Mindfulness Mentor Groups and the Power of Community with Sharon Shelton

This week, we have an inspiring podcast conversation with Sharon Shelton about the benefits of learning meditation in community, through mindfulness mentor groups. Sharon is a mindfulness and dharma teacher and certified life coach, and one of the founding teachers at Cloud Sangha. You'll be energized by Sharon's passion, as she describes the power of mindful connection. She explains how exploring mindfulness in community can strengthen your individual meditation practice, and that it can also be part of a larger movement of transforming the isolation, division, and distress that's so apparent in our society.   We talk about her work with Cloud Sangha, an online meditation practice community founded by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield, and how she's been surprised by the level of authentic community forming in this virtual space. Sharon also describes what a mindfulness mentor group is, and how it supports a depth of practice through continuity and accountability. You'll hear about: the differences between mentoring and coaching how mindfulness mentoring is distinct from group therapy how mentor groups represent a less hierarchical model for learning mindfulness the richness of bringing together practitioners from different backgrounds, all over the world  the importance of skilled space-holding and facilitation to create safety and open-ness within a practice group Sharon gives several examples of how practicing in community can help us find more skillful ways of being with the challenges of our times - rather than defaulting to anxiety, apathy, or self-righteousness. Listen in, and perhaps find hope in this bold vision for a more mindful, compassionate world! -- You can learn more about Sharon Shelton through her website or connect with her through Cloud Sangha or through her MeetUp community Listen to Your Life. And, you can follow her on Instagram @loveactivist. For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast. Lastly, you can follow the podcast (and Addie, the host) on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yin yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitty, Mustache).