DrAngelAdams.com

Recently I became a grandmother and was surprised as my friends complimented me on my beaming smile and aura of radiance. At first I was dumbfounded by this new state of being; having never really relished the thought of becoming a grandmother. It used to conjure up images of being old, and the premise that old age is not valued or respected in our western society. This appears to be true especially for women who try to hide their age, are ashamed of their wrinkles and loathe the thought of being called ‘Granny’. I sought out others who have had this identity of grandparent bestowed upon them and there was a common theme that filled our conversations...

Last week we looked at some examples of individuals who have given credit for their achievements to others who made an impact on their lives. Today we will focus on how we can help the children in our lives to keep their minds open as they build their future and develop their self-esteem.

A few weeks ago I went to a conference in California and met up with a colleague, Dr Pilar Placone, who I had not seen in over 20 years. After all these years it was delightful to discover that we had so much in common. In our clinical practice we resonated with similar interests in neuroscience and therapeutic approaches; especially parent-child attachment therapy and mindfulness. I felt very privileged to have been invited to one of Dr Placone’s parent classes. I watched how her program helped guide parents to a more connected state within themselves which created a deeper connection, a "felt sense" within their child. Mindfulness is a way of observing thoughts, feelings and sensory input in the present moment without reacting, distracting, or escaping from them, but rather learning to accept them in a non-judgemental way. The following article written by Pilar is about how the simple, yet powerful act of smiling can reduce stress and enhance the parent-child bond (no matter how old your child is)...

Last week in the newsletter the word Respect was mentioned in the framework of meditation. Respect is such an important concept that we decided to write more on this subject. Parents are the most important role model in their children's lives, and it is crucial that they set the example of being respectful to themselves, to their children and to all others. Children are like mirrors because they reflect back to us much of what we say and do. 95% of everything learned by children is through what is modelled to them, with only 5% learned by way of direct instruction. What we communicate is what we teach and our language is the language that they will speak.