MENTORING WITH ALISON:

WHAT IT IS & HOw to SIGN UP

After several years of mentoring in Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach’s Power of Awareness program, in 2019 I began mentoring mindfulness-teachers-in-training through Jack and Tara’s two-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP). In addition, I offer 1:1 mentoring via Zoom.

Currently, I am mainly offering “Your Life is Your Practice, Your Practice is Your Life” Mentoring: Support, guidance, and encouragement along your mindfulness journey on and off the cushion, internally and interpersonally.

The people I’ve worked with so far have found their way to this kind of mentoring because they want to engage in a supportive, ongoing inquiry process around how to skillfully apply mindfulness-based practices and insights to their internal emotional landscapes, friendships, romantic partnerships, the state of the world, and beyond.

Why? So that they can show up for themselves, their loved ones, and this planet we’re inhabiting with greater integrity, compassion, and embodied ease, and joy. (If you’re in the mood to listen to a phenomenal song about joy, check out This Joy by the Resistance Revival Chorus!)

I have benefited greatly from this style of mentorship (thank you Tara, Pat, Diane, and many other teachers!); it’s a gift to be able to pay it forward.

Note for MMTCP alums: If you would like teaching-related mentoring, please email me to discuss further.

FAQs:

1. What do we do in the first session?

The first "Your Life is Your Practice, Your Practice is Your Life" session serves several purposes: providing the chance to learn more about you, your journey, and what brings you to mentoring right now; diving into some initial exploration around an inquiry you've been looking for guidance and support around; and, if we don’t already know each other, sensing into whether this could be a good fit. My hope is that by the end of the first session, you will have been able to access a nugget of insight or a clear next step of some kind regarding whatever has led you to mentoring.

2. How often will we meet?

You determine how frequently we meet. In general, the people I currently mentor ask to meet every 2-4 weeks, which gives them 2-4 weeks time to experiment with what we've discussed in the prior session. Regarding scheduling, at the end of each session, we pull out our calendars and schedule the next one, or email to find a mutually convenient time. There is never any obligation to continue meeting; my view is that your inner wisdom will signal to you whether it is beneficial for you to continue, pause, or stop meeting. I also have a few mentees that meet with me adhoc a few times a year when they feel so called.

3. What’s the session structure?

  • 1-2 minutes of meditating together as a way of arriving and transitioning into our time together

  • Check in: How are you in this moment?

  • Touching base about what feels most important to discuss

  • Discussing it! :) This period often also involves guided inquiry if it’s relevant and of interest to you, in which I guide you through a tailored reflective process meant to provide greater access to your own inner knowing/compass/wisdom.

  • Closing journaling and share out: What are you taking away from this time together?

  • If relevant, scheduling our next session

  • Wishing each other well and parting ways

Please bring a notebook and something to write with to each session so that you can jot down any insights, ideas, musings, next steps, and/or takeaways that arise for you.

4. Will we keep discussing the same topic from session to session?

Sometimes we will pick up the thread from the prior session, and sometimes we won't. It will depend on what's most alive for you as each session begins. I think it's important to work with what's here now, and often earlier themes will make themselves known organically. That being said, I take detailed notes during these sessions, so I may refer back to my notes from an earlier session if relevant.

5. How do I sign up?

Please send me a message to schedule a time. In your message, please include the kind of session you are interested in. If I have availability, I will respond with 3-5 possible dates and time windows for our first session.

Mentoring appointment types:

  • 1-hour sessions: Anyone is welcome to sign up for hour-long sessions. Each hour-long session is $120 USD.

  • 30 min sessions: These sessions are for current mentees as well as MMTCP students and alumni who would like to connect and discern that 30 minutes is the amount of time needed. Each 30-minute session is $75.

Note: Our financial situations vary widely. If the pricing is prohibitive for you, please contact me to discuss possibilities.

Questions about mentoring? Please get in touch!




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