Show 43 – Mindful Parenting with Laura-May Culver

Aired Live: Sunday, September 26, 2010 8 to 9 AM EASTERN on www.CFRU.ca 93.3 FM in Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Laura-May Culver is a single mom of 2 boys ages 5 and 8 years. She is a registered Social Worker with over 17 years of varied social service and clinical experience, including working with adults with co-dependency, addiction and mental health needs, adolescents, children and families. The Upper Grand District School Board uses her as a  Personal Transformation Consultant with a Mindfulness focus. She offers private counseling and coaching services. You can find out more about Laura-May by visiting her website at www.knowselfservices.com.

What is Mindful Parenting?

It is the spiritual practice of parenting: the practice of being, noticing, and responding to each and every present moment when you can, consistently and persistently.

How do we parent mindfully?

Our bridge to staying present is our breath.

When we’re having a temper tantrum, breathe.

Before grabbing that morning coffee, breathe.

When our child is yelling “I hate you!” or having a temper tantrum, breathe.

Breathe. Practice. Breathe.

Laura-May’s top Mindfulness Links:

Alliance for a New Humanity: www.anhglobal.org

Planetize the Movement: www.planetizethemovement.org

Daily Primordial Sound Meditation: http://www.chopra.com/meditation

Inter-professional Certificate Program in Applied Mindfulness Meditation at the University of Toronto: http://www.socialwork.utoronto.ca/conted/certificate/mindfulnessmed.htm

Sophia Center for Culture and Spirituality in Oakland, CA: http://uniquewebdesignandprinting.com/sophia/director.html

Upper Grand District School Board in Ontario, Canada: http://www.ugdsb.on.ca/whss/article.aspx?id=2468

To be a Mindful Parent, you need your own practice. Kids see through the teacher that doesn’t actually practice!

Be the Change, do your own Practicing! There are so many resources out there for you!

Eckhart Tolle: A New Earth-Awakening to your Life’s Purpose on Oprah!: http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/A-New-Earth-Are-You-Ready-to-be-Awakened  and http://www.eckharttolle.com/home/

Wherever you Go, There you Are—Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn: http://www.mindfulnesscds.com/books.html#wherever

Love based family centred approach, Bryan Post: http://www.postinstitute.com/

Love Never Fails, Heather Forbes: http://www.beyondconsequences.com/

Everyday Blessings-The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting by Jon Kabat-Zinn: http://www.jonkabat-zinn.com/

Show 42 – Adoption

Aired live on Sunday, September 19, 2010 8 to 9 AM Eastern on www.CFRU.ca 93.3 FM in Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Jenny Emerson and Luke Hill talk about both the joys and challenges of adopting children. We discuss adopting, being adopted, open adoptions, and how to initiate the adoption process.  An anonymous mom shares a story about her experiences about being adopted and giving up a child. What supports are needed to help with the transition of welcoming a new person into your family?

Jenny has been involved in the Family and Children’s Services training Pride Program for four years. She talks about adopting her own children: one as a baby and one as a three and a half year old.

Luke is a trainer and Resource Parent for Family and Children’s Services. He has one adopted child and one birth child. His family is currently on the list to adopt another child.

A mother writes: My friends in school would talk about the time when they were born, their weight etc. I always answered I don’t know. Then I had to explain that I was adopted. Some kids would say things like ” Oh. Your Mother didn’t want you so she gave you away “. Those kinds of comments are very hurtful. I thought that thought on my own. I also wondered who I looked like, where I get my height from, my eyes etc. Why didn’t my Mother love me? What did I do wrong? I found these times very difficult.

During the last month of my pregnancy, I stayed at a home for unwed mothers. Even then, things were kept secret. After I gave birth, I had the choice to see my baby or not. I was allowed to hold him and feed him. We had a very special bond. He was the first thing in my life that I was truly related to by blood. He was mine. He was my son. Two days later I left the hospital without him. I felt as if I was abandoning him. That was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. I was walking away from my own child. Some people consider that to be a very selfish act. I’m not sure about that. Giving a child what is best for them is an act of love. I realized in time just how much my Mother must have loved me in order to have given me up for another family to raise.

Adoption is not a bad word or a bad thing. It comes from a place of pure unselfish love. Every one involved in this process, whether giving up or bringing in a child, needs support and understanding both during and after the process in order to heal. It doesn’t matter if you are related by blood or not. A family is chosen by our hearts.

Show 41 – Resilient Family Relationships

Air Date: Sunday, September 5, 2010 8 to 9 AM Eastern || www.CFRU.ca 93.3 FM in Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Eric Bowers (www.roadtocompassion.com) offers workshops and courses, consulting, mediation, and personal sessions for: government agencies, businesses, students creating peace tables and no-fault classrooms, youth groups and youth peer supporters, individuals, couples, and groups to find more empowerment, authenticity, compassion, and connection in their lives.

He’s in Guelph, Ontario for Family Matters and for a weekend workshop Transforming Conflict and Building Thriving Relationships:
September 18th and 19th. (see www.roadtocompassion.com/events for details)

What is NVC (www.cnvc.org) and Attachment and how can these support family relationships?

What is empathy?

Eric Bowers will give us examples and practical ways to apply these skills in our own families.