Meditation, Mindfulness & Dharma Coaching

My meditation coaching/mentoring has an informal & personalized feel to it.  I treat everyone as an individual and work with you exactly where you’re at, rather than try to impose any particular methodology or practice on you.

The typical flow is that we get together for 50 minute sessions and dialogue about whatever you’re exploring in your practice.  Often I’ll ask you pointed questions, and just as often I’ll answer any & every question you have!  Most often, we also spend a little time meditating together, where I’ll custom create a guided meditation for exactly where you’re at.

For those I work with over time, some of the major benefits include accountability, support, learning specific methods/techniques, having a better understanding of the “why,” and getting the proper nourishment for your practice to flourish!

 

How to Sign Up:

I see some people just once, and others I work with regularly over time.  In either case, just shoot me an email telling me a little bit about your meditation history, why you’re interested in coaching, and if there’s anything in particular you’d like to get out of our time together.

 

Cost:

I’ve made the radical move to do everything I offer on donation — including online materials, live events & one-on-one sessions  For me, this is a deep practice of cultivating generosity, and also trusting that it will all work out.

As this way of handling money is culturally a little out-of-the-ordinary, I request that you read this article before working together.  Please make your donations either via paypal (david@pathofsincerity.com), Venmo (djsudar), cash, or other electronic platforms you prefer.

Thank you for your support!



What Do People Actually Explore in Coaching?

I find that once we get rolling, most people actually have quite a bit they’re curious to explore & aspire towards.  In turn, the guiding question that I come back to over and over is basically, “what are wanting for yourself?”

While that question usually takes us in all sorts of fruitful directions, the following are some rough thoughts on the topics different types of people I work with tend to be interested in exploring:

1) People who have come to my live events, such as the Path of Sincerity Sangha or other workshops/courses  Often, they are looking for a little more personalized guidance, relating to what was already covered, or anything else related to meditation/buddhism/the dhamma.

2) Beginners looking to get down the basics of insight/mindfulness meditation:

• What are the essential things to know about meditation posture?  What are the options?  What’s the balance of healthy discomfort and unnecessary pain?
• What are the different options for methods/techniques?  Is it best to always use the same one, or change it up?
• Practical tools to work with common obstacles, like wandering mind, sleepiness, anxiety, apathy, anger, self-criticism, etc.
• How to make the practice more consistent and see the benefits in real life!

3) Folks who already know the basics, and want to take their meditation practice to the next level:

• Beyond the basic instructions of “be aware of XYZ, and every time you get distracted, soften, relax, and gently guide your attention back to XYZ,” what are the steps you could take to deepen your meditation practice?
• How to work with psychological stuff that comes up?  Like if there’s a lot of shame or anxiety, do we really just be mindfully aware of it, let it pass through and “do nothing,” or are there ways to skillfully engage with it?
• What to do when you feel like you’ve plateaued?  e.g. there were some initial big leaps forward, but you’ve been at it for a while, and it’s not feeling like there’s any more big shifts?
• How to prepare for intensive retreat, or skillfully transition out of retreat & integrate into real life?
• What are the distinctions between concentration practices, wisdom/insight practices, and heart practices?  And when is one or the other more appropriate?
• How is the dharma more than just meditation?  How to really live with greater purpose, care, kindness and wisdom?

4) Long-time meditators who are interested in my specific areas of specialization – Vipassana, mindfulness of mind (in the style of Sayadaw U Tejaniya), wisdom-oriented approaches to meditation, integration of meditation into daily life, and deeper levels of Buddhist Philosophy/theory.  Typical things we explore together:

• How to turn not-self or emptiness into a central feature of the practice?  And why?  What about dukkha?  Is that just a philosophical idea, or can it actually be worked with meditatively in a liberating way?
• What are the core techniques and orienting perspectives of the cittanupassana (mindfulness of mind) practice?  Like tangibly & practically?
• What to do when the mind settles down and “nothing is happening”?
• How to embody deep insight and not slip into spiritual bypassing or the nihilism that often accompanies early insight into emptiness?
• What to do after a major consciousness-altering breakthrough?
• How to turn your entire life into a meditation?