Interview

Spiritual Parenting Thought for the Month (SM)

Brought to you by Mimi Doe

June, 2008

V10 #6

Downshift for Delight

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This newsletter is my gift to you in the hopes of empowering children and parents everywhere to live more joyful, connected lives.

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SPRING CLEANING

- Welcome From Mimi

- Downshift for Delight: an excerpt from Mimi's interview on Unity FM radio

- What Parents (and Their Children) Are Saying

- What's New

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June greetings to you all!

The rain is pouring down as I write this early morning missive to you. I love June! I love the rain mixed with sun that nourishes my little white garden. I love the happy celebrations that come with graduations and family birthdays. I love that June is the doorway into a slower summer rhythm. Give yourself time this month to linger a bit with simple summer delights. Hang your hammock and your porch swing then go find your board games. Reserve a pitcher for *homemade lemonade, without sugar, and resolve to downshift every now and then.

Blessings and light from my heart to yours,

Mimi Doe

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The present is holy ground.

— Alfred North Whitehead

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DOWNSHIFT FOR DELIGHT : BEING TRULY PRESENT

The following is an excerpt from an interview with Mimi Doe earlier this spring on Unity FM radio.

Linda: Welcome Mimi we are so thrilled and honored to have you as a guest.

Mimi: Thanks Linda. I love the story, Jennifer that you just told about your daughter. That was wonderful and it reminds us that children are huge spirits housed in little bodies and the wisdom that they can enlighten us with is fully present when we just listen. We're so busy teaching, guiding, and organizing, that we don't really pause with these incredible gurus that we live with and listen to them.

Linda: Yes.

Mimi: And then even take the next step and write it down. Oh, we will say…"Okay, Joy. Thank you so much, and you know what? I've got a scrap of paper here and I need to write down your prayer – what you just said – because I want to remember it forever. You're my teacher. Thanks."

You know, it's empowering for our kids because then they have permission to bring their inside wisdom out. What happens to most kids is they bring it out and they say something like, "There are fairies playing in the backyard! They're beautiful little fairies!" And we go, "Yeah, right. That's called make-believe, honey."

Linda: Right.

Mimi: And we just shut down this inner beauty that really needs a level of acceptance in order to stay dimensional. Otherwise, it's sort of like what Steiner wrote about, you know, Rudolf Steiner, the German mystic upon which the Waldorf schools were founded. He writes about how at the age of seven, between seven and eight, the veil comes down for most children.

Jennifer: Well, thank you and you know, thank you for that reminder as my daughter is seven now and I have begun to start to see some of that. So, I know that you have so much experience as you're both also the mother of two children? That's correct?

Mimi: I am, and they're teenagers now. I don't know where the time has gone.

Jennifer: Oh, my goodness. Well tell, us a little bit, Mimi, about what inspired you to make spiritual parenting your business.

Mimi: My kids, first and foremost. I've been very fascinated with the inner life of children all my life. I have a Masters Degree in Education from Harvard, and when I was at Harvard, I came across the work of Howard Gardner and he's written many books on multiple intelligence – how we are each born with a way of being in the world. You know, there's the spatial intelligence, there's the kinesthetic intelligence, and I really believe that we all have a spiritual intelligence. I was very interested in that.

But, it wasn't until I had my first daughter 20 years ago that my own spiritual life which has always been very rich, and very vivid, and very much a part of the way I lived – it wasn't until she was born that I was fully able to integrate what I've learned in my sort of academic world with what I wanted to bring to the larger world and certainly what I wanted to happen in my own home.

And what I wanted to happen in my own home is I wanted to parent this child so that she could have a strong and rich relationship with spirit, with God. I wanted to sort of transfer the lifeline from me, which a baby of course has to have, to God, so that she'd have that relationship I found so precious and dear. And I have to tell you, she's 20 and her relationship with spirit humbles me -- it puts me to shame.

You know, she's a girl that operates from the heart – she graduated from high school early so she could go to Africa and teach. She started in 8th grade, going to Third World countries to serve and she'd come back and say, "Mom, I went to Honduras to help but I was the one helped." I mean, her wisdom has been what's informed me. You teach what you want to learn.

Jennifer: …But, don't we all want to have experiences with our children where we are able to be taught by what they are modeling for us?

Mimi: Absolutely. It's wonderful when we kind of switch that consciousness into thinking that we have to be the ever -present, all-knowing parent and have all the answers and be completely in control of this little human, because it's just not the way it works when we are fluid and open and alive to the inner life of our child.

And I've got to tell you, that is not always easy, you know. I mean, sometimes I tell parents of teenagers, "Okay, just creep in when they're sleeping and look at them, and then visualize their beautiful inner life", because the behavior can get in the way a lot of times.

Jennifer: I'm with you there. I was sharing last week, Mimi, about when my children were teenagers, the only real time that I had with them where they were vulnerable and open to me was when I was about to fall asleep at 11:30 at night, and they would want to have deep, long conversation. So, we have to be available for the times when they're available to be our teachers, right?

Mimi: Exactly. And with our young kids in particular, it's very difficult for us as busy parents to downshift into their rhythm. But we do them a disservice when we constantly require our young children in particular to ramp up to our frenzied pace. I mean, it changes as you mentioned when our kids are teenagers and we're done by 11:00 p.m. and they're just get and going. But it's a message and a reminder for those of us with young children that, you know, let's say we're about to take walk with our child and they stop and they look at this spider web, and it's got morning dew on it, and they gaze at it, and they say, "Look! It's diamonds", and we say, "Yes, that's a spider web. Remember? We looked in the science book about the spider web? Okay, now, come on. We got to go. We have got to move our walk."

Jennifer: Oh, I'm guilty. I'm so guilty.

Mimi: It's really key that we take our cues sometime, not all the time, you know, but – that we take our cues from our kids and that we allow their rhythm to sometimes set the tempo of the moment.

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The present moment delights us. We see it as an opportunity for grace and mystery. It is our source of holiness.
— Mary Margaret Funk

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WHAT PARENTS (AND THEIR CHILDREN) ARE SAYING

- My son and I take a writing class together. Yesterday he wrote how lucky he was to have a mother who understands his feelings and listens to him. I felt so grateful. I've tried to make listening to him a priority and it has paid off. (Mother of one)

- I guess I shortchange my kids. Maybe if I spent more time finding out about them rather than just dictating what they can do and what they can have, we would all learn something. (Mother of four)

- Ever since I have been having a pillow talk with my two girls our nighttime routine is dragged out a bit, but it's definitely worth it. When I started, all I could think of was the dinner dishes waiting to be washed downstairs, the work I had brought home from the office, and if I was giving this child more time than the other. Now I relax, slip off my shoes, and breathe… my daughters snuggle up and even if the talk is mundane we feel reconnected after our busy days. (Mother of two)

- Daddy, when I'm all growed up and have to leave this house, can I have on last look around?

Of course, darling, you can just stay right here always.

Well, how about if I get to decide?

That's good. I love you, Beth.

What's love mean, Daddy?

It means you're special, I cherish you.

I love you, Daddy!

(Age four, with her father at pillow talk)

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One 12-year-old boy, when asked by his father what he would like for his birthday, said, "Daddy, I want you!" His father was rarely at home. He was quite wealthy, but he worked all the time to provide for his family. His son was a bell of mindfulness for him. The little boy understood that the greatest gift we can offer our loved ones is our true presence.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

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*HOMEMADE LEMONADE

Squeeze 4 lemons, 1 orange, 1 lime
Put into pitcher.
Add 1/2 cup honey to dissolve in 1 cup warm water. Put into pitcher. Add 3 cup cold water, 1 tray of ice. Mix and refrigerate or serve!

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~*~WHAT'S NEW~*~

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO THESE DAYS

Lately I've been listening to Steve Halperns OM Zone on my laptop as I work. It transports me to ease and calm. Check out this instrumental CD and I promise you will find a new serenity.

MIMI BLOGS

Click HERE to visit my Blog. You can bookmark it on Google to receive updates of new posts. Do leave comments and suggestions so we can have a virtual conversation.

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CREATE A YEAR OF DREAMS

Make ALL your dreams come true with the Dream Manifesto!

For YEARS I have been creating vision boards or treasure maps using poster boards and images of what

I would like to manifest in my life...Literally for about 24 years...

Up until now...

Now, since I'm on my computer so much of the time...I've installed this easy to use software, literally I had it up and running in less than 5 minutes, and my images are scheduled to appear with sound...that I've created...every few hours...reminding me of what I wish to focus upon...

It's crazy cool! In fact, I have had to delete most of the images I first put up as they HAVE COME TRUE. Time for new dreams!

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TREAT YOUR TEENAGERS TO STRESS FREE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS!

If your children are in high school, pick up a copy of my book: Don't Worry You'll Get In: 100 Tips for Stress Free College Admission. I believe that knowledge is power and have created various ways to help make the application and admissions process less stressful.

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CREATE A LIFE LIVED ON PURPOSE THIS SUMMER

Busy but Balanced

Begin this summer to craft a more balanced life!

This book takes you through the year, week by week...Full of tips, tools, ideas and inspiration for crafting a family life that is calm, centered, and full of joy!

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Spiritual Parenting Thought for the Month (SM) is written and produced by Mimi Doe and Karen Adolphson. If you have any stories to share, questions or comments, please send them to: Editor@SpiritualParenting.com. We'd love to hear from you!

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Mimi Doe, Author of:
"Nurturing Your Teenager's Soul"
"Busy But Balanced"
"10 Principles for Spiritual Parenting"
"Drawing Angels Near"

http://www.SpiritualParenting.com