Mindfulness-Lovingkindness

​Dear UU Parents and Guardians, 

I'd love for you to join us for our weekly offerings: 
***Note: Some of these links have changed as there are now required passwords for safety***

Sunday 11am 

Sunday School 
30 Min Program geared towards K-5 but open to all ages
Email me for the link

Middle and HS Zoom NEW THIS NEXT WEEK! 
Monday nights 6pm: 
Email me for the link

Parent and Guardian Chat: 
The chance for parents and guardians to just get together and
Every other Thursday 8pm and every other Wednesday noon
Next Thursday the 16th 8pm
      Link: https://zoom.us/j/866583131     Password: lovemykids
Next Wednesday the 22nd noon
      Link: https://zoom.us/j/474526337     Password: lovemykids

New Youtube links for this week!

Story with Ms Alexa: https://youtu.be/L_Mpb2rYGy4

Story with Miss Heather: https://youtu.be/0_Ed3HgQ0vI

Music with Miss Molly:   https://youtu.be/49mv-Wmt7-4  

Weekly Message for Parents and Children 
Theme this week:
Loving kindness (ie: 'metta' in Buddhist tradition) and a stuffed animal guided meditation

Chelsea's Meditation: https://youtu.be/7vHyeRPgxAY   

The meditation lessons which I am doing are geared towards K-5th graders, but everyone is welcome to them. The theme for my lesson this week was: loving kindness which is also known in the Buddhist tradition as 'metta'. Sending love to ourselves and also out to the world. 

Metta phrases typically consist of phrases such as: 
May I/you/all beings be happy
May I/you/all beings be healthy
May I/you/all beings be safe
May I/you/all beings live with ease

In the fullest form, metta meditation works with six categories of beings - generally in an order such as this: 
1. Oneself
2. Benefactor
3. Friend
4. Neutral person
5. Difficult person
6. All beings

The idea behind metta meditation is to develop a sense of kindness by invoking memory and presence of those close to us but then radiating that feeling outward increasingly further or more challenging. 

"A great image for how intention works in the heart is to think of a field of tall grass between a house and a lake shore. The first time you walk from the porch to the lake, you can hardly see the path you cut. The second time, the grass is bent lower down, and the path is clearer. If you walk that path every day, eventually the grasses part and you've created a clear, wide, and easy path. Likewise, our minds and hearts make certain journeys quite regularly, sometimes of resentment, guilt, or shame. With metta meditation, we are widening the pathway of kindness. The more we practice metta, the easier it becomes to go down that open, well-traveled path" - Sumi Loundon Kim

Questions for you as a parent/guardian this week: 

1. Do you often extend yourself loving kindness or do you find yourself thinking negatively about your thoughts or actions more often that not. Why? 
2. What are some relationships in which a natural loving-kindness is already present for you or for your children? What are the qualities of that relationship? 

My mantra for this week has been the word, 'grace'. 
This time of isolation, LPS being out, work changes, fear, uncertainty....we all need to grant ourselves a lot of grace -- and grant one another grace. Breathe. We are going through something new that we have never ever done before or could possibly prepare to do. My friend Abby reminded me that there will be much time in the future for me to be an amazing parent - if all I am doing is mediocre in this moment - that is okay. There is still a lot of love in our hearts. Even if I am not feeling in the moment that I am at my best self, at least I can say my children got fed today...a few of us likely got bathed...and everyone got hugs. Grace. Grace. Grace. 
​
May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be well.