Homework: Semester II
Jean Fain’s Self-Compassion-Based Eating Awareness Training
This is the homework for the second semester of Self-Compassion-Based Eating Awareness Training. Whether you’re attending the live training or listening to the recorded training (that’s in the works), you’ll reap the greatest benefit if you do all the homework. Like tennis, as enriching as lessons can be, if you’re serious about changing for the better, you’ve got to practice between lessons.
Ideally, you’ll attend or listen to a session before you tackle the homework. So on day one, you’ll attend or listen to Session I, then practice Session I’s homework for the following week. If you choose to do the homework before the session, that’s OK. But the assignments will make a lot more sense once we’ve had a chance to review them.
Of course, some weeks you’ll have more time than others to practice meditating and eating mindfully, but that’s to be expected. Which is why, session by session, you’ll find a choice of shorter and longer practices as well as extra credit or optional assignments. Truthfully, the extra credit assignments are so worthwhile, if you have time, definitely go for the extra credit. In the end, however much homework you end up doing, go easy on yourself. That, in itself, is practicing self-compassion.
Session #1
Read:“The Benefits of Committing to a Daily Eating Meditation Practice” (at least once, if not daily)
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Set: Daily Eating Meditation Practice intention
Practice: Chris Germer’s “Loving-Kindness for Ourselves.” (20:40) or favorite meditation
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Extra Credit: Jon Kabat-Zinn’s “What Meditation Really Is”
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Session #2
Read:“A Curious Stance” by Molly Kellogg
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Re-commit: Mindful-eating intention
Practice:Chris Germer’s“Giving & Receiving Compassion” (21:20”)
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OR Tara Brach, “Compassion Practice: Tonglen” (28:49)
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Extra Credit: Watch“Ellen Langer on Mindfulness” and notice 5 new things
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Food for Next Time: A small portion (three bites or pieces) or a food you consider “boring.” Maybe something you eat routinely or something that holds little to no allure. Not something you dislike or loathe, just a food that’s not all that exciting or surprising.
Session #3
Read: “Hindrances to Mindful Eating” by Ronna Kabatznick
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Mindful Eating: Try a delightful new recipe or savor a new-to-you meal or snack
Practice: Gretchen Rubin’s “Find Gratitude Cues in Everyday Life” (1:59)
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OR Sharon Salzberg’s “Exercise: Reflection on Happiness” [below]
OR Jack Kornfield’s “Meditation for Gratitude and Joy”
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Extra Credit: Tal Ben-Shahar’s “Five Ways to Become Happier” (4:29)
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Food for Next Time: A food you’re humming for (one that you imagine will really hit the spot)
Sharon Salzberg’s Exercise: Reflection on Happiness
It is quite useful to sincerely explore the question: “What do I truly need in order to be happy?” Let your mind roam freely over thoughts, memories and desires. Hold all possibilities in the context of this question, not seeking to reject or exclude anything, but remaining honest throughout. Remember that conditional and fleeting happiness is not our highest potential. Remember that if an object, person or situation must change, it is futile to seek unchanging happiness there.
“What do I truly need in order to be happy?”
Some guidance comes from a poem by Zen Buddhist monk Ryokan:
If we gain something, it was there from the beginning.
If we lose anything it is hidden nearby.
Session #4
Read: “Full Circle Awareness” by Dharmacharini Amala
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Mindful Eating: Be mindful of thoughts that flavor your food
Practice: Jon Kabat-Zinn’s YouTube video: “Mountain Meditation” (9:02)
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OR Ron Siegel’s audio version: “Mountain Meditation” (9:47)
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OR Thich Nhat Hanh’s Exercise Four: Joy of Meditation as Nourishment [below]
Extra Credit: Tara Brach’s “Cultivating Equanimity (Duck Meditation)” (29:30)
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Food for Next Time: Nutella or another beckoning food
Thich Nhat Hanh’s Exercise Four: Joy of Meditation as Nourishment
(From The Blooming of a Lotus)
`Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.In
Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.Out
Breathing in, I see myself as a flower.Flower
Breathing out, I feel fresh.Fresh
Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain. Mountain
Breathing out, I feel solid.Solid
Breathing in, I see myself as still water. Still water
Breathing out, I reflect all that is.Reflecting
Breathing in, I see myself as space.Space
Breathing out, I feel free. Free
Session #5
Read: “Turning Your Crave Into A Wave” by Ronald Thebarge
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Mindful Eating: Practice urge surfing with a food craving
Practice: Sarah Bowen’s “Urge Surfing” (8:33)
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Ron Siegel’s “Urge Surfing” (11:29)
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OR Lead self through urge surfing steps [below]
Extra Credit: “Craving & The End of Craving” by Ronna Kabatznik (54:52)
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Food for Next Time: Fiber One cereal or another unpalatable diet food
Urge Surfing Step by Step
(Excerpted from Jenny Taitz’s End Emotional Eating)
When you are in the midst of struggling with an urge, here are some things you can do to decrease your discomfort.
- Slow down your mind and body. We often act on automatic pilot, and slowing down can help us notice our thoughts and feelings and make mindful choices about them.
- Let go. Nonjudgmentally observe the urge. Where do you sense it in your body? What is your mind telling you? If you could rate the urge on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of intensity, where is it now?
- Refocus. Where are you? What are you feeling? In the long term, how will you feel if you indulge the urge? How will you feel in the long term if you surf the urge?
- Choose. After you make space for the urge and let go of judging, you have some room to decide. Where is the urge now? Is it slowly mounting? Are you willing to watch it rise? If not, can you practice letting the discomfort exist for just a little while longer than you might otherwise, before you give in to it?
Session #6
Read: “Afraid of Food” by Gretchen Newmark
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Mindful Eating: Make a list of the foods you fear & check the ones you miss eating
Practice: Walking Meditation
John Cianciosi’sMindful Nature Walking
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Extra Credit: Geneen Roth’s “Afraid of Falling Off The Deep End In Your Dieting” (2:40)
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Food for Next Time: A lunch food
Session #7
Read: Ronna Kabatznick’s “Forgiveness Meditation”
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Mindful Eating: Mindfully engage in social eating with or without The Five Contemplations
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Practice: Silent meditation with Bells
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Extra Credit: “Eat Pray Love #3 Movie Clip: Pizza Margherita in Napoli”
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Food for Next Time: A full lunch
Session #8
No homework. Class dismissed!