Pathway of Training
By Vince Fakhoury Horn, Lead Teacher of Social Meditation
Social Meditation is a path of practice within Buddhist Geeks. That means that you're invited to go as deep as you like with this approach, learning how to practice & facilitate an evolving array of intersubjective meditation practices. Below, you'll find a table laying out several distinct training levels that have emerged thus far in the Buddhist Geeks approach to Social Meditation, along with what each stage of training unlocks within the Buddhist Geeks Practice Ecosystem. Scroll further down to see an in-depth description of each training level.
Level | Unlocked | Invited to... |
Sangha Member | When you join the Buddhist Geeks Practice Ecosystem |
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Beginning Facilitator | During your 1st Social Meditation Training |
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Basic Facilitator | After completing a 10-week cycle of Social Meditation Training: Level 1 |
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Intermediate Facilitator | After two 10-week cycles of Social Meditation Training: Level 1 |
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Advanced Facilitator | After two 10-week cycles of Social Meditation Training: Level 2 |
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Assistant Teacher | Upon starting the 2-year Buddhist Geeks Teacher Training. |
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Teacher | Upon completing the Buddhist Geeks Teacher Training. |
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Lead Teacher | While filling the role of Social Meditation Training Lead |
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As a Sangha Member you're welcome to join any social meditation practice offered by a facilitator or teacher in any part of the Buddhist Geeks Practice Ecosystem that you're participating in.
Because you are always welcome to the take the role of The Witness, in Social Meditation, it means you can even join in on complex techniques right away, by witnessing them first. This provides a more direct way of getting to know what this practice is about, by jumping in and surfing. If you'd prefer to "know what you're getting into" before joining a live practice event, you can familiarize yourself with the basics of whatever technique you're considering doing here on the Social Meditation Guide.
Finally, if you'd like to do a more progressive learning path, we'd recommend starting with Beginning & Basic practices, and then gradually moving on to Intermediate, and then Advanced techniques as you feel ready. Jump into a Social Meditation Training, and work with Basic & Intermediate Techniques alongside a Social Meditation Teacher and peers.
Once you have started your first Social Meditation Training, you will be invited to become a Beginning Facilitator. During your Social Meditation Training you will be invited to facilitate any of the beginning techniques on the Social Meditation Guide.
As a beginning facilitator you don't have breakout room functionality, in Zoom, and you won't be invited to facilitate the optional long-form debrief phase (yet). That said, you will be able to facilitate the Set-up and Practice Phases so that you can refine your facilitation skills and get feedback on your facilitation technique, before increasing the challenge level.
Once you have successfully completed a 10-week cycle of Social Meditation Training, you'll be invited to become a Basic Facilitator of Social Meditation within the Buddhist Geeks Sangha.
True to its name, Basic Facilitators can facilitate any technique listed under the Beginning or Basic Techniques section of this Social Meditation Guide, wherever they're offered in the Buddhist Geeks Sangha. Unlike the Beginning Facilitators, Basic Facilitators are invited to host an optional long-form debrief phase, at the end of any social meditation session they facilitate.
All Basic Facilitators who can commit to facilitating with some regularity, are offered a Buddhist Geeks Pro Zoom Account, which opens up the use of breakout room functionality. This enables Basic Facilitators to offer practices that can be done in both large or small groups–or a combination of both. Finally, all Basic Facilitators are invited to join the Social Meditation Lab–a private group where facilitators can connect & share resources, and where Buddhist Geeks Teachers can get feedback on new social meditation techniques.
Once you've successfully completed two 10-week cycles of Social Meditation Training, you are invited to become an Intermediate Facilitator within the Buddhist Geeks Sangha.
Intermediate Facilitators can facilitate any Beginning, Basic, or Intermediate Techniques listed in the Social Meditation Guide. Intermediate Facilitators can also become Time Leaders, who take ownership for a daily practice session, happening within the Buddhist Geeks Sangha. They're also invited to join Social Meditation Training: Level 2, a training dedicated to exploring advanced Social Meditation practice.
Anyone who completes a total of 20-weeks, or 6 months, of Social Meditation Training: Level 2 is invited to become an Advanced Facilitator within the Buddhist Geeks Sangha. Advanced Facilitators can do anything that the previous facilitation levels can do, plus they can facilitate ANY & ALL practices listed in the Social Meditation Guide.
Advanced Facilitators are also encouraged to develop & test their own social meditation techniques, and are invited to share any new practices they're working on in the Social Meditation Lab.
There is yet-another level of training that's possible for Social Meditation Facilitators, through our Buddhist Geeks Teacher Training. This is an invite-only teacher training program–people with exceptional talent and dedication are invited to participate–that runs for 2 years. Social Meditation is one of the core dimensions of this training, and acts as a kind of specialization that Teachers can choose to focus on.
After entering the 2-year Buddhist Geeks Teacher Training, and completing the training levels above, you are eligible to become a Social Meditation Assistant Teacher. The focus of this training is on learning how to best help others learn to practice & facilitate these methods.
This final level of training is about becoming a core contributor to the development of Social Meditation. Anyone who completes the Buddhist Geeks Teacher Training, and who assists at least one Social Meditation Training or Retreat, is invited to create, test, & submit new social meditation techniques to the Social Meditation Guide–our collective cannon of social practices.
At this level of facilitation one is invited to teach the Social Meditation I and/or Social Meditation II Trainings through Buddhist Geeks. One can also be invited to co-teach a Social Meditation style Retreat through Buddhist Geeks.
The final level of training is filled by a single individual, who holds the Social Meditation Training Lead role within the Buddhist Geeks Holacracy. The person filling this role is responsible for the evolution and development of the Buddhist Geeks approach to Social Meditation. The role is currently held by Vince Fakhoury Horn.
