When: Roughly August 26th, 2024 to January 29, 2025
Where: Zoom / virtual
Cost: Gift Economy / see below
Registration: The 2024/2025 program is now full. If you’d like to get notified of when the next cohort opens, please put your name on the interest list.
Brief Summary
Over the last several years, I have done 1-on-1 mentoring with around 250 people, both through the 10% Happier App & through this mentorship program. Some of these have been for a single session, but the majority have been for many months or even years. I’ve found that students have overwhelmingly found this to be beneficial in helping them go deeper into meditation and/or dharma practice.
In a nutshell, the mentorship program 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.
The mentorship program combines one-on-one and small-group mentoring.
One-on-One Inclusions
- 10 one-on-one meetings, 25 minutes long, roughly every two weeks (on Zoom)
- Session times are mostly between 11am and 5pm, Monday through Thursday, Pacific Time
- Within 30 hours, 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
Small Group Inclusions
Often, people find the small group component with a group of peers just as impactful as the one-on-one work. This component includes:
- Once-a-month 55-minute classes with myself and others in the mentorship program (no more than 8 people).
- Each class will feature a guided meditation, a short talk, and a community discussion on a theme. These are the themes from the last cohort:
- Month 1 – Radical Relaxation
- Month 2 – Love As An Attitude
- Month 3 – Mindfulness In Daily Life
- Month 4 – The Insight Of Not-Self
- Month 5 – Where To Go From Here
- The group classes will likely be sometime between 10am and 5pm PT, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday (depending on when the most people are available for it).
Commitment
- Make meditation a top priority in your life for these five months
- Meditate at least 20 minutes per day, at least 5 times per week
- This part is optional, but I will invite you to keep a meditation journal, which is a helpful way to go deeper
Eligibility
- Minimum one year of at least semi-regular meditation practice
- Minimum of one silent meditation retreat of at least five nights
- If neither of the above, some other form of proven earnest commitment to meditation or dharma practice (in other words, this program isn’t for total beginners)
- The ability to meet for 25 minutes, roughly twice a month, 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. 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?”‘
How to Apply
Please fill out this form to get on the interest / waitlist for the next time I run it. Note that last time it filled entirely off of people on the interest list.
If you have any questions or would like more information, you can email me or I’m also happy to hop on a short call to discuss if it’s the right fit for you!
Testimonials
Given the intimacy of mentorship, I’m refraining from sharing people’s names or identifying information, and instead just sharing their quotes on mentorship. Obviously, I’m being truthful in sharing exactly what people wrote!
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Past Participants from the five-month Mentorship Program:
“David is a jewel of a spiritual teacher: Calm, genuine, patient, knowledgeable, and open-hearted.”
“David is an experienced, dedicated and caring teacher. He is flexible, down to earth and poses great questions to guide the way!”
“David’s mentorship program was a game-changer for me, because it gave me the opportunity and encouragement to go deeper in my meditation and mindfulness journey for a longer period of time.”
“The mentorship program was super helpful! The 1-on-1’s and the group sessions were inspiring and helped develop my personal practice. David’s thoughtful and pragmatic reflections were gems!”
“David’s own depth of practice and years-long commitment to the Dharma creates an invaluable support for anyone on the path. In addition to his wisdom, David is very warm, compassionate, approachable, and a generous listener and good communicator.”
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From students who have been working with me over the last few years:
“David has really been so helpful to me and has guided me the past year within my practice. His ability to listen and his softness and caring attitude make him an ideal teacher.”
“Through David’s coaching I have been able to unwrap issues that I’ve long had through the practice of meditation. Totally life changing.”
“Having David as a mentor has changed my practice quite dramatically. He is an excellent and compassionate listener. His suggestions are quite precise and helpful.”
“David is a superb mentor, always listening deeply and offering insight.”
“David has been an insightful and practical mentor, which is a great combination. He has good suggestions on resources — books, types of guided meditation, retreats. I really appreciate his taking the time to provide that kind of backup.”
“David is kind and sensitive and also knows how to laugh and relate to what I share with him. He has been very supportive in my mindfulness practice and I truly use the resources he sends me after every session. He has added to my practice significantly!”