The Mindful Family Guidebook

Book excerpt: Turn off screentime and come back to earth with this family mindfulness guidebook from Chippewa clinical psychologist Renda Dionne Madrigal, PhD, and reconnect with your family through time-honored mindfulness and Indigenous practices and respect for the natural world. Family life can be chaotic and messy, and we easily forget what matters most for our health and happiness: "the spirit and wellness that have sustained our ancestors and our entire human family for as long as we've existed on the planet," as Renda Dionne Madrigal puts it. If we, as parents, aren't present with our children, they get their values from peer culture, advertising, and social media instead of the family stories, personal dreams, and ancestral instincts we all have as treasures within ourselves to share. Drawing on indigenous circle practice for communication, The Mindful Family Guidebook provides a deep-rooted guide for a family that grows with a sense of purpose and belonging. Whether you have young children or teens, cultivating authentic connection with each other and the natural world is vital for your mental and emotional health, and this book shows you how—with more than 80 fun and profound activities you can do as a family.