Welcome to my Office Hours! These are opportunities for open-ended discussion and guidance about spiritual practice and different types of awakening. I am a scholar specializing in Asian spiritual and healing traditions, but I embrace a multifaceted approach that celebrates diverse individual experiences. You can find details about how I think about awakening at www.multidharma.net. Conversations during Office Hours focus on all aspects of my model, and how all of this manifests in everyday life. 

Here’s what you can expect:  

1. My participation in these sessions is in no way connected with my “day job” as a university professor. I am exercising my right to independently engage in private religious and spiritual activity. 
2. That being said, the only professional training I have is as a professor, so these sessions are explicitly modeled after a university seminar. This is neither a therapy session nor a satsang, so I might not speak or behave in ways you expect from typical spiritual teachers. Also, note that, aside from these meetings, I do not have other availability for private sessions, etc.
3. What I provide is not “ultimate truth,” but rather ideas, concepts, and frameworks that I hope can be helpful for you to make better sense of your spiritual experiences. If you do not find what I say or how I say it to be helpful, then I will have no hard feelings about you deciding these sessions are not for you. 
4. It would be advisable to read the website or to listen to one of the talks before attending Office Hours, to familiarize yourself with the flavor of how I talk about the awakening process. On the other hand, please feel free to ask even the most basic questions. These are usually extraordinarily useful. 
5. You are responsible for the energy you bring into the meeting space and whatever reactions you have while participating here. These meetings are about the frameworks I am providing, not me as an individual. I ask that you own your own projections — positive or negative — and do not place them at my feet. 
6. Some people attend Office Hours as colleagues and friends of mine. I often will invite these people to share their thoughts with the group in order to introduce a different way of speaking about a topic. If you have not been invited in this capacity, please don’t try to teach during the meeting. 
7. Please use Zoom’s hand-raising function to queue up to ask a question that changes the subject. If you have a question or comment that is directly on-point to what is currently being discussed, just unmute yourself and jump in.
8. We have an expectation of confidentiality in this group. Participants are welcome to ask questions that relate to their own experience and may share sensitive personal details during the session. Maintaining confidentiality about such things is an expectation of your participation here.
9. I record the audio from all of the Office Hours sessions in an unobtrusive way. I never share these recordings with anyone. I do temporarily archive them securely in order to have a record of the conversation for my own reference. I may use A.I. to generate summaries of my recorded comments when I want to preserve the essence of something I have said on www.multidharma.net/forum. Under no circumstances will I ever post any personal or sensitive information about participants, or allow A.I. to transcribe the specific personal details of any questions that were asked.
10. If I feel that someone is disregarding any of the expectations listed here, it is my responsibility to take appropriate measures to maintain a productive and safe environment. This might include “uninviting” you from these meetings.
11. Whoever you are, wherever you are in your spiritual journey, or whatever you’re going through as a result, you are very welcome in this group. I value and celebrate diversity of experience, backgrounds, ideas, and personalities. Thank you for being here. 🙏