In these 6 weekly online sessions, we will create a sacred space where parents from all over the world can feel safe to share, learn, meditate, and be nourished.  Our time together will offer a short pause from our daily routine to foster a connection to ourselves and others, as well as provide an opportunity to explore how the parenting journey looks from varying cultural perspectives. 

Our sessions aim to find a balance of head, heart, and habit in the parenting experience by offering useful insights into the Buddhist worldview. We will explore weekly themes specific to those that arise in middle childhood.  

 

Some examples of themes that could be covered by the course include:

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• Physical changes in the pre-adolescent child

• Changes in consciousness

• What do children need at this age?

• Understanding the heart of childhood

• Accepting the child’s need for a new identity

• The role of the Arts 

• Skillful means and working with guilt, worry, shame, expectations from the parents angle

• Keeping our children safe, protected, and empowered

• Managing the virtual and non-virtual social life of a child

• Navigating transitions (ex. transitioning into middle school; between activities)

• Understanding and supporting the 9-year-old change

• Cultivating a sense of belonging in a social web

• Nurturing health, wellness, and empathy in your child and in yourself

• Practicing active listening with our children

• Identifying and holding boundaries (redefining boundaries when appropriate too)

• Finding age-appropriate ways for children to contribute to the family system

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Buddhist principles and experiential tools will be woven into our exploration of the above topics, providing resources to support our own inner development as parents.  Some of these threads include the Four Immeasurables, loving-kindness and compassion, impermanence, interdependence, and Buddha-nature.

 

Additionally, we will guide you in the practices of meditation, contemplation, and movement, focusing on the present moment and you as a witness to what arises in your body and mind.  We will also offer simple meditation practices, self-regulation tools, and basic rituals that you can do with your children to provide anchors in their experience with themselves and others. We will contemplate nurturing relationships and practice give and take meditation to support that. 

 

Here is a general outline of our sessions:

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• Opening and meditation 

• Introducing a theme

• Open discussion of the theme 

• Close discussion with observations/tools

• Meditation/contemplation related to the theme

• Yoga, movement, or art

• Closing and dedication

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The course will take place when a minimum of six participants are enrolled.

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We hope that you will join us in creating an island of nourishment for you and others on this path of parenthood.  

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