Contemplative Journal Assignment #7
I Am Like You

1.  Find a quiet, undisturbed place with a comfortable chair. A simple straight chair is best. Sit up and comfortably straighten your spine. This shouldn’t be strained or military-straight; just comfortable-straight. Relax your shoulders, jaw, and hands. Let your feet rest flat on the floor.

2.  Completely relax. Rest in open awareness. Let your mind go: Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

3.  Now, while breathing normally, with eyes closed, begin to form a mental picture of your targeted audience for Project #2; someone, that is, who seriously disagrees with the position you are taking on your topic and someone who probably dislikes you. They are in fact hostile to you and your position, their thinking is virtually the opposite of yours, they are something of an extremist on the issue, and they are someone whom you would normally never deal with. You probably don’t care much for the person yourself—you may, in fact, dislike them quite a lot! At the very least, you find them extremely annoying. *

4.  Envision the person sitting across from you, and imagine precisely what the person is wearing, their hair style, their body language, and how they are looking at you. If you’ve actually known an individual like this, go ahead and picture that exact person.

5.  Just look at this person for awhile without thinking much. Observe them.

6.  Now say to the person, “I am like you.”

7.  Say it again: “I am like you.” This time give a reason or example: “I am like you in that ______.”

8.  Do this again. “I am like you because______.”

9.  Again. “I am like you in this way: ______.”

10.  Repeat 4 more times. Each time, your statement should be distinct from your other statements. It’s ok to be somewhat general at times, but try as much as possible to be very specific. That is, you can note broad similarities, but try also to note very detailed likenesses.

11.  Upon completing the statement a total of 7 times, relax and imagine you are once again seated by yourself. Let your mind just rest.

12.  Complete this exercise 3 times in the course of the week. Try to picture a slightly different person each time—change up their gender, age, background—and try, as much as possible, to come up with distinctly different statements each time.

13.  Record dates, places, and times in your journal. Also respond to these questions in at least a good paragraph:

i.  What was this exercise like for you? Was it difficult, easy, strange, boring, fascinating?

ii.  Whom did you envision? Describe them with some detail.

iii.  Did the experience change for you at all as you went through the week? That is, did your feelings change or did your impression of the person shift at all? It’s ok to be completely honest.

iv.  Having completed this exercise, how will you likely think about and address the person (or a general audience of people like that person) when you create your YouTube video? What tone of voice will you likely use, what attitude and ethos would you want to project, what special points might you make?

v.  Any additional observations or questions?

*If your opposition on the issue is quite similar to you, you may select someone else not related to your Project #2 issue—anyone imagined or real who challenges your patience, nerves, principles…

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