Peeling a Pomelo

Peeling a pomelo is a simple exercise that allows you to experience what it would be like to be a lot smaller. That is, if you’re able to imagine you’re peeling a mandarin rather than a pomelo. 

The pomelo (Citrus maxima) is the largest member of the citrus fruit family and can have a diameter of up to 25 cm. It has a thick skin and up to 18 fleshy parts. To create the illusion it helps to rub the peel of a mandarin under your nose and on your hands so that the scent of the mandarin dominates the scent of the pomelo. Hide references that might disrupt your suspense of disbelief. These are mostly things that will remind you of your real size such as pieces of furniture or household objects. Remember that we use our body to measure things in reality but that things in reality also give us a sense of our size. Perhaps find an empty space, sit on the floor, face an empty wall. Whatever context works best for you to inspire the fantasy of being small. Place the pomelo in front of you while conjuring up an image of a mandarin. Perhaps squint your eyes to blur reality and fantasy. Touch, weigh, feel, use your hands to measure the fruit, and the fruit to measure your hands. Start peeling. Break through the skin into the soft layer just beneath. Experience its thickness, its resistance. Rip out a big fleshy part of mandarin. Use both hands to bring it to your mouth. Close your eyes. Bite into it, and feel your body dwindling, melting, becoming nothing.