Teaching Meditation for Human Flourishing

Tommy came to class with some specific interests and skills: he loved mediation and had learned a lot about different techniques. When the opportunity came to organize his own activity, he decided to share his love of meditation with others. As he studied Ethics, Tommy began to realize that meditating could be linked to ideas about human flourishing. He writes:

“When people practice meditation it helps promote peace of mind and allows them to flourish so then they can focus on what really matters in their life. According to Weston (2018, pg. 182) flourishing is about doing something valuable with your day and your life. It simply requires transcending self-interest to celebrate goodness in others and in the natural world.”

Tommy advertised at the spiritual shop where he worked and shared the meditation class via social media. While initial interest was high, only one person showed up the day of the class. Tommy reflects:

“I was a little bummed out at first, but I realized that this person was there for a reason and it was important for her to attend the meditation class…The two of us had a wonderful class and when it was over she could feel the positive impact the meditation had on her well-being. She stated that she was at peace and felt a greater sense of happiness…Organizing this Activity was a positive experience and I plan to teach this class again in the future because I truly believe that meditation can help transform lives.”

 

What to try to organize an activity like this one? Here are some tips from Tommy that might make it easier for you:

• Have previous knowledge and experience with several different methods of meditation in order to be successful in conducting this class.
• Contact a spiritual shop to see if they have space available to rent in order for you to host your meditation class. If you are able to have your class in a spiritual shop they may help promote the class for you.
• Create a post/event on social media to invite people to your meditation class. To improve attendance you may want to expand your post to the public, but require a reservation to help make sure that you don’t over book the class.
• Find a way to secure reservations in order to make sure people are going to attend. Example: include a small fee that you could donate to a specific charity of your choice.
• Keep in mind that everyone may have different levels of experience when it comes to meditation. Make sure to include basic information followed by more in depth guidance.
• A few tools I [Tommy] recommend using for your class are crystals, sage or incense, candles, singing bowls, drums, bells, and a speaker for soothing background music.
• Include more than one method of meditation because people may resonate with one method more than others.
• It’s a great idea to create an informational brochure or a packet to hand out so that people can reference the information in the future.
• Take pictures before you start the class because it is very hard to do during the class and it can also be very distracting. Make a note or set a reminder on your phone so you don’t forget to take the pictures.
• Check in with people before and after the class to see how they are feeling. Doing this can help them to be more aware of the energetic transformation that takes place during the class experience.