby, the small child, and so on.  And so too, when you child is much older, he or she will possess a piece of themselevs today. 
 
Today's tip celebrates your child and their presence and growth on this Earth.  The tip draws on a previous tip but carries it to a higher level.  Try it and, after a few minutes, you may begin to feel what I call a "fuzzy bliss."  It's a wonderful feeling that can become more intense through the practice of mindful parenting.
 
Today, while you are driving or walking outside, pay attention to the numbers that appear on signs and buildings -- street signs, speed limit signs, street address and office building addresses, and  expressway signs.  Let one or more numbers on a sign cue images of your child -- in the past, the present, or in the future.
 
If your child is six and you see the number "2"
(or "23" and you choose to focus on the "2") bring to mind a glimpse of your child when he or she was two years old.  Breathe deeply and smile.  You may be surprised to find out how smiling at this moment opens your capacity to feel joy.  Then, when you see a "0," visualize the moment of your child's birth.  Smile.  If you see a "95" imagine your child very old, having lived a long and wonderful life.  Open awareness to the two year old in your child today and in your child today in the 95 year old.
 
Keep doing this with each number you see.  Let it become addictive -- at least during your ride to and from work, or the grocery or spa or gym, or while running an errand.  You will find the feeling of joyfulness becomes more powerful each time you conjure another beautiful image.
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