In a nutshell, what is this and why do we need it?

This service is uniquely designed to support leaderhip, staff, board members and volunteers who dedicate themselves to the inherently heavy work of creating positive and impactful change in society. It offers live, virtual, 30 minute mindfulness sessions, including guided meditation, every Monday continuously throughout the workday. It is a collective space for diverse organizations to practice together, while giving individuals autonomy in how they participate.

The work of creating positive transformation is massive, and deserves as much compassionate, holistic and uplifting fortification as possible for the mission to flourish. Neuroscience says mindfulness practice is a powerful way to impact many facets of the human experience— why not harness that research to supercharge the substantial work of social changemakers? This is Stanford Social Innovation Review’s report on mindfulness for conscious social change. And here is why Harvard Business Review explains we should practice collective mindfulness.

What happens during a session?

Each session has the following consistent structure while offering different content each week:

• Opens with inspiration from global and local changemakers and universal, complementary mindfulness concepts. (approximately 5 minutes)

• Related guided meditation follows. (approx 15-20 minutes)

• Closes with prompted contemplation space that permits private and public shared reflection.

  (approx 5-10 minutes)

Sessions are facilitated by Stacey Mandel, a seasoned and professional certified mindfulness teacher (CMT-P) with the International Mindfulness Teachers Association. Stacey’s training and experience can be found here.

When are the exact session times?

8:30-9am ET

9-9:30am ET

9:30-10am ET

11-11:30am ET

2-2:30pm ET

2:30-3pm ET

3:30-4pm ET

4-4:30pm ET

*Times may be adjusted based on feedback.

How do communications and logistics work?

1. Upon joining, your point of contact will receive a digital flyer with details designed to introduce The BIG Collective internally to your organization. You can decide the best way to announce the offering.

2. Each Wednesday by noon, your point of contact will receive one emailed reminder to share internally before the upcoming Monday sessions. It will contain the recurring list of session times, a note about the upcoming inspiration and registration info for a secure Zoom link.

Note: Registration is needed and possible anytime up to 60 minutes before each session. No cancellation necessary.

What is the cost?

$2,222 per year (40 weeks/excludes federal holidays + 1 extra)

Organizations can join at any time.

If the fee is a hardship or your organization would like to gift membership to another organization, please reach out. We seek to include all social changemakers regardless of finances, and are happy to co-create an arrangement of mutual benefit.

Are there any incentives for referring other organizations?

Yes! An organization that refers another paying organization will receive one free additional month of membership and have a featured spotlight on its work included in the next reminder email to all.

How is this different from “wellness” and other well-being programs?

The BIG Collective will likely create benefits like stress reduction, relaxation, balance, focus, productivity— which fall under the “wellness and well-being” umbrellas. However, this service was envisioned to amplify the power of mindfulness for greater civic good and has that intention interwoven throughout. Also, this seems to be the only mindfulness-based service out there targeting social change that is not consulting, a workshop, a course, a webinar or a discussion forum. Finally, the structure is atypically flexible in order to overcome other programs’ most common barriers: logistics, lack of authentic integration and different interest levels.

What is the level of mindfulness or meditation experience needed?

Anyone from total beginner to expert is welcome and should feel comfortable. A few tips and reminders are always offered. The closing time for shared reflection and inquiry is intended to hold space for all perspectives and experiences, including challenges.

Newcomers should do well with the bite size concepts, short lengths of guided meditation and the presence of a community. Seasoned practitioners will likely appreciate “beginner’s mind”, mission-centered camradery and the chance to integrate more practice into their work.

Are there any special mental health considerations to be aware of?

Yes. Meditation can be beneficial for people who suffer from depression, but it’s probably NOT a good idea for someone to learn to meditate at times they are profoundly depressed. It’s best if they wait until their depression is in remission and they’re feeling more emotionally balanced. People who have serious mental illness that involve delusions should not participate either.

What about Zoom cameras?

All are strongly encouraged to keep cameras on for the opening and closing, but are welcome to turn them off for the guided meditation.

Will the sessions be recorded?

Unfortunately, no. This is a live offering only due to a variety of factors involved with recording and distributing recordings.

Can my organization track participation and collect feedback?

Yes. Zoom registration data can be shared at any time, though names of participants will be kept confidential. BIG Mindfulness & Meditation can also provide a survey to collect feedback as often as desired.

How do we sign up?

Use this registration link to complete the process in less than a minute.

Have further questions?

Just send a message to stacey@yourbigmind.com.