Zen House Cleaning

Is zen house cleaning the way of the witch?  The more I read the more I think it might just be. 

My mom gave me the book: Zen and the Art of Housekeeping for my birthday.  When I first began reading I thought... "This is just crazy.  Housekeeping and 'zen'?  No way!"  But not far into the book, I made a discovery... Everything we do in life has a purpose.  We eat because we need the nutrition.  We sleep to rejuvenate the body and soul.  Why can't housekeeping have some higher purpose that just not living like pigs?

As you read the book (I am actually not that far into it... YET.), you begin to realize that cleaning the home can be very therapeutic and meditative.  After all, how many times have you made a life decision or come to a conclusion about something in life while in that deep thought evoking monotony of vacuuming or scrubbing the dishes?  I know I have, ALOT.

If house keeping can really become a zen experience, maybe (just maybe) I can keep it up.  We do not live in filth (not even close), but it does seem there is always something more interesting, shall I say, than cleaning my home.  Cleaning my home is a chore and not one I like at all. There are always dishes in  the sink and clothes in the washer.  Maybe if I begin to think of these things with a new perspective, my entire outlook on keeping my home the peaceful sanctuary I so desperately need will begin to become a reality.

How to you make cleaning your home a 'zen' experience?

What do you do to make cleaning less of a chore and more enjoyable?

Kim's Game

Kim Game is a game I have seen at many a baby shower as well as recently read about in Teaching Children to Meditate.  Meditation is beneficial to children and adults for many reasons:

• improves concentration
• increases memory
• increases the ability to handle stress
• heightens creativity
• & instills a calmness.

I am going to start introducing yoga and meditation to T Man to hopefully help give him the tools needed to handle stressful situations at school and to get a grip on his anger.

How to Play Kim's Game:

1. Place several small objects on a tray.  Try to make the items as varied as possible.  For example, knife, fork, spoon, nuts, bolts, screws, string, button, ribbon. Place a small towel over the items to cover them.
2.  Then, uncover the items for about 1 minute allowing the children to look the tray over while trying to remember what the tray contains.
3. Cover the tray again and have the children orally tell you what was on the tray or write the items down on a slip of paper.  Tell each child how many items he/she remembered.
4. Uncover the tray again and repeat. 

Question the children about the game.  Did you do better the first or second time?  Why?  What could you do to help you remember more of the items?  What kind of strategy did you use in order to try to remember as many items as possible?

Repeat this game every day for about a week or until your child is no longer interested.

Kim's Game will help increase memory and guide children to strategies that aid in remembering.

As I learn more about meditating with children and gain insight through trying to learn the practice as a teach it to my son, I will keep you posted.  I am hopeful that meditation will bring an element of peace to my family and bring us even closer together.