The last time I offered this class was in 2019. We gathered in a circle in a room on campus at Stanford, in the “before times”. This time, I offer it on ZOOM, as we emerge from the “post-acute pandemic” and find ourselves on new ground.

We meet for 3 sessions, live on ZOOM. Tuesdays at 6:00-7:30pm PT, on July 11, 18, and 25, 2023. Learn more and register below.

Many pairs of hands, each nurturing a young seedling growing in a small amount of soil, coming together in a circle.

In virtual spaces, how do we bring more of ourselves to both our sharing and our listening? With online meetings now part of the “new normal,” what are some ways that we can build deep connections, create brave and safe spaces, and grow by listening expansively to what is happening in each moment?

In this series, we will not only enumerate techniques we have discovered in our own experiences of meeting online during the pandemic era, but we will explore and discuss approaches together in a community we build over the three sessions of the course.

Our foundational practices will be the skills of establishing brave and safe space among important strangers, authentic expression through embodied storytelling, and expansive listening to ourselves and others. Our activities will involve the voice, breath, movement, writing, speaking, and listening, with the intention of releasing the innate energy, resilience, and healthy transformation that can come through storytelling in community. If you have any prior mindfulness practice experience, this will be helpful but not required.

These will be highly interactive sessions and participants will be practicing speaking and witnessing others as they speak, both as a class and in breakout rooms. Video participation with camera on is strongly encouraged for this class, although not required.

This class will not be recorded.

Registration is open to all (both Stanford community and general public).