Living with Great Imagination

This is from my post to my support group and resource page on April 9, 2018: "I am enough" ... One of the reasons this mantra is so powerful for me personally is because especially as a single mother (& no co-parent) it is easy to feel insufficient. It is easy to think of all the ways my kids would have a better life, more opportunities, etc., if they had a mother who was more experienced in this thing or a mom who was better at that thing, or heck even two parents instead of one, the list goes on. It is easy to see all our inadequacies, shortcomings, circumstances, weaknesses, etc., and wonder how much different--better even--our kids might be if they had a "better" parent. Maybe a more patient parent, one who yells less, one who has their sh** together and isn't such a "hot mess," a better cook, more fun, more this or less that.... The truth is that you are the best parent for them. You are enough. I am enough. All my weaknesses and beautiful...

This is from my post to my support group on March 3, 2019: Today's Daily Calm (I use the Calm App) guided meditation was on a concept of mindfulness really hard for me called Non-Reactivity. I have ADHD, I am autistic, I am highly sensitive & even if I mask well, underneath I have very strong emotions.  I have had a tendency towards shooting off emotionally charged emails and texts that in my early 20's caused such a riff with relatives that they held it against me for years (& some still do). The technique today's meditation used to develop non-reactivity is a type of body scan where you slowly observe different parts of your body and notice sensations as you move to the next part and the next part. Whether there is tingling or discomfort, you note it and keep moving, noticing how the last feeling disappears as a new one in a diff place starts. It all comes and goes like our breath. And we can learn to sit through it calmly, still experiencing what life brings, b...

From my post to my support group on August 12, 2019: Today's Daily Calm (I use the Calm App) was about effort... To be a "mindful parent" we practice mindfulness which also requires a daily meditation practice even if just 5 or 10 minutes a day. Our effort in both a meditation itself and in learning about mindfulness is not "too loose" or "too tight," but just our best but in a "relaxing yet alert" way. As a friend taught me, "you relax into it." It is a daily transformation process, not overnight, but slowly over time you will notice you react differently. And I believe Benjamin Schoeffler talked about this in a podcast that things that used to bother you won't bother you anymore. This morning I went to do my "morning pages" pre-meditation journaling and my journal was sitting in a puddle of sticky goop... So was my pen... Instead of cursing or muttering under my breath, I actually laughed inside as I cleaned up a...

From my post to my support group on August 13, 2019: Today's Daily Calm (I use the Daily Calm App) was on "gezellig" which means "cozy" in Dutch. I have learned so many cool words from other languages (including Sanskrit) on this app. They all are used to introduce a concept on mindfulness, a lesson, some new nugget that helps us grow in our practice. Today we focused on our breath in the belly first. Paying attention to the rise and fall with our breast. Then ribs. Then chest. And did a pattern. Belly, ribs, chest, putting our attention on those body parts while breathing. Most of the Calm App meditations use the breath as an anchor. You can also stare at rocks, a fountain, etc. There is no ultimate one right way but many ways. The breath is a common anchor. With kids, you can do today's more easily if you lay down and use a small stuffed animal that sits on the belly and they can watch it rise and fall. Remember these are all like dress rehearsals....