Your group participants should read the first chapter of the Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy Workbook prior to the beginning of your first session together. This chapter is an overview of the entire program for those who wish to know more. Since the material in this section is not part of a session, it won’t actually be reviewed during any session of the program.
If you are requiring your participants to purchase the workbook that goes with the program, you may ask them to read over this section prior to attending the first session of your program; however, since this is an overview most of what is discussed in this chapter will be reviewed in greater detail in later portions of the workbook.
It is highly recommended that as a facilitator you read over this material prior to conducting your first session, as it contains information that will be valuable in leading sessions. It also contains critical foundational theoretical information about the concepts used throughout the program. Even if you’ve already taken the prerequisite for this course, Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy in Clinical Practice, it might help to refresh your memory to re-read each session’s materials prior to the session.
You may also want to print out copies of the Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy informational brochure that came with the materials for this course. The brochure contains a brief explanation of all 12 sessions of the program. It also contains a blank space that you can use to list your own organization’s contact information and location.
Session 1: Mindful Awareness
Mindful Awareness is a way of tuning in to what is happening right now, at this moment. It is a shift from Doing Mode into Being Mode. Mindful Awareness involves the skills of Observing, Describing, Fully Participating, Being Non-Judgmental, and Focusing on One Thing at a Time.
Session 1: Mindful Awareness Suggested Format
PREPARATION
Read the Session 1 Course Materials, review the exercises listed in the chapter and try them at least once yourself prior to facilitating the group. Listen to at least one meditation recording. You may download several in the Resources section of this website. In the Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy in Clinical Practice course there are several video meditations. These are also available on the Mindful Ecotherapy Center’s Youtube channel.
Practice presenting the materials in this session alone before facilitating the session so you will have a good idea of how long it will take you, given your own speaking and presentation style, to go over critical materials. Adjust by adding or leaving out materials as needed, but do not cut key concepts or Priority 1 exercises and activities if at all possible.
KEY CONCEPTS
(Key concepts are those concepts that are foundational principles of Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy, and must be covered in the session): Mindfulness; upstairs brain vs. downstairs brain; tale of two wolves (from Overview Section 0.2); Doing Mode vs. Being Mode; Skills of Mindfulness; observing, describing, fully participating, focusing on one thing at a time, being non-judgmental, and the power of intention
SECONDARY CONCEPTS
(Secondary concepts are those concepts that are not foundational, but that are important if the facilitator can work them into the session – otherwise students will read about them on their own in the reading assignments): Snowballing; the Cloudy Day analogy; present moment awareness; emotional content vs. sensory content; assumptions, perceptions, and reality; the two questions of intention (1. What am I trying to accomplish here? 2. Are my thoughts, feelings, and behaviors going to help me to achieve this goal?)
INTRODUCTIONS
As an icebreaker exercise, facilitators first introduce themselves, then ask each group participant to do the same. The facilitator may also ask participants to answer a question or to tell the class a little about themselves by way of introduction. A favorite I like to use is to ask students what they hope to learn in the classes.
DISCUSS GROUP RULES
Once introductions are made, go over established group rules and discuss the rationale for each rule. Solicit suggestions and modifications for additional group rules from class participants. Select a student from the class to be the secretary who writes down all the suggested rules and modifications. Have the rules and modifications typed up for the class for the next session and distribute accordingly.
A NOTE ABOUT EXERCISES AND ACTIVITIES
For most groups, each session contains more exercises than can be comfortably accommodated in a one-hour format. Because of this, exercises and activities throughout the book are ranked by priority. If you choose to use a longer format, you may have time to engage in all of the activities in each session; however, be aware that sessions longer than 90 minutes tend to diminish in effectiveness because at that point people begin to lose attention and focus.
A guide to priority rankings is as follows:
PRIORITY = 1 Do this exercise if at all possible during the allotted time
PRIORITY = 2 Do this exercise if time permits
PRIORITY = 3 Only do this exercise if you can comfortably fit it into your time frame; otherwise have students complete it on their own before the next session.
SESSION 1 OUTLINE
1.0 What is Mindfulness?
Discuss the concept of mindfulness.
Definition of mindfulness: Mindfulness simply means paying attention to the present moment, without ruminating on thoughts about the past or the future.
You may wish to illustrate the concept of mindfulness in this manner: Begin to speak a sentence, and tell the group that by the time you finish the sentence you are now speaking, the beginning of the sentence will be in the past. That’s how quickly the present becomes the past. The past, like the future, only exists in the memory. If it’s in the memory, it’s a product of the mind, and the tools and techniques of Mindfulness-Based Ecotherapy (MBE) can teach us, in the present moment, to choose which thoughts and feelings about the past and the future to pay attention to.
Review the concept of upstairs brain (the neocortex) vs. downstairs brain (the limbic system)
You may illustrate upstairs brain vs. downstairs brain by placing your hands together, palm to palm with thumbs side-by-side. Now fold your fingers over the thumbs so that the thumbs are tucked inside. The thumbs represent the limbic system (downstairs brain), and the fingers represent the neocortex (upstairs brain). Illustrate “fight or flight” mode by extending your fingers away from your thumbs and stating, “When the downstairs brain is activated, the upstairs brain disconnects, making it difficult, if not impossible, to think your way through a problem. When this happens, finding a solution isn’t going to be an easy task.”
1.1 Doing Mode vs. Being Mode
Explain the difference between Doing Mode and Being Mode.
Exercise: Ways I Engage in Doing Mode – PRIORITY = 2
Have the students list ways they engage in Doing Mode. If doing this activity outdoors where writing might be problematic, you can have them verbally list a few Doing Mode activities. You may wish to have the group sit or stand in a circle, and take turns going around the circle having each student list at least one way they engage in Doing Mode. Doing Mode involves solving problems, figuring things out, and participating in day-to-day activities. Doing Mode often manifests when anxiety or depression appears by feeling that you have to “do” something to make the anxiety or depression go away. This can be a problem if there is nothing you can do to resolve the anxiety or depression.
1.2 Engaging in Being Mode
Being Mode is focusing only on the present moment, without thoughts about the future or the past.
Illustrate Being Mode by having students focus all of their attention on the sensations of their breathing while taking three or four deep breaths.
Discuss Being Mode by relating it to thinking cycles vs. sensing cycles.
Illustrate the concept using the analogy of the Cloudy Day.
Exercise: Ways to Engage in Being Mode – PRIORITY = 2
Have the students list possible ways to engage in Doing Mode per instructions on the worksheet. If doing this activity outdoors where writing might be problematic, you can have them verbally list a few Being Mode activities. You may wish to have the group sit or stand in a circle, and take turns going around the circle having each student list at least one way they could engage in Being Mode. Being Mode involves being aware of our sensory experiences in the present moment.
1.3 Skills of Mindfulness
List the six skills of mindfulness for students.
Explain how these skills are used to facilitate a shift from Doing Mode to Being Mode by focusing attention to sensations rather than thoughts (sensing cycles rather than thinking cycles).
1.4 Observing
Illustrate observing by having students focus on a tree or other natural object in the landscape, and by having them describe how their consciousness changes before and after such observations.
Emphasize that observing is generally an activity that does not have emotional content, and can therefore be used to shift focus away from disturbing emotions if needed.
1.5 Describing
To illustrate describing, have students close their eyes and describe the landscape as observed by the rest of their senses.
Ask students if they think they could distinguish one landscape from another with their eyes closed, based on the description of the landscape the rest of their senses are giving them.
Exercise: Observing and Describing Nature – PRIORITY = 1
This exercise calls for a period of observation of 20 minutes or more, but since that would take up a third of the allotted time for this session, you may do it in the manner described below, and then ask the students to try it for the full 20 minutes on their own time in the coming week:
- Have them rate their current stress level on a scale of 1 to 10
- Have them engage in a period of observing and describing as discussed on the Observing and Describing Nature worksheet while you time them
- Time the students for a period of 3 to 5 minutes
- Have them rate their stress level again on a scale of 1 to 10
- Discuss the results
Some students may have increased stress after the exercise, and that’s okay too. If this is the case, process their thoughts and feelings during the exercise – the point being that if they were having stressful thoughts and feelings, they were not engaged in observing and describing; they were engaged in thinking and feeling!
1.6 Reflections on Observing and Describing
Link the results of the observing and describing exercise to the Two Wolves analogy by asking students which wolf they were feeding.
1.7 Fully Participating
Link Fully Participating to “getting out of your own head” and paying more attention to what is going on around you and less attention to thoughts and feelings.
Discuss and describe the Last Kiss exercise; if time permits, facilitate this optional activity based on the guidelines given.
Optional Activity: The Last Kiss – PRIORITY = 3
If you don’t have enough time to actually engage in this exercise, explain it to the group and ask them to try it at home.
If you do have enough time to do it, ask students to describe how this might be different from how they would ordinarily eat a piece of chocolate.
If you don’t have enough time to do it, and the students do it at home on their own, process their experiences at the next session.
1.8 Focusing on One Thing at a Time
It’s been said that the way to eat an elephant is “one bite at a time.” If we focus on the entire elephant we might become so overwhelmed that we never take the first bite, but if we focus only on the next bite, and then the next, and then the next, then eventually we will have eaten the whole elephant.
Ask students to brainstorm other examples of focusing on one thing at a time from their own personal experiences. You may wish to do this by going around the circle and having each person volunteer to contribute something.
1.9 Being Non-Judgmental
Illustrate the concept of being non-judgmental by asking students to list and discuss times when their own negative judgments may have led to negative consequences.
Ask students to speculate on how their lives might be different if they could live in completely non-judgmental ways.
Someone may point out that sometimes judgment keeps us from making bad decisions or from getting into dangerous situations. You may agree with them and point out the three questions for determining if a judgment is sound or not:
- Is it true?
- Is it just?
- Is it fair?
If the answer to all three of these questions is “yes,” and the person isn’t engaging in self-deception, then it’s probably a situation where the judgment won’t lead to negative consequences.
1.10 The Power of Intention
Emphasize the Power of Intention as a solution-focused approach rather than a problem-focused approach. Remember the two questions of intention:
- What am I trying to accomplish here?
- Are my thoughts, feelings, actions and behaviors going to help me to achieve this goal?
Exercise: The Power of Intention – PRIORITY = 1
Have students participate in this exercise by going around the circle and giving at least one answer to each of the questions on the worksheet.
1.11 Achieving Mindful Awareness
Discuss the definition of “insanity:” “Insanity is doing the same thing in the same ways and expecting different results.”
Discuss mindful awareness as a way to do things differently.
Point out that doing things differently might feel weird at first. If it didn’t, you’d probably already be doing it. Ask students to be open to experiencing things in a different way, and to trying new things.
HOMEWORK
Have students read the Session 2 materials prior to the next session; have them complete any exercises from Session 1 that weren’t covered in the session itself; ask them to bring any questions about the materials or the exercises to the next session.
DISCUSSION PERIOD
At the one-hour mark, invite group participants to stay for the discussion period. Point out that the thirty-minute post-session discussion period is optional. Note who stays for the discussion, and who leaves. Work at the next session to more actively engage those who leave.
