MIndful Parents

Led by Lauren Silver and Melody Baumgartner
Third Sunday of the Month
Three Sundays: March 19, April 16, May 21, 11:00am – 12:15pm
In-person only, in the IMC conference room

Parents are invited to practice together in a warm and caring community, supporting each other as we raise thriving children of all ages. Meetings will include meditation, mindful speech and listening, and have plenty of time for sharing.

Our meetings start at 11:00am, 15 minutes before Dharma Rocks, on the third Sunday of each month. Children in 3rd through 5th grades who want to attend Dharma Rocks can join their teachers 15 minutes early, while their parents attend our program.

You may attend all or any part of the series. No registration is necessary. Contact Melody Baumgartner at melodybaumgartner@gmail.com for more information.

COVID vaccination and boosters are required. N95 or KN95 masks are required indoors.

Biographies:

Lauren Silver has been practicing Vipassana meditation since 2004. As a full-time working parent, she particularly appreciates the integration of mindfulness in daily life with formal meditation and retreat practice. She is a graduate of numerous study and training programs at IMC and has co-led family and children’s programs; she completed Buddhist Chaplaincy training through the Sati Center in 2020. Lauren mentors students in the Eightfold Path program, is a guiding teacher for the online Introduction to Meditation course, and coordinates a daily life practice group led by Andrea Fella. She has a PhD in developmental psychology and has taught in schools, museums, and nonprofits for 25 years. She has a 24-year-old daughter who was raised in the dharma.

Melody Baumgartner began her practice at IMC in 2008. She received Mindfulness Meditation Teacher certification through UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach in 2021. She is currently a student in Gil Fronsdal’s Buddhist Eco-Chaplaincy training program. Melody has taught mindfulness to parents of adolescents through young adults since 2020. She was a decade-long board member at the Child and Family Institute, helping to create programs that nurture the growth of strong, loving, communicating families. Previously, she had a corporate career in medical devices and has an MBA from Santa Clara University. She is the mother of 19-year-old twin boys who attended IMC’s children’s programs.