Meditation for Busy Mothers (or Fathers)

I would like to share a little advice about meditation when you have small children. This is something I am learning to deal with. I got into meditation several years ago when I properly embraced my spiritual path. I used to think that to meditate properly you had to sit on an upright chair in a quiet room, perhaps with some soft music playing or a guidance CD, and you had to use incense and crystals to enhance the situation. Gradually I began to realise that this simply wasn’t true. Indeed, I began to meditate while driving home from work during rush hour, on the regular occasions when I was stuck in traffic. Those meditations would be brief but important, and I would always have a conscious connection with my responsibility to drive safely.

Now my challenge is how to maintain the meditation practice while being a mother to two small children. I also have a boisterous dog that needs regular walks and playtime to keep him occupied. And then there are the two pet turtles, but they only need feeding and cleaning out, nothing too strenuous. I realised during my clearing energy work over the weekend of the Dark Moon that actually I do meditate every day. I just do it a little differently than I used to.

Nowadays I will wear a crystal pendant or my pentacle necklace as a means to stay connected to Spirit and Source energy. When I have a shower, however brief it might be, I take time to be thankful for the cleansing water and the experiences I have enjoyed with my family and friends. While out for a walk I will look at the trees and plants around me, and I will connect with the river near our home by using silent greetings and salutations. Standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes, I will stare out of the window and slip into the world of Spirit, sometimes communicating with those that reside in our house. And every time I peg out washing on the line, I am aware of the air outside, the grass in our garden, and the trees behind our house.

It is all very well to wear flamboyant clothes, to pile on the spiritual jewellery, and to always use an instrument, wand, staff or collection of tools to ritualise our meditations, but as a busy mother it is just not practical. I live in jeans and t-shirts, and my jewellery is minimal because my children are likely to get tangled in it and cause us all an injury.

I will save my ‘flowing gowns’ for special days when I can attend specific rituals and gatherings of my pagan brethren. But the spiritual intent, the connection with Mother Earth, and the eternal quest and thirst for more experience and knowledge; that is all within, hidden beneath my calm and composed exterior, to be demonstrated through my words and eventually and occasionally through my actions. Blessed Be, my Friends.

Catherine is the author of the adult paranormal romance series The Redcliffe Novels and also The Darkness of Love, She has short stories published in YA anthologies, freelance articles on various industry websites, and contributes to her personal blog, and her author blog .

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