Book Review

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Everyday Blessings
The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting
Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn
Hyperion 05/98 Paperback $14.95
ISBN: 0786883146

"Parenting calls us to recreate our world every day, to meet it finally in every moment," write Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn in Everyday Blessings. "Such a calling to actuality is nothing less than a rigorous spiritual discipline — a quest to realize our truest, deepest nature as a human being." The authors have harvested 21 years of parenting and come up with ideas and practices designed to nurture, guide, and protect children until they are ready to go their own way. The Kabat-Zinns believe that keeping the heart open and the mind clear is the essence of mindful parenting. They see children as "live-in Zen masters" who enable us to live in the present moment and to embody wakefulness. The home milieu, according to the authors, is a place of growth and inner abundance where mothers and fathers honor the sovereignty of their sons and daughters, practice empathy and acceptance, and cultivate discernment.

The Kabat-Zinns share some of their most memorable moments as parents, suggest rituals and mindfulness blessings, and criticize consumerism, electronic babysitters, and overscheduling. Everyday Blessings makes a good case for parenting as valued and honored work. It is the kind of very special resource you will want to give to those starting out on this spiritual adventure.

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by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat