Session 3: Values, Committed Action & Collective Empowerment
3.3 Sharing of Take-Away Activities: Applying CHAMP Skills and Practicing Mindfulness
Learning Objectives:
- To engage in collaborative learning through sharing of insights gained through the take away activities
- To demonstrate committed action in applying ACE strategies in everyday living
Materials:
- In-session Handout 1.5.2 – Diagrams of ACE in sheet protector (to be distributed at the beginning of each session and collected at the end of each session)
- Big diagram of ACE diagram or PowerPoint slide of it
- Take-Away Activities completed and brought back by participants
Time Required: 50 Minutes
Activities & Instructions
Part A: Sharing Of Mindfulness Practice (10 minutes)
Instructions to Participants
Facilitator says:
- “Now we will move to the sharing of mindfulness practice. For the next 10 minutes, we will invite you to share your experience in practicing mindfulness.”
- “To keeping us all on time, again we invite you to keep your sharing to one minute or less. We will invite perhaps 5 people to share. If you have not shared anything about your mindfulness practice at the last session, we hope you will be generous and share your experience today. Who would like to start?“
- (Facilitator encourages quiet participants to share. Since there was sharing for this activity in the previous session, it is sufficient to get 4-5 participants to share and to ensure activities are on time.)
(Co-facilitator keeps time – maximum two minutes per participants.)
Notes to Facilitators
- Highlight how practicing mindfulness is possible in our everyday activities, i.e., mindfulness does not require us to always stop and be still; it is about being aware of what is happening in the present moment and taking stock of how each of our senses are involved in that present moment).
- Provide your own examples of mindfulness, such as washing dishes and mindful walking.
- Acknowledge the challenges that some participants may bring up during this sharing:
- The contradiction between mindfulness and the fast-paced and goal-oriented driven nature of our society.
- Solution: incorporating mindfulness in our everyday active lives
- Connect, where possible, examples provided to collective strategies:
- For example, turning what everyone in the group has written up about her/his/their mindfulness practice into a collection of mindfulness strategies and share them with each other.
Key Summary Points
- Mindfulness is not only valuable to ourselves, but is also valuable to those that we work with in the community.
- When our peers, clients or colleagues are overwhelmed with challenges and demands, we can support them by sharing mindfulness strategies with them.
- The present moment is always available to everyone and sharing mindfulness practice strategies will support our collective empowerment.
Part B: Sharing of Application of Champ Skills – Getting Unstuck (10 minutes)
Set-up:
Display the ACE model diagram.
Instructions to Participants:
Facilitator says:
- Facilitator says, “Thank you for sharing. Now we will move on to the next takeaway activity – Sharing of CHAMP skills application. You may take out your take away worksheet and we will begin sharing. We will invite a few people to share.”
(consider inviting about 5-7 people to share depending on time available) - “One of the things we shared insights with last session was becoming awareness of when we got stuck. Remember? Since then, based on the training we went through last weekend and what you have gotten to know about ACE, the take-away activity for last session was for you to capture some of your experiences when you have had a chance to use what you’ve learnt from CHAMP. Have you noticed that there have been times when you observe and understand the world differently? Have you found yourself responding to challenges, or experiences that contribute to stress and suffering differently?”
- “We invite you to share your insights and experiences in applying the CHAMP or ACE model, and please keep to one minute or less.”
- (Facilitator encourages participants who are quiet to share.)
Notes to Facilitators
- Invite participants who have not shared their take-away activity experiences so far to share first.
- Remind participants that these take-away activities are not about finding solutions; they are about developing an awareness of our autopilot habits or fusion with thoughts and rules that get us stuck.
- Draw from participants’ sharing how personal and societal factors shape our psychological rigidity or flexibility.
- Some examples:
- I don’t date because I don’t want to break up later. (avoidance)
- If I got along with my brother, I would have made it to the football team. (thinking about the past/future)
- I am too shy. (attachment to ideas/thoughts about self)
- At least I have a job, I should not complain about all the night shifts I have to do. (cognitive fusion)
- Whenever possible, connect the examples of sharing back to the ACE diagram.
Key Summary Points
- Sharing our insights and experiences is the key to collaborative learning and collective empowerment.
- Encourage participants to continue to keep track of their take-away activities and share with each other.
