Ongoing Mentorship

 

Brief Summary

Over the last several years, I have done 1-on-1 coaching with around 200 people through the 10% Happier App & through my own website.  Some of these have been for a single session, but the majority for many months or years.  I’ve found that students have overwhelmingly found this format to be beneficial in helping them go deeper into meditation and/or dharma practice.

In a nutshell, mentorship is a way for you to get personalized guidance on your meditative journey, help you strengthen your habit/commitment to meditation, deepen your formal practice, and bring it more alive in your daily life.  Some folks use this container to explicitly focus on meditation, while others also use it to explore more deeply the Buddhist, ethical, or spiritual components of the meditative path.

My mentoring approach is relational, pragmatic, tailored to the individual, and filled with curiosity, gentleness, embodied presence, and an eye to deep wisdom.  My “north star” for guiding people is the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path.  Here’s an article I wrote that often serves as a guide for some of the directions that mentoring goes.

 

Inclusions

  • 25-minute Zoom sessions
    • Session times are mostly between 11am and 5pm, Monday through Thursday, Pacific Time (PST or PDT)
  • Within 48 hours of each meeting, I’ll email you a follow-up summary with detailed notes from our session
  • Personalized suggestions on books, meditations, practices, etc.
  • The structure, accountability, and guidance to go deeper into your meditation/dharma practice

In other words, this is basically the exact same thing as the five-month mentorship  program I lead, minus the small group sessions and the specific commitment to meet 10 times in a 5-month period.

 

Commitment

In order to have an accurate sense of my schedule and student capacity, I ask people to make a loose commitment to meeting at a particular frequency: either twice a month, once a month, every two months, or every three to twelve months.

If you choose the “no set commitment” option, only scheduling a session as needed, you are welcome to schedule one session up to every three months (though, who knows, maybe a year goes by between sessions!).

You are welcome to choose any option either indefinitely or for a set time frame, such as “until the end of the year.”

All of this is pretty flexible and it’s fine if you miss some weeks or months.  Likewise, you are welcome to change your commitment level at any time simply by emailing me.

Please note that if you don’t schedule anything or contact me to let me know what’s going on in 3x your commitment, I will assume you’ve dropped off and will open your space for someone else.  For example, if you pick once a month and then three months go by without you scheduling a session or emailing me, I will take you off the roster.  The exception is if you pick the once every 3 to 12 months option and I don’t hear anything for a full 12 months, then I will also open your space.

 

Eligibility

Here are the eligibility requirements:

  • Willing to make an earnest effort to meditate at least 20 minutes a day, at least 5 times per week
  • The ability to meet on weekdays for 25 minutes between 11am and 5pm Pacific Time

 

Cost

To put it simply, I offer mentoring on the Gift Economy (aka 100% on donation).

However, my ability to sustain my livelihood and put energy into this sort of offering is dependent on people’s willingness to financially support it.

Of course, I understand that not everyone has bountiful financial means.  A big part of what I love about the gift economy is that it’s accessible to everyone, regardless of the size of their bank account.  No one will be judged or looked down upon for whatever they can offer 🙂

At the same time, my great dream for dharma teaching is that everyone is grounded in their financial reality (whether they have little or an abundance), and, stemming from that, they contribute not from fear but from what their wise heart moves them to give.  This would include people who aren’t even participating, but want to support this type of donation-based offering happening in the world (here’s a donation link!).  Ideally, this would all add up to something that allows me to continue teaching full-time with a modest living wage.

Before applying, I ask that you read over this article I wrote on the Gift Economy, and reflect deeply on the basic question of, can I think less in terms of “how much can I have?” and more in terms of “how does my wise heart move me to give?”‘

 

Availability

As much as possible, I keep space open in my schedule to continue meeting with people who have completed the five-month mentorship program.  I find it very rewarding & impactful to maintain and deepen these long-term relationships.

As my schedule allows, I’m happy to meet with other people as well — especially those who have been regular attendees at various classes/courses/events I’ve led.  Please reach out to inquire about my current availability.

 

How to Apply

If you have already completed the five-month mentorship program, just send me an email with your desired frequency: once a month, twice a month, or no set frequency; and, whether or not you’d like to do so indefinitely or for a fixed timeframe (i.e. until the end of the year).

If you have not completed the five-month mentorship program, please fill out this form.  Whether or not I can fit you in depends on my current availability. Either way, I will send you an email once I receive your application to let you know.

If you have any questions, please send me a message!