Guidelines for MBMS Community

We need your help to keep Monterey Bay Meditation Studio as valuable, authentic, and safe as possible.

Here are our guidelines for Being Aware & Being Kind in our online & Physical spaces.

Honor Self

Show up as you. Here, you are invited to be exactly who you are. In this mindful community, we are practicing kindness and nonjudgement, so this is a space to be you, with your own opinions, humor, challenges, and questions. 

Balance challenge and safety. There will be moments to push yourself out of your comfort zone in the way that you participate. Lean into these moments as opportunities for growth. There will also be moments to follow your instincts and your style in communicating. Lean into these moments as opportunities to cultivate and trust your inner knowing.

Address discomforts. If there is interaction in this space that is harmful or inappropriate for you, please address it. If you are comfortable doing so, we ask that you respond to the person publicly or privately with clarity and kindness to share your needs and boundaries. If you would like support, get in touch with Marianne to assist in addressing the issue. When we stay engaged, the community becomes even stronger, and a more beneficial space for all.

Honor Each Other

Share generously. Your stories and experiences may be exactly what another member needs to hear today. In our online space, we invite you to write posts. Give back by responding to the post or comment of a fellow community member. Your connections with other members deepen our sense of community.

Be constructive. We’re here to deepen our practice of mindfulness, to celebrate each other, to encourage each other forward and lift each other up. Finding ways to help each other think bigger, reframe challenges, and stay curious supports your fellow members.

Give each other the benefit of the doubt. As Ram Dass said, "We're all just walking each other home." Let's do our best to relate to each other in the way that we wish the whole world would: Assuming positive intent, knowing that we'll make mistakes, we'll try our best to repair, and we'll move onward. When in doubt, ask honest questions to promote shared understanding.

Be aware that this is a community of real people, each with their own experiences, history, needs, and personality. This is the richness of our community! Be aware that many people who begin learning about mindfulness are on an intense spiritual journey to heal from trauma or work with difficult life changes. As much as possible, bring sensitivity and empathy into your communication. To the best of our ability, seek to meet each person where they are and to honor their contribution with your attention.

Know that “participation” looks different to different people. Some are comfortable with contact and quick and direct communication, some are not. In live Zoom calls, there are different ways of participating: with or without video, with or without speaking or chatting. Your hosts and teachers will do what we can to accommodate each participant’s needs, and we hope you will tell us how we can be better, too.

Honor Us/The Container

Know that this is a diverse community with an abundance of perspectives to offer. We welcome all people who are serious about Being Aware and Being Kind, and we seek, more and more, to be a community that is inclusive and safe for all. All are welcome to share, so the resources, opinions, and perspectives shared by members of this network shouldn't be assumed to represent the voice of Monterey Bay Meditation Studio or its teachers. We welcome people of all race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, and military status.

Respect what our online space is for: Connection, Reflection, and Learning.

• It isn’t Facebook; it isn’t a dating site. Seek to contribute intentionally and kindly, and to connect in service of awakening. Be respectful. If someone asks you to stop direct messaging them or lets you know that they are uncomfortable, respect their wishes.

• Use your real public name. We are real people being who we are, not anonymous commenters. :)

• Don’t spam, promote, or troll. This community exists to learn and support each other. It’s not a place to spam, promote your services or website, or bully anyone else.

Skillful Participation

In this community, skillful participation reflects the wish for each individual to be heard and appreciated, while cultivating a sense of belonging, being welcomed, and being understood.

In this community, skillful participation means:

• Participating in a way that furthers the conversation.

• Listening in service of understanding beyond ourselves.

• Responding in a way that acknowledges and shows respect for others.

• Making efforts toward skillful speech that is relevant, sensitive, intentional, and clear. 

 Our Activity Feeds on the online platform are spaces for inviting conversation and connection through intentional sharing, rather than a podium for “content.” We create space to express curiosity in service of deepening connection and understanding of ourselves and each other.

We’re Glad You’re Here!

We’re so excited about what we are creating here together in our Monterey Bay Meditation Studio Community. If there’s anything you’d like to see here or if you have questions, message us at any time.

“Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I vow to cultivate loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I vow to learn to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self-confidence, joy, and hope. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain  and not to criticize or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or the community to break. I will make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh