ASSOCIATION OF DEPTH HYPNOSIS PRACTITIONERS

Depth Hypnosis Practitioner Specialization in Applied Buddhist Psychology Special Assignment

1. Read four of the following seven books and write 2-5 paragraphs of personal reflection on each.

• Essential Tibetan Buddhism by Robert Thurman • A Fearless Heart by Thupten Jinpa • The Myth of Freedom by Chogyam Trungpa • The Four Immeasurables by B. Allan Wallace • The Meaning of Life by His Holiness the Dalai Lama • Wake Up To Your Life by Ken McLeod • Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche

2. Write a 4-8 page reflection on how the required workshops you have taken in the Applied Buddhist Psychology area have changed your understanding of yourself and the world. The reflection should include:

• What attracted you to the area of study? • What you had hoped you would receive from the area of study? • How the material has changed your understanding of yourself. Here, include at least three specific patterns of behavior or understanding that were affected by the material in the workshop(s). Point to specific pieces of information in the workshop(s) and show how they affected you over the course of the workshop(s). • Relate the material learned in this area of study to other paths of education you have received and demonstrate how this material supports or informs other education you have received. • Discuss the way that your understanding of the world and the way you engage in the world has shifted since entering this area of study. • Any further reflections you care to include.

3. Choose any five of the following practices that were introduced in the Applied Buddhist Psychology coursework:

• Samatha • Vipassana meditation with an issue of importance to you • The Four Immeasurables • Vajrasattva Meditation • Vajradhara Meditation • Five Warrior Syllables • Deity Meditation with any of the following Tibetan Buddhist Deities: • Green Tara, White Tara, Another Tara, Chenrezig, Mahakala, Yamantaka, Manjushri, Medicine Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha • Transmutation of The Five Poisons Meditation

Do each of these five practices everyday for twenty-one consecutive days (in succession rather than all five at once), and provide a three-page report on your experience with these meditations, including, but limited to, answering the following questions: • How has this practice changed your sense of yourself? • How has this practice changed the way you experience ordinary reality? • What is the most challenging part of this practice for you? How have you met this challenge? • What further insights have you received from this practice?

4. Write a 3-5 page report on the way your Buddhist practice informs your Depth Hypnosis practice.