Saturday, September 14, 2013

Tips 9-10: Cartoons and the Two Steps Back Principle

Meditation Practice for Mothers, Tip #9: Saturday morning can be an excellent time for an extended meditation sit if you are all right with your children watching a few episodes of Saturday morning cartoons while they nibble on bagels and fruit. I personally am fine with 2-3 PBS kids shows. If you feel guilty about all the TV-watching while you meditate, however, welcome the guilt--it will give you something to work with during your sit.

Meditation Practice for Mothers, "Just Do It" Tip #10: There are some days that, despite a good run of daily meditation, insights, yoga, healthy eating, and a comfortable sense of being on your path, that you wake up and just cannot get it together. You can't quite wake up, you are only partially attentive to your kids, the deafening sound of the high school sports teams waiting in the 4-mile long line at Chick Fil-A (where your kids just HAD to go and you are to tired/out of it to argue, though you did insist on fruit cups) is about to drive you into the nearest cave, your neck is stiff from sleeping funny, and you basically wish you could just start over, or are waiting to start but its already 3pm. I call this the "1 step forward 2 steps back" principle. It is insidious because it gives the illusion that your meditation practice isn't working. Don't let this principle deter you. It too is an illusion and an important part of the practice.

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