If you have never hosted before, please ask those who have hosted before, “I’d like to host and need access to edit the calendar.” You can post your request in the Dharma @ a Distance Slack group (#livingroom channel) or the Google group (“host instructions” thread). Someone will give you the access and then reply saying “Done!”
Once you can access the Calendar, you’ll see many virtual sit events. Some events have hosts already while others don’t. Pick one that still needs host and insert your name in the event title. Adjust the time of the sit according to your convenience and the survey data here. Congratulations, you’re hosting now!
Please remind the group about the sit you’ll be hosting, either the day before or the morning of your sit. Send an email to dharma_distance@googlegroups.com with a zoom link (more on that below).
For Saturdays’ sits, please send to 35-and-under-cimc@googlegroups.com as well. We want to regularly remind CIMC 35U community about this group. However, we’d like to refrain from over-notification.
In the event title, please indicate the date and time of your sit. (ex: “Fri 7/17 noon sit”)
In the event description, please include Zoom meeting URL as well as the telephone numbers, as some participants prefer joining by audio-only. Check out the section “Using Zoom” for an example.
Feel free to find a quote/poem/reflection to share with the group before the meditation begins!
A note about welcoming new members: a survey of our sangha found that new members like to be welcomed and prefer to maintain a low profile for the first one or two sits. If you see someone new, a helpful approach may be to subtly and gently welcome them to the space and go over the origin of Dharma at a Distance and/or the typical structure of our sits so they know what to expect. Hosts might also share their name/pronouns before speaking and invite others to do the same so the new person feels formally introduced to the space.
On the calendar entry you added your name to, there will be a space to copy the Zoom invitation. You can use your own Zoom account to schedule the meeting, and if you don't have a Zoom account, you can simply copy the invitation below:
Topic: Dharma at a Distance
Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime
Join Zoom Meeting
https://ucla.zoom.us/j/93829837861?pwd=TktOUzh6VGhOZVVJTHBWYlpEOVVXUT09
Meeting ID: 938 2983 7861
Passcode: 870116
One tap mobile
+16465588656,,93829837861# US (New York)
+17866351003,,93829837861# US (Miami)
Dial by your location
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 786 635 1003 US (Miami)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 470 250 9358 US (Atlanta)
+1 651 372 8299 US (Minnesota)
+1 602 753 0140 US (Phoenix)
+1 669 219 2599 US (San Jose)
+1 720 928 9299 US (Denver)
+1 971 247 1195 US (Portland)
+1 213 338 8477 US (Los Angeles)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
Meeting ID: 938 2983 7861
Find your local number: https://ucla.zoom.us/u/ad7itNU5Uc
Join by SIP
93829837861@zoomcrc.com
Join by H.323
162.255.37.11 (US West)
162.255.36.11 (US East)
115.114.131.7 (India Mumbai)
115.114.115.7 (India Hyderabad)
213.19.144.110 (Amsterdam Netherlands)
213.244.140.110 (Germany)
103.122.166.55 (Australia Sydney)
103.122.167.55 (Australia Melbourne)
149.137.40.110 (Singapore)
64.211.144.160 (Brazil)
69.174.57.160 (Canada Toronto)
65.39.152.160 (Canada Vancouver)
207.226.132.110 (Japan Tokyo)
149.137.24.110 (Japan Osaka)
Meeting ID: 938 2983 7861
Passcode: 870116
or
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84951676246?pwd=ZlkraStQdktob3Fsck54TkliaWxVZz09
Meeting ID: 849 5167 6246
Passcode: 502260
One tap mobile
+16465588656,,84951676246#,,,,*502260# US (New York)
+13017158592,,84951676246#,,,,*502260# US (Washington DC)
Dial by your location
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
Meeting ID: 849 5167 6246
Passcode: 502260
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbYgW2nDP1
If there's a problem with the default Zoom meetings listed above, please contact Tanya for the first or Greg Giannone (greg.giannone1@gmail.com) for the second via Slack, or post in #logistics in Slack.
Make sure that “Waiting Rooms” are disabled if possible.
It’s up to you to decide whether to mute people upon entry/mute video upon entry/etc. If you’re worried about internet connectivity issues, it might be good to have people automatically muted (of course, they can unmute themselves whenever).
Zoom is bad at dealing with multiple people talking at once- so if you’re an “active listener” and tend to say “mhm/yes!/…” you should mute your audio while others are speaking, because zoom can tend to cut off the other person’s audio while this is happening.
A note about bells: Zoom cuts off the end of the bell at some point and also has a hard time picking up ‘singing’ bowls (when you drag the hammer around the edges). Activating the 'Use original audio' setting in Zoom may mitigate this effect.
For 30-minute sits, the meditation typically starts promptly at 12. For 60-minute sits, it's customary to welcome folks and allow time for people to trickle in before beginning the meditation at 12:05.
*Optional* Feel free to share a quote/poem/reflection (or any other suggestion) with the group. This can be done via email before the sit, or at the beginning/end of the meditation.
Consider selecting teachings, poets, authors, etc. that are reflective of the beautiful diversity in our world and sangha. White voices, due to systemic racism and other causes and conditions, tend to be disproportionately emphasized in Western dharma communities. So while sharings from all backgrounds are welcome, as hosts we have a wonderful opportunity to amplify, highlight, and bring to our practice the wisdom of marginalized voices.
Please announce the beginning of the meditation as well as the end. Hosts usually ring a bell, and the sit usually goes for about 20-25 minutes. If you have new suggestions, please bring it up to your group!
After the sit we often do group check-ins (sometimes dyads, see below) or some other kind of discussion (in theory we can do whatever you want). Try to make sure folks get a chance to check in if they want to and to *not* check in if they don’t want to!
Sometimes people call in from their phones and can’t see any video. So it’s helpful to remind people, in this case, to share their names before speaking (as well as pronouns they use), and also to not rely on the ‘chat’ function in these instances.
If no one comes to the sit, the host can leave after 15 minutes. If there are attendees, the host stays for the meditation period to ring the ending bell, after which point they can leave the room and assign a different host for check-ins if necessary.
Please let folks know the dyad is optional- they can private message the host to indicate if they would not like to participate in the dyad, and instead hang out in the ‘main room’. This might take some shuffling around to accomplish, on a technical level, with zoom, but I think it’s possible!
Let folks know that, when it is their turn to share, they may choose to sit in silence and need not speak at all if they decide they don’t want to, for any reason!
When speaking in a dyad (or check-in), please refrain from giving advice, keep sharing “in the ‘I’” (i.e. make statements about your own personal experience).
‘What happens in a dyad stays in the dyad’, please respect the confidentiality.
It’s helpful to tell people how long each person will have to speak before breaking out.
It’s helpful to tell people a way to decide who’s going first (like “whoever has the closest birthday").
It’s helpful to “broadcast” via Zoom when it’s time to begin, when the first person should wrap up and/or when folks should switch, and when the last speaker should wrap up and/or a warning that you’re about to end the breakout rooms.
If you remember: after clicking ‘breakout sessions’ but before actually initiating them, you have the opportunity to change the amount of time on the countdown timer at the end of the session. (Sometimes 60 seconds can be a bit long…)
The check-ins/discussions can involve any number of topics: how the sit went, how life is going, dharma questions for the group, a specific check-in prompt, etc.
If someone starts to run a bit long during the check-in period, please bring attention to the time and the intention to allow for folks who haven't shared to have the opportunity to if they'd like.
*Optional* The host can offer to stay on longer than the allotted time to give space for those who haven't had the chance to share.