1. In the Contemplative Psychotherapy approach, we say that we have to begin with ourselves in order to be genuinely helpful to others. Ruth King (2018), an African-American teacher in the insight meditation tradition, has suggested that mindfulness practice can help us to “transform . . . racism from the inside out.” Discuss your understanding of this thought. [15 points] In your own experience, how does practicing mindfulness-awareness meditation affect your personal relationship with “racial distress” (to use Ruth King’s phrase). [15 points] Provide a specific personal example that illustrates your understanding of this idea. [15 points]. How do you imagine such an exploration will be important to you as a counselor? [5 points] [50 points total for this question]
*King, R. (2018). Mindful of race: Transforming racism from the inside out. Sounds True.
2. Chögyam Trungpa coined the term, “spiritual materialism.” Provide a definition of the term and discuss your understanding of it. [15 points] What pitfalls do you see in working with it? [10 points] How is understanding spiritual materialism helpful to a meditation practitioner? [10 points] Describe your own experience of working with spiritual materialism, including a specific personal example to flesh out this description [15 points] [50 points total for this question]
*Trungpa, C. (1987). Cutting through spiritual materialism (J. Baker & M. Casper, Eds.). Shambhala Publications.
