Mindfulness Assignment
Read through
this entire page before completing any work.
When you are ready to answer the questions, do so first using your Microsoft
Word or WordPerfect word-processing program. Then follow the instructions at the
end of the page
Be sure to check it for spelling, sentence structure and grammar. 
You are to respond to each
numbered item that you see in
BOLD
below.
Number each answer so they look like this:
- Here is my 5-6
paragraph:
This is my one-hour experience practicing mindfulness:
Here is what I learned as I studied about and practiced being mindful:
A Brief Class on
MINDFULNESS
This activity is a brief
lesson on mindfulness closely based on the information in
chapter 7 of your textbook. It gives a very thorough and understandable
overview of mindfulness. Do not be in a hurry to finish it. You will need at
least 2 hours to complete it. If you must rush through it, wait until
another time to work on it when you can focus perfectly and really sink your
teeth into it. Trust me, it will be worth the investment you make.
1. Give a 5 or 6 paragraph summary of chapter 7
answering these questions:
 | What is reality
and what does "here and now" have to do with reality? |
| In your own
words, define mindfulness? |
| What are the qualities of mindfulness (be detailed)?
|
| Summarize your understanding of what Thich Nhat Hanh said about washing
dishes and the following author's anecdote mentioned about riding the roller
coaster in relation to mindfulness on page 113. |
| What's the difference between living IN the moment and living FOR the
moment? |
| How does planning differ from worrying? |
| Why do we want to consider being mindful? |
Be very thorough in
the way you answer these questions.
The second part of this assignment involves
doing the "Simple Mindful Exercise" on page 118-119 of your
textbook.
Write down on your paper your thoughts
AND everything that you discover. Use as many pages as you need.
If you begin to get bored or
feel yourself resisting the process, simply stop and
just look, listen, be present with what is, notice what shows up, and then
continue writing.
2.
After you have finished with this exercise lasting about
1 hour, transfer your thoughts from your paper to the box on the
other page following the directions (after putting
them into your word processor).
3.
Also, describe your experience of being mindful according to these items:
A. What were some of
the main things that you observed, especially those things you wouldn’t
normally notice?
B. What did you notice about your thoughts?
C. What did you notice about your feelings?
D. What insights did you gain about yourself and about mindfulness as you
were practicing being mindful?
Answer these
questions thoroughly.
My final thoughts about this process:
Many people come to me wondering why they are so stressed. When I give them this
exercise to do for 45 minutes to an hour they write it off as something silly
and stupid. They think they should be doing something seemingly worthwhile,
something much more important. My response usually sounds something like this:
If you are to ever be at peace,
you must come to accept, even embrace, what you see in front of you. And the
only way to really see what is in front of you is to stop analyzing, stop
judging, stop trying to figure everything out, and just look. Just stop and
observe. To be fully present in this moment is to be at peace. To be out of
this moment, thinking we are somewhere else, doing something else, is
precisely why we feel stress on a continual basis. To say this is a silly
exercise is to say life is silly. Look at your experience. There is never a
time when it is not "this moment, right here, right now." All of life is
successive moments of the present. We can always choose what we want to see in
this moment. To choose to be mindful, instead of mindless, is wisdom of the
highest order. It is, in my mind, one of the grand keys. But it must be
practiced. So practice, for the rest of your life. Because that is all you
have - moments.
Having said all this, I
suggest you be thorough with this activity. It is worth 25 points.
If you are in my regular
face-to face class, bring your completed work on the assigned date to class or
attach your work to an e-mail and send it to me: molpin@weber.edu
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