Meditating Mamas

By Rebecca Cunningham and Susan Whelehan
Issue 105 March/April 2001

As a new mother, you have a limited amount of time and energy. These meditations offer you a manageable and valuable source of comfort and strength. We hope you will use them as you wish: daily, weekly, or at the drop of a diaper.

Meditation is meant to accompany your breathing. Some of the mantras read as two short sentences. We suggest that you use the first sentence as you breathe in, and the second as you breathe out. We have italicized the first sentence as a visual reminder of this. We also suggest that you divide a one-sentence mantra into two parts, breathing in on the first and out on the second.

The bottom portion of each selection contains a mantra that summarizes the meditation. You may want to copy this portion and carry it in your pocket, tuck it into your nursing bra, stick it on the fridge, or whatever to remind you throughout the day to stop, breathe, relax, and reflect.

You may choose not to copy the mantra but instead use the whole page as a visual reminder to stop, breathe, relax, and reflect.

This collection of meditations is for you to use in the way that works best for you.

Blessings...and keep breathing.

anger

There are times when anger accompanies me through the day. It slowly simmers as the third shirt of the morning is covered with spit up. It steams while I juggle you, the groceries, the stroller, and the front door keys. It is close to boiling over when a dirty diaper lands face down on the carpet and there are no clean ones close by.

And then you work your magic. With a glance, a gurgle, or a giggle, you invite me to let anger go: to join you and enjoy you on today's journey.

I let anger go. I come with you.

awaken

I can make this day a meditation by trying to be awake to all that happens. I don't need to be "The Perfect Mom." I do not need to have all the answers. I only need to know that I am deeply connected to all people, to this planet, and that this moment is precious.

I want to look at all things today with gentle eyes, appreciating the beauty and mystery of life.

Wake up! This moment is precious.

breathe

I listen for your breath without knowing I am listening. It is the changing rhythm that accompanies my day. I hear the echo of your first breath as you climbed to the surface of this world. It echoes when you catch your breath in the depth of a dream. It is there as you struggle to breathe and gulp in nourishment. It is there in the moment before the wave of your crying.

Short, quick breaths. They show you fiercely grasping onto life. Breathe... Keep breathing...

I hear your breath. I give thanks.

crying

Before it comes there is the breath that holds the silent pause. A moment of warning. Now the torrent of cries comes thundering forward. Crying. It swirls into the nooks and crannies of my bones and the sinews of each muscle. I'll try to stay calm. This is the only way you have to tell me what you need.

What is it? What are you asking? I am listening. I am ready to learn your language.

I am calm. I am listening.

hands

Your tiny hands guide me on today's path. They beckon me to journey with you. With wild, flashing fingers you translate your impatience. Hunger shows itself in clenched seed fists. They open into exotic flowers, frozen in a gesture of satisfaction when your belly is full. And when you sleep, your hands, like stars, guide me along your dream-traveling.