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Meditation and new fatherhood

skullchinskullchin Veteran
edited June 2010 in Meditation
Anyone juggled being a new father and finding time to meditate? My strategy was to meditate during my night shift with the baby, but the baby is having trouble falling asleep at night (and then sleeping all day).

Comments

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited June 2010
    meditate by staying in the moment, and treating your baby as your best teacher. Be Mindful, and practice compassion for a human being who depends on you for every single thing s/he needs, right now.
  • johnathanjohnathan Canada Veteran
    edited June 2010
    federica wrote: »
    meditate by staying in the moment, and treating your baby as your best teacher. Be Mindful, and practice compassion for a human being who depends on you for every single thing s/he needs, right now.

    This is excellent advice... I have 2 boys (now 5 and 2) and I find I can always find time for mindfulness meditation... Its harder to find the time to sit but possible... Fortunately all is impermanent (Or as a Taoist might say, "All things change") and eventually your time constraints will change and you will find more time to meditate via other methods.

    Tao Te Ching - Chapter 74 - translation by S. Mitchell

    If you realize that all things change,
    there is nothing you will try to hold on to.
    If you aren't afraid of dying,
    there is nothing you can't achieve.

    Trying to control the future
    is like trying to take the master carpenter's place.
    When you handle the master carpenter's tools,
    chances are that you'll cut your hand.
  • skullchinskullchin Veteran
    edited June 2010
    Federica, that is excellent advice! Thanks!
  • truthseekertruthseeker
    edited June 2010
    skullchin wrote: »
    Anyone juggled being a new father and finding time to meditate?

    More like juggled with finding time at all. :grin:

    As a new father, you probably need to rearrange your schedule and throw out unimportant stuff. Although once the baby is a year old, you won't miss that much sleep any longer, the workload never decreases, because there will be other tasks. Hiring a nanny may be a good idea, or involve the grandparents. :)

    Cheers, Thomas
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    edited June 2010
    Being a new father is a great opportunity to have what you feel like doing repeatedly frustrated. It might align for a while with parental duties during the honeymoon phase, but it will eventually diverge. Then there has to be a surrender, like when you have to surrender to boredom, knee pain, and someones BO on a long retreat. :D
  • ValtielValtiel Veteran
    edited June 2010
    Being a new father is a great opportunity to have what you feel like doing repeatedly frustrated. It might align for a while with parental duties during the honeymoon phase, but it will eventually diverge. Then there has to be a surrender, like when you have to surrender to boredom, knee pain, and someones BO on a long retreat.

    Haha great posts in this Thread... :)
  • lightwithinlightwithin Veteran
    edited June 2010
    Oh man, I feel for you because I struggle to find quiet times for my meditation in my household even if I'm single!

    My hat's off to all moms and dads for what they do.
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