Teaching your children mindfulness and core life values through books with Andrew Newman

Mindful Impact with Justin Francisco

Today, we will have an insightful conversation with Andrew Newman, a brilliant children's storytime book author, about mindful practices with your children, including meditation and creativity. He will talk about teaching your children mindfulness, core life values, and much more.

3 Key Points:

1. Sitting as a parent is an immense mixture of responsibility and power. Show our kids what we want them to learn.
2. Teach children mindfulness at an early stage, use bedtime stories to be with them fully in the last 20 minutes of their day to help them discharge their daily struggles as they transition to sleep.
3. Meditation practices help children to slow down as they transition to sleep. Make it as a spiritual practice, give as much of that loving presence as you can.

Episode Highlights:

• 06:08- The last 20 minutes of the night creates an impact on what's going on in our brain.
• 07:24- Use the transition points of sleep and wake in the first 30 minutes of the day to sit us up.
• 08:38- Teach kids mindfulness early so that they don't have to unlearn a bunch of stuff like adults.
• 16:12- In the moment of surrender, something magical happens.
• 17:21- Problem can't be solved from the same level of consciousness that we created a problem with. Have a space for a new level of consciousness.
• 19:00- The therapeutic relationship is learning one's triggers and learning how to be non-reactive when activated.
• 20:30- Therapeutic relationship is the same aspect as the parent-child relationship.
• 23:21- The our breathing practice- I breathe for me, I breathe for you, I breathe for us, I breathe for all that surrounds us.
• 29:26- Andrew's morning practice helps the stream of consciousness come out for him to go into the space of openness.
• 31:32- Andrew's struggles from the business standpoint relates to the period of surrender.
• 40:50-The power of a story shifts us from a perspective where we hate to hate, thereby creating a safe place.
• 43:50- Anticipate challenges in time and translational speed of kids, be encouraging of slowing down.
• 45:00- Use the breathing technique to slow kids' systems down.
• 45:21- Model to our kids what we want them to learn.
• 45:25- Kids are designed to seek love, and the fastest way to get love is to mimic the person who gives them love.
• 49:10- Andrew gave his message to his 18 y/o self, who needed encouragement.

Tweetable Quotes:

• “The power of the story is that it shifts us from this perspective where we hate to hate. That shift is one of those mechanisms of creating safety.. “- Andrew Newman
• “We don't have to fight until we reach the point of surrender. We can choose to surrender earlier and ask for help because, in the moment of surrender, something magical happens. “- Andrew Newman
• “If we think the same way we have always been thinking, we will get the same result. We need something new to influence ourselves and change the course of our lives.“- Andrew Newman

Resources Mentioned:

• Justin Francisco: LinkedIn | Website
• Andrew Newman: Conscious Bedtime Stories | LinkedIn | Instagram