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.
Today's Sip: Leaving
the Nest, Part II
Today's tip will expand on yesterday's column.
You can click here to read yesterday's column or click on "The
Morning Cup Archives" button on the left side of this page.
Yesterday's
tip was to open mindful awareness upon hearing the sound of, or seeing,
a bird. A short verse, involving a bird's nest building,
was provided, to bring awareness to the time you prepared
for the arrival of your child. The column reminded that:
"Every
moment of your life as a parent, you prepare for the arrival of your
child."
Today, whether your child is an infant, lives at home,
or has "left the nest," allow yourself to sense your
child as if he or she were a bird. Whatever stage of development
your child is in, open awareness to their neediness, their struggle
for freedom, and the beauty of their presently, or one day, flying
with grace and ease through the sky.
Beautiful child --
You are like a bird
Just hatched, ready to fly
If your child is an infant, visualize
your tiny baby surrounded by twigs, nestled on down feathers.
If your child is older and beginning to grasp the world, visualize
in their actions the stretching and awkward flapping of young
wings. If your child is an adult, visualize him or her in the
air, striving for or achieving independence.
When
we make such associations with the "natural" world (of which
we are very much a part, not "apart"), we more deeply appreciate
our relationship to the cosmos, our vulnerability, and in doing so,
expand our capacity to feel alive and present on this Earth.
