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Family resilience and well being rely on acknowleding the stresses and joys of life, real time.

Contemplative practice builds skills that help us skilfully relate to whatever our family experiences.

Mindfulness may seem trendy, but it is a practical way to support awareness, compassion and intention.

Cultivating habits that support clear-seeing, intention and compassion changes life for us - and our families.

Mindfulness has become such an overused buzzword that people’s eyes sometimes glaze over when they hear it. Dismissing it has become a fad of its own. But mindfulness isn’t a cure-all or trend; it’s one of many contemplative practices for developing traits like resilience and empathy. The bigger picture is what matters: In an uncertain, changing world, how can we learn to live skillfully, with more awareness, patience, and kindness?

One useful habit, as you hear anything new, is to ask yourself: Is it true? Is it true that family life tends to be busy, changing, and sometimes difficult? In the face of those experiences, we get caught up in living reactively, without much awareness or intention. We run on autopilot, sticking with habitual beliefs and behaviors that don’t move us usefully forward.

We can instead develop cognitive abilities that let us meet our reality with more ease. It takes practice and effort, but it’s open to anyone. What follows goes beyond mindfulness into insight: exploring how the mind actually works. Think of it as a toolkit for recognizing common ways of living and building more useful ones.

Start by paying attention. We spend much of our lives distracted, missing what’s right in front of us. One Harvard study found that the simple act of paying attention increases our happiness. Staying present is the start of any real communication, too; our kids and partners notice when we’re not attending to them. We’ll still get distracted often, but it helps to get better at paying attention, and to notice when we’ve drifted. Meditation: A concentration practice from Mark Bertin on Insight Timer.

Start by paying attention. We spend much of our lives distracted, missing what’s right in front of us. One Harvard study found that the simple act of paying attention increases our happiness. Staying present is the start of any real communication, too; our kids and partners notice when we’re not attending to them. We’ll still get distracted often, but it helps to get better at paying attention, and to notice when we’ve drifted.

Meditation: A concentration practice from Mark Bertin on Insight........

© Psychology Today