Friday Meditations

Starting on April 24th from 11:00 - 11:20 am E.S.T.

Hi Friends,

Staring April 24th, I’ll sit for Meditation on Fridays on Zoom from 11:00 - 11:20 am EST. If you’d like to join, you’re warmly welcomed.

This will be a quiet, shared space. I will not only lead meditation, I will teach you how you can build your own sustainable practice. I’ll guide you through a 6-part embodied meditation. It will cover how to start, what to do, and how to close. You’ll learn my approach to meditation, and be encouraged to try it on your own. I’ll hold space for a question or two at the end.

In fairness, I don’t know how long this will last. It may be a few weeks or a few years. We’ll see how it goes. My hope is that it will become a sustainable way for us to show up for ourselves and each other.

The energy exchange is on a sliding scale. Paid subscribers, you’re all set; these meditations will be included in your membership. Non-paid subscribers, please pay what you can. I’m suggesting between $1 — $25 paid via Venmo before each session you attend.

Please DM me if you’d like to join, and I’ll send you the re-occurring Zoom link. You must sign-up at least twenty-fours in advance to receive the link.

With Gratitude,

Joyce

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Coach, Consultant, or Teacher?

The other day, I was at an event, and my friend introduced me as a “meditation coach”.

Meditation coach? I thought. I’ve never called myself this before. Am I even allowed to be called that? Or is this one of those Americanized titles you would need a specific training and license for? Regardless, I secretly love the way people interpret each other. I love off-the-cuff introductions, and the ways we might idiosyncraticly sum-up what a friend or colleague does. I have some friends who are so good at this.

When I was in High School, my friends and I used to play Therapist. Ha! I just almost spit out my Spindrift remembering how ridiculous this was. Someone, would lie down on a couch and talk about what was on their mind, and the other person would sit in a chair and listen and the reflect back what she heard.

This was not as wholesome and sophisticated as it may sound. In hindsight, it was a great way for gathering gossip, and gossip was of course the main currency for popularity in my High School.

Furthermore, the reflections we gave back to each other were often deliberately ridiculous—like we were playing a therapist in an SNL sketch. Or, they were likely manipulative, depending on what the extremely under-qualified, un-licensed teenage girl therapist herself desired. But, sometimes, someone would listen and reflect back a genuine compliment or insight. Some of us realized there was a power in being insightful. To feel seen and understood was such a rare gift at that age.

When my friend called me a “Meditation Coach” I don’t know if I felt particularly seen, but I did feel curious. I’ve always thought of myself as a meditation teacher. Why didn’t my friend say teacher? I have a positive connotation with this word, but maybe not everyone does. While I was thinking about this, one of the people she had introduced me to asked me if I recommend focusing on the breath or a mantra.

I said, “They’re both great tools, and I play with both. However, Mantra can be a bit of a sledge hammer (made of light). When you say a mantra, it can strike the mind. It can be like an axe clearing a forrest if you repeat it over and over. So it can be helpful to create a clearing, or to stop yourself from over-analyzing, or ruminating.

But I don’t want to obliterate all my thoughts. I want to get to know my mind too.

So focusing on the breath can often offer more space than mantra. Focusing on the breath feels to me like becoming absorbed in my aliveness.”

Maybe that is what a coach would say. Or maybe a consultant. What’s the difference between a teacher, a coach, and a consultant? Is it all semantics? In all of the cases, I see myself as someone who has studied the subject extensively, I have also studied pedagogy (how to teach), and I want to pass on what I’ve learned so my friends can do it too. On their own. Without me or anyone else as an intermediary. Maybe mentor is the right word. But, honestly, I just prefer friend. We can be meditation friends. Whatever connotes mutual respect, and no hierarchy works for me.

I think gathering with other people to meditate is sublime, and so is doing it on your own. What I don’t think is great is always needing someone else to lead me. The whole point of meditation is to listen to your Self.

According to Yoga Sutra 1.39, one can meditate on any desired object whatsoever, according to his or her inclination. Once the mind becomes centered, its sattvic (luminous) quality can blossom.

I love holding space for people to meditate almost as much as I love writing. I’m excited to gather with you.