Compassionate Integrity Training CIT-Faciltator-Guide-2.1-Final | Page 68

C OMPASSIONATE I NTEGRITY T RAINING
A S ECULAR E THICS A PPROACH TO C ULTIVATING P ERSONAL , S OCIAL AND E NVIRONMENTAL F LOURISHING
a.
“Can anyone think of a link in the chain that occurred before the ‘spark’? Sometimes our
mental state before the ‘spark’ can have an impact on the mental states that occur after the
‘spark’.”
b.
“Could we have inserted a beneficial mental state even earlier in the chain? If so, what
could that be?”
c.
“What would happen if we simply observed the arising of the harmful mental state
without getting attached or averse to it? What if we simply observed it?”
d. If you did the “Cramping the Mind” Activity, you can add, “At every point in this chain,
our mind is like our hands gripping the ball as hard as we can, cramping our mind.”
e.
Conclude by saying, “Remember, the ‘story’ we created together occurred almost entirely
in the mind of the protagonist. With time and practice, these mental states can be more
within our control. Most of the time we do not allow sparks to escalate into full-fledged
fires. Although the times we lack restraint may stand out in our minds, we exhibit ethical
mindfulness all of the time, preventing sparks from becoming fires. Developing emotional
awareness is about creating greater equanimity toward our mental states, allowing for a
space between one mental state and the next, so we can more clearly see them and decide
how we want to respond rather than reacting habitually.”
C ENTER FOR C OMPASSION , I NTEGRITY AND S ECULAR E THICS | L IFE U NIVERSITY | M ARIETTA , G EORGIA
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