The Red Cedar Zen Practice Committee is happy to announce a new round of mentorship. This program is available to all Members of Red Cedar Zen Community.
In this simple program sangha members are paired with a mentor. The mentors are our Lay Teachers and Priests who have completed the shuso (head monk) training. Our Spiritual Director, Nomon Tim Burnett, will not serve as a mentor, rather he will be directing the program and consulting regularly with the teachers.
The process is simple and the details are up to you and your mentor. Simply sign up and indicate a 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice of whom you would like to serve as your mentor.
You will hear back from Tim in a few weeks on which mentor was assigned. Know that the teachers do not see your choices. They simply get an inquiry from Tim to see if they are available. Simply pick whom you feel affinity with and we will do the rest.
Those currently in the mentorship program are encouraged to discuss with their mentor whether it's skillful to continue, apply again for a new mentor, or take a pause.
Once paired, we encourage you to meet in person and decide how often you would like to make contact. And how. We recommend touching base once or twice a month as a general guideline but the program is flexible according to individual needs and the currents in our busy lives.
What will the conversations be about? Anything related to the practice. Which is to say, anything related to living our lives with more awareness and kindness. You might choose to both read an article or study a text and talk about it; you might choose to make a commitment about daily practice and have someone to check-in on how that's going; you might simply relax together over a cup of tea and feel the deep benefits of spiritual companionship.
We hope sangha members will take advantage of this opportunity. And remember that it helps our sangha's teachers to grow and develop when they have an opportunity to take on these roles. We believe the Sangha Mentors program will be a wonderful way to strengthen our individual and collective practice and inter-connection as a sangha.
Not yet a member? Please sign up no the Membership Page. A current membership is required to participate in the Sangha Mentors program.
Red Cedar Zen Community is a 501(c) non-profit organization.
