<Spring Cleaning>

Spiritual Parenting Thought for the Month (SM)

Brought to you by Mimi Doe

May, 2008

V10 #5

Spring Cleaning

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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

- Clear the Clutter

- Clean and Quiet

- What's New

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May greetings to you all!

My youngest daughter Elizabeth graduates from high school this month, my older daughter Whitney wraps up her sophomore year of college, and my husband and I just celebrated 23 years of marriage. Yikes, these milestones seem to be coming faster and faster.

Clearing the clutter in our lives brings us more fully to the present moment and allows us to be fully present and able to suck the joy out of moments like those above. Creating calmer, quieter soundscapes, more orderly homes, cars, and offices soothes us with clarity.

Blessings and light from my heart to yours,

Mimi Doe

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Put out the trash and wash the car. Those who do so are performing miracles. Miracles are feats no one can successfully explain. Miracles are everything you do.

--David K. Reynolds

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CLEAR THE CLUTTER

Clearing the clutter is a modern-day alchemy and can transform our lives. Many parents ask how can they can motivate their families to dive in with gusto so that they too can experience the powerful flow of life energy?

A few years ago I decided to ask my workshop participants for their advice. "How do your children help around the house?” Their creative ideas helped jump-start the chore issue in my own household. Rather than nagging for some simple help, chores became kind of interesting. Adding a hook to the back of the bathroom door, for instance, took care of the wet towels on the floor issue. Here are some more of their suggestions:

- I invented "the wheel of housework" for my 10-year-old. I made a spinner, like those on board games, and put all the different areas of the house on it. Whichever room it lands on, we tidy up.

- Last year I came up with the idea that both girls and boys could plan one dinner a month. It has been great and provided some interesting meals. Not everything has to be homemade - and you can buy pesto at the grocery!

- I tape money to the bottom of all my wastebaskets. When the children empty one, they get the coin. In a few days I replace the money. It's like a treasure hunt. I sometimes tape candy (wrapped) to the window cleaner and furniture spray. The children dust and do mirrors now with excitement.

- Nothing works better than the chore jar. At the beginning of the week, I wrote the chores that need to be done on bits of paper and put them into a special jar that the kids have decorated. They are small tasks so that my younger kids can do them, with the older ones picking more than one slip of paper. For example: empty the dishwasher, take out the trash, clear the table, put dishes in the dishwasher, feed the the animals. Larger tasks such as wash the car or put away laundry are listed twice so two kids will share the task. It has become a fun tradition to draw a chore, and there is much less complaining.

- When kids leave their toys and clothing lying around our house, the offending items go to jail. I put a note in the child's room saying, "Help, I'm your red clog and I'm in jail." The child then has the choice of letting it serve out its time (a few days) or bailing it out by doing a chore of my choice.

- I hated the weekly nagging on cleaning up rooms, so I let the kids pick one day of the week when they do their work. Now, no more nagging! Sometimes the mess in between drives me crazy, but I feel better knowing that on "their" day it will be picked up!

What do you do in your household to clear the clutter? How do you engage your family members to be part of the initiative?

Watch my blog: for some of my kitchen before and after shots. I called in an expert organizer for the job.

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CLEAN AND QUIET

From a spiritual perspective, all the constant input we experience nowadays (telephones; MP3 players and headphones; the bang-and-clatter of lockers, bells, and shouting in the halls at school; honking horns and loud music when driving, etc.) tends to numb kids out, disconnecting them from their hearts, minds, and intuitive wisdom. When over-stimulation is a way of life, quieter moments may seem empty. Most teens haven't been exposed to extended periods of quiet so inactivity feels uncomfortable. Or, they might be used to zoning out and have a fear of stopping and actually thinking, feeling, and taking stock of their lives.

Our jobs as parents is to gently invite our children to remember that quiet doesn't have to equal bored or asleep or deep thinking. We can help them reconnect to the extraordinary experiences that can happen in ordinary moments, and reawaken what may seem like a sleeping sense of wonder. We can encourage our sons and daughters to "stop already" and "center down," as the Quakers call quieting ourselves.

The common rooms of your home can counteract the busyness of your teen's other environments, offering them a sanctuary. Factors like subdued lighting, relatively low noiselevels, and a sense of order can contribute to creating peace. As one mother and stepmother of 2 teenaged boys says: "When our boys go to their other parents' houses, they get a lot of stimulation. In one house, people interrupt and talk over each other. In the other, there's a TV on all the time, even during meals. We try to be more serene here with conversation instead of electronics.

Try one of these strategies and notice a little more peacefulness in your home:

- Move the TV to a location other than the rooms where your family congregates for meals and/or conversation. You can take this a step further. I know several families who neither have TV reception nor subscribe to cable. They have one TV in the basement that is used for movies.

- Turn of needed light in living areas. Not only will this save energy, it can be relaxing. We often associate bright lights with noise and busyness, so try creating the opposite atmosphere in your home.

- If you like to listen to music in the background, experiment with the difference between music with vocals and instrumental recordings. Some people find that background instrumental music is soothing, while vocals can create tension unless you listen attentively.

- Create a room in your home where every family member can sit comfortably with lights conducive to reading. My family realized recently that our pets used the living room furniture more than we did. So, we invested in some great reading lights, rearranged the furniture, placed coasters around to accommodate drinks, and dug our throw blankets to entice napping. The serenity I feel when the four of us are all together reading in silence, pets on the floor where they belong, is deeply grounding.

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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 for 2008 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 IN 2008

Busy but Balanced

Begin 2008 by committing to crafting 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