MMTCP

LGBTQIA+ Sangha for June- Pride Edition!
2025-06-23 20:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York)
Join us on June 23rd from 8-9 PM ET for our Pride Week celebration! Craig Nelson will be guiding us on the theme, “The Beauty of Shame.” It’s gonna be BOLD and nuanced, y’all. Show up hydrated! ALL are welcome, whether it’s been a while or you’e just curious to check us out. Hope to see you there!

Plant-based Foods Exploration
2025-06-19 21:00 - 22:00, 2025-05-15 21:00 - 22:00
Monthly gathering the 3rd Thursdays at 7 pm EST to discuss individual plant-based journeys, along with teaching about plant-based lifestyles.

Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness Teachers Sangha
2025-06-17 21:00 - 22:00, 2025-05-20 21:00 - 22:00
Please join us for an hour to explore and share the ways in which we show up in the world as trauma sensitive mindfulness teachers. This meeting will be held monthly on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 9-10pm Eastern. Here is the Zoom link; you can also use the following credentials:Meeting ID: 811 4289 6909Passcode: [REDACTED]

RISE (Refuge and Inspiration Sangha for Educators)
2025-06-15 12:00 - 13:30
Join us for our last monthly session before summer break. By request, we will conclude our Mindfulness and Healing the Heart of Democracy series and co-create plans for resuming in the fall. All are welcome even if you didn’t attend the earlier sessions. The meeting is from 12 – 1:30 pm ET: the Zoom link is here

Mindful Coaches, Mentors and Therapists
2025-06-14 12:00 - 13:30
In this month’s sangha, Joanne Hochendoner RN will review the basics of Internal Family Systems and discuss what a mindful IFS practice is. She will then lead us through an IFS meditation where we get to know one of our parts. We will end with a debrief of our meditation experience.

Disability Affinity Sangha
2025-06-10 14:30 - 16:00, 2025-05-13 14:30 - 16:00
We meet the 2nd Tuesday of every month from 2:30-4pm ET. We are an affinity group that is open to alumni who have a disability, including a chronic medical condition. Prior to attending your first group, please read our sangha page. Here’s the zoom link: https://cuboulder.zoom.us/j/94776947948

Mentor-led Session with joshua bee alafia
2025-06-10 11:00 - 12:15
Led by MMTCP Mentors, these sessions offer a place for you to bring any and all of your teaching and practice questions / challenges and be in sangha with alumni peers. In each session, mentors will offer a short talk and then offer guidance and wisdom for whatever is coming up for you – much like the support we had in peer groups.

This session will be led by joshua bee alafia and is from 11 am – 12:15 pm ET; Zoom link is here

joshua bee alafia’s meditation practice began in 1989 when his mother gave him a mantra to work with. This sparked a rich journey into different styles from the Hawaiian Shamanic, Hindu, Sufi, Dzogchen, Taoist, and Vipassana traditions. Wanting to bring Vipassana practice to the youth, he began teaching mindfulness practice to incarcerated, court involved and system vulnerable youth through New York’s Lineage Project in 2010 and taught mindful movements of capoeira, Tai Chi and Qigong. He is a graduate of the Community Dharma Leaders training through Spirit Rock Meditation Center. His journey in Qigong began in 1990 training Chen style Tai Chi with Sifu Courtney Blackburn, Yang style Tai Chi with Devron Wong Sam, Jean Marie du DashiRay and Immortal Arts Qigong and Neigong. He currently mentors mindfulness teachers virtually, and teaches Inner Power classes (Qigong and meditation) to young men transitioning out of houselessness with The Good Seed in Los Angeles. He is the founder of Liberation Center Worldwide, building meditation/wellness centers internationally and the founder and co-executive director of South Side Liberation Center in Chicago.

Mindful Writing (and Journaling)
2025-06-08 11:30 - 12:30
We will be mindful and journal-ful again together on Sunday, June 8 from 11:30am – 12:30 pm ET. You are welcome as a dedicated journal-er and as a new journal-er. Feel free to email if you wonder about this Sangha. audreybloom@bellsouth.net

White Awareness Sangha
2025-06-05 13:00 - 14:00
First of all, we welcome 2025 graduates to our on-going sangha. We began during our training in 2021 and continued into the alumni association. Some members are not part of the alumni association and they are welcome to join.
Our next meeting will be on the first Thursday of the month at 1:00 PM ET which is our normal time.
The zoom will come in an email a day or two before the event..
Metta,
Jerome
415-299-0428

Jerome Freedman, Ph. D., C.M.T, O. I.
jerome@mountainsangha.org
http://mountainsangha.org

Mindful Eating
2025-06-05 12:15 - 13:00, 2025-05-01 12:15 - 13:00
Join us for a delightful break in your day/evening and enter the gateway to a daily path of mindful eating to ignite your practice, your relationships and frankly your life! We start with an introduction to the monthly Sangha and the intentions for the gathering followed by a brief teaching and a practice.

Awakening Together Sangha
2025-06-01 19:00 - 20:30
1st Sunday monthly meeting at 7 pm June 1st. All are welcome as we lean into Awakening while supporting each other in Sangha and mindful living. Zoom Link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87562364131?pwd=[REDACTED]

Buddhist Practice and Plant Medicine with Spring Washam.
2025-05-31 12:00 - 15:00
A two-part training on what mindfulness teachers need to know about wisdom and healing at the intersection of Buddhist practice and plant medicine.

The use of plant medicine for mental health and well-being is an area of rapidly growing interest, research, and dialogue. Rooted in Indigenous healing traditions and now being revisited by modern science, plant medicines are increasingly recognized for their therapeutic potential when used intentionally and in supportive settings. A growing number of Buddhist practitioners are exploring how plant medicine can complement and deepen inner work. At the same time, psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals are beginning to integrate plant-based medicines into therapeutic frameworks, offering new avenues of care for trauma, depression, and anxiety.

This workshop will build a better understanding of the intersection of plant medicines and Buddhism and how this intersection can be aligned with Buddhist practices of insight, compassion, and liberation from suffering. As mindfulness and meditation teachers, we need to better understand this evolving terrain so that we can be equipped to respond to student’s questions and experiences with/about plant medicine. Spring Washam will guide us in a rich, nuanced, informative workshop on how and where ancient spiritual practice meets traditional healing and build our capacity to support our students with information, integrity, and care.

This session is from 12 – 3 pm ET ; Zoom link is here
The second session will be on September 6 from 12 – 3 pm ET.
Learn more about Spring Washam here.

Building Your Infrastructure & Perfecting Your Pitch- Marketing Session Two
2025-05-29 12:00 - 13:30
In this session, we’ll focus on the essential pieces that support your business—your website, social media presence, and pricing structure. You’ll also learn how to craft a compelling pitch for in-person opportunities or create an effective landing page to attract clients online. By the end, you’ll have the tools to confidently present your offerings and grow your teaching business with clarity and ease. All are welcome whether or not you attended the first session; you will receive a handout from session one prior to attending this one. The first session is on May 1 on the Basics of Marketing Yourself.
This session is from 12 – 1:30 pm ET; the zoom link is here
This session will be led by Jane Lodato and Pam Hausner – both are seasoned, successful marketing professionals as well as MMTCP alumni (click on their names to learn more about each).

This session is part of our new Business of Teaching Mindfulness Series. Having a successful mindfulness teaching business and community requires more than just your heart and training. Bringing your offerings to the world will also require some kind of a business strategy to design and promote your mindfulness programs. Identifying your audience, communications, business plan and structure, supporting business and technology infrastructure needs, and pricing are just a few things to consider. How do these all align with your values/ethics as well as your understanding of right livelihood? We will be offering workshops and learning sessions on these topics throughout the year. Whether you are just starting out as a teacher or want to take your offerings to another level, this series will help you work through some of these questions and issues.

Brahmaviharas
2025-05-28 12:00 - 13:30
– I am looking forward to our next sit. It will mark my 3rd year of teaching the Brahmaviharas. I hope that you will join me for a celebration of miracles, beauty, balanced perspective and being blessed by such a wise community of colleagues. teachers and guest speakers.
– The Four Divine Abodes can feed one throughout life – hopefully a long, full, joyous life, filled with tenderness, respect, balanced by all that Dharma and experience can teach us. Let’s try a standing meditation and share insights gleaned from what has been shared together. Bring a pen and journal for doing some writing, if we have time.

See you on May 28th: noon-1:30 pm ET!
– Linda

Mindful Nonviolent Communication
2025-05-23 13:00 - 14:30
Join us as we explore, investigate and practice key elements of Nonviolent Communication. This month’s sangha will be led by Tina Clay, a practicing therapist and certified yoga instructor, who has also been a mentor in the MMTCP certification program. One area of MNVC interest for Tina is intention. Zoom link
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 961 6082 7663
Passcode: [REDACTED]
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LGBTQIA+ Sangha
2025-05-22 20:00 - 21:00
Join us for our May Meetup on THURSDAY, May 22nd, 2025 from 8-9 PM Eastern Time. NOTE: We will be rotating each month between Monday night and Thursday night meetings. It made sense to start this in May so we could avoid the Memorial Day holiday on that Monday. So join us on Thursday instead! Loretta will lead. All are welcome, particularly if you’ve never been to a gathering with us. Check us out, get a vibe, no pressure- it’ll be cute!
Zoom Room Here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83643057442?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 836 4305 7442
Passcode: [REDACTED]

*With metta*

Mindful in Nature
2025-05-21 18:30 - 19:30
Mindful in Nature
We meet monthly on the third or 4th Wednesday of the month at 7 or 730 pm Eastern Time for one hour, virtually, to build community around the shared interests of mindfulness and the natural world. Check the sangha page for updated time and day we meet each month as it can vary due to facilitator schedule. The group will make space to meditate together in community, check in and share about what’s going on in life related to mindfulness and nature, and will be an opportunity to share resources and ideas related to this topic.

Mentor-led Series | Jill Satterfield
2025-05-20 19:00 - 20:15
Led by MMTCP Mentors, these sessions offer a place for you to bring any and all of your teaching and practice questions and to be in sangha with alumni peers. In each session, mentors will offer a short talk and then offer guidance and wisdom for whatever is coming up for you – much like we had in peer groups. These sessions have been so rich and supportive that this year we are offering them twice a month and alternating times so our peers around the world can join more often. This session will be led by Jill Satterfield and is from 7 – 8:15 pm ET; the Zoom link is here

more about Jill:
JilI Satterfield was led to practice over 35 years ago as an attempt to work with a body not well and a heart mind that felt quite separated from it. She was fortunate to meet her primary teacher, Ajahn Amaro, on her second retreat, and he has been her constant guide and inspiration for over 28 years.

As a result of her practice and life experiences, she’s designed teacher trainings, like the Applied Embodied Mindfulness at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center and The School for Compassionate Action: mindfulness and somatic practices for those living with chronic pain, trauma, and addictions in New York City. She is trained as a Buddhist Chaplain by the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies. You can read more about Jill and her offerings here

Mindful Readers Shared World
2025-05-15 12:00 - 13:00
Our next “Mindful Readers” will include the reading of a lyric poem, named “Gate A-4”. No advance reading required, (and I have attached the poem if you would like to read it before we meet). Our Sangha meeting will include , of course, a brief mindfulness practice, discussion of the poem: it’s themes and where we find it’s theme in our lives, and what we would like our shared world to be like?! Everyone welcome.
This meeting is on May 15 fro 12 – 1 pm ET
Sign In:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89079623957?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 890 7962 3957
Passcode: [REDACTED]

MINDFUL JOURNALING
2025-05-11 11:30 - 12:30
We will be mindful and journal-ful again together on Sunday, May 11, at 11:30am/EST.
You are welcome as a dedicated journal-er and as a new journal-er.
Feel free to email if you wonder about this Sangha.
audreybloom@bellsouth.net

Mindful Coaches, Mentors and Therapists Sangha
2025-05-10 12:00 - 13:30
Robert Glavan will be facilitating a session on “Walking the Path with No Path in Sight”

Mentor-led Series | Rio Ellett
2025-05-06 11:00 - 12:15
Led by MMTCP Mentors, these sessions offer a place for you to bring any and all of your teaching and practice questions / challenges and be in sangha with alumni peers. In each session, mentors will offer a short talk and then offer guidance and wisdom for whatever is coming up for you – much like we had in peer groups. These sessions have been so rich and supportive that this year we are offering them twice a month and alternating times so our peers around the world can join more often.

This session will be led by Rio Ellett and is from 11 am – 12:15 pm ET; the Zoom link is here

More about Rio: my name is Rio and my pronouns are they/them. I’ve spent most of my adult life studying, living and working with the Sanghas of Thich Nhat Hanh, Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Society during years of intensive retreat practice and began teaching meditation to young adults and environmental activists in 2013. In 2014, I was ordained into Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing and in 2024 I received Dharma Teacher authorisation from James Baraz. Currently, I mentor students in the Mindfulness and Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP) of Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. I like approaching meditation with easefulness, acceptance, and simplicity, and place great emphasis on the practice of Sangha and community building. Being queer and disabled, I often felt left out and explicitly or implicitly excluded in certain spiritual spaces, which made me passionate about making Dharma teachings more accessible and welcoming. I’m currently based in Freiburg, Germany, but also sometimes live in Auckland, New Zealand. Both places are home. I’m happiest in nature, while hiking and living simply in my van and while hugging my child. I absolutely adore goats (I used to have a pet-goat called ‘Mara’) and sometimes wish I could be a tree. I think life as a tree might be much less tiresome. 😉

Awakening Together Sangha Gathering
2025-05-04 19:00 - 20:30
Please join us as we share ourselves, our journeys and our hearts. All are welcome, whether the first time or many times.Text

White Awareness Sangha - New Time May 1 only
2025-05-01 14:00 - 15:00
Dear Sangha:
First of all, we welcome 2025 graduates to our on-going sangha. We began during our training in 2021 and continued into the alumni association. Some members are not part of the alumni association and they are welcome to join.
Our next meeting will be on Thursday, May 1 at 2:00 PM ET instead of 1:00 PM ET which is our normal time. There is another alumni event that ends at 1:30 PM ET and we want to allow time for members to attend that event.
So please join me on May 1 at 2:00 PM ET. The zoom link (subject to change): https://zoom.us/j/734777397.
Happy Earth Day!
Metta,
Jerome
415-299-0428

Jerome Freedman, Ph. D., C.M.T, O. I.
jerome@mountainsangha.org
http://mountainsangha.org

The Basics of Marketing Yourself (Marketing Session One)
2025-05-01 12:00 - 13:30
The Basics of Marketing Yourself (Marketing Session One)
The foundation for a thriving mindfulness business requires clarifying who you want to reach and creating your message in a way that truly connects with your audience. This will become the groundwork for your marketing and communication efforts, helping you attract the right students and grow your impact with confidence and authenticity. This workshop is equally important for those who are just starting the teaching journey or as well as for those who want to recraft their existing message for greater impact. This session is from 12 – 1:30 pm ET; the Zoom link is here

You may wish to review the attached handout/worksheet ahead of time.

This session will be led by Jane Lodato and Pam Hausner – both are seasoned, successful marketing professionals as well as MMTCP alumni (click on their names to learn more about each).

This session is part of our new Business of Teaching Mindfulness Series. Having a successful mindfulness teaching business and community requires more than just your heart and training. Bringing your offerings to the world will also require some kind of a business strategy to design and promote your mindfulness programs. Identifying your audience, communications, business plan and structure, supporting business and technology infrastructure needs, and pricing are just a few things to consider. How do these all align with your values/ethics as well as your understanding of right livelihood? We will be offering workshops and learning sessions on these topics throughout the year. Whether you are just starting out as a teacher or want to take your offerings to another level, this series will help you work through some of these questions and issues.

BIPOC MBSR Course
2025-04-30 19:00 - 21:30
First Course begins March 5, 2025. Pre-registration is required- please do so here
