A Simple Practice

This post was written for inclusion in the Mindful Mama Blog Carnival hosted by hosted by Kelly of Becoming Crunchy and Zoie of TouchstoneZ. Participants are writing posts about what mindfulness mean to them. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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Mindfulness is a keystone in our home and we would not enjoy the chaos of our lives nearly as much without it.  When Chef and I first started our practice we already had the full midget crew, so including them was the Way from day one.  We did struggle at first to figure out what worked for us.  We now have a simple practice that brings us a very connected peaceful (you know, usually...) family.

Several friends with kids have asked us how we practice with kids and I always start by saying you have to adjust your expectations.  Practicing with kids is great, it's wonderful, but it's also nothing like practicing at a meditation center with nothing but adults in the room, nor is it anything like practicing alone.

We have a two part practice.  In the evening we gather together in our bedroom on our big bed.  Three across the top and three along the bottom.  It provides a nice soft spot and we are in a good circle (we also have a small house so it's a great dedicated space).  One of the kids gets to help light incense or the oil burner on the dresser.  We read a story together.  Sometimes its a bible story, sometimes its a dharma story and sometimes it's a favorite kid story.  We always adjust the seriousness and length based on how wiggly and giggly the crew is.  Some nights we get great in depth reading and others - it's short story time.  :) We often have a short discussion after the story.  The thoughts the midgets express during this discussion are usually more thoughtful than expected and as they have gotten confidence that their thoughts will be valued no matter what they say, the depth of their observations has just grown.

After story time we do short deep breathing meditation.  We either ring our bell three times or one of us plays the singing bowl for a brief time at the end to break meditation.  We then take time going around the circle to give deep heart hugs to each other.

Heart hugs are the center of our practice.  That simple step has brought us more connection, more peace than any other thing we have ever done, we crave it at the end of our day.  And it is SO very simple.  You hug to the 'other' side so that your hearts are lined up over one another.  You take a nice deep breath in the hug, really feeling that connection and time of the hug.  Take another deep breath and express your love to one another and release.

I know it does not sound like a lot but it really has changed our home.

In the morning we do a short Tai Chi practice (we rarely hit 30 min) as a family and kneel in meditative prayer together; sometimes one of the kids has something they want to say and they take turns leading.  As the kids leave for their busses we do a super short hug out the door.

Once a month we do a special meditation practice called 'Watering the Seeds'.  As needed we will do 'Deep Listening' practice to work out disputes or hurt feelings.  That's it.  The depth of our practice is probably hard to see from this simple description but that is the beauty of mindfulness.  Mindfulness grows from such simple roots when the space and time are provided.

I hope this helps give you the inspiration to add a bit of Mindfulness to your home.


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Visit the Mindful Mama Blog Carnival Homepage to find out how you can participate in the next Mindful Mama Blog Carnival!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• An Alternative Approach to Parenting Mindfully Through Present Moment Awareness Amy at Peace 4 Parents offers an experience of present moment awareness as a pathway to mindful parenting.
• Define: Mindful Alicia C. at McCrenshaw describes the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings for Engaged Buddhism and attempts to describe how she can apply them to her non-Buddhist life on her new journey toward mindfulness.
• This is what mindfulness looks like in my life Charise @ I Thought I Knew Mama describes what mindfulness looks like in her life in the form of poetry.
• Practice, Practice, Practice: Becoming a Mindful Mother Erin at it's OK shares her definition of mindfulness, and her struggle to develop a regular practice.
• How Meditation Makes Me a More Mindful Mother Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama shares her methods for sneaking meditation into each and every day in an effort to dig deep and be the most mindful mother possible.
• A Simple Practice Kat at My Mental Oddities outlines a simple practice with children
• Our Family Mission Statement Patti @ Jazzy Mama writes about how living mindfully means living intentionally. She created her Family Mission Statement to help her family stay focused on their goals and values.
• I REALLY Miss Being Mindful! Tracie of Purposeful Practices shares what it’s like to find and then lose your mindfulness practice.
• My Job Made Me a Mindful Mother Amy at Anktangle tells a story about how a mindfulness practice she used to utilize in her job as a nurse still impacts the way she mothers her son today.
• Now Amanda at Let's Take the Metro shows how mindfulness is all about living in the moment.
• Stepping into the Unknown To Rachael at The Variegated Life, mindfulness is a way of stepping into the unknown.
• Derailed Kelly of Becoming Crunchy explores what mindfulness looks like in her new, somewhat more hectic life.
• Mindful Mama Zoie at TouchstoneZ learns to stop struggling by being present with uncomfortable realizations.