The "Palouse Mindfulness Online Student Community" is an online group specifically for people taking the Palouse Mindfulness MBSR course. Through this group, students can share experiences and/or ask questions about the practices that are part of the course, or simply stay on the sidelines and learn from others who are taking the course the same time as they are.

What is the purpose of the Online Student Community?
Taking an online course can be a lonely activity, and there may be times during the course when a new student might have questions or just want to compare notes with others about their experience with the course. There are experienced graduates in the group who can answer specific questions and, on occasion, I (Dave Potter) may respond as well. It is a very lively group and most questions get answered within an hour or two.

What may be posted?
Members are encouraged to write from their own experience, rather than simply re-posting something they've seen elsewhere. There is already more reading and video information on the site than most people are able to digest when going through the course for the first time, especially considering the supplementary readings and graduate readings, so we suggest keeping the postings on the site to questions, insights, and comments about your actual experience of doing the course. Simply re-posting quotes, articles, or videos, as inspirational as they might be, could "drown out" sincere questions, responses, and reflections. It's fine to share something from somewhere else, but if you do, be sure that you include why it is meaningful to you.

This group is NOT the place to advertise or promote activities or products. Anyone using the online group to blog or advertise, or who monopolizes or is disrespectful of the experience of others will be removed from the group.

Limitations
You should still think of the course as being self-guided - we will not be monitoring your progress. The "Health Considerations" at the bottom of the Getting Started page apply, and any adverse reactions to the course should be explored with a therapist or doctor.

How do I join?
Send your answers to the questions posed in the Getting Started Worksheet (see Getting Started), with "Online student request" as the subject, to:

You can send the worksheet as an attachment, if that's easy to do, but it's enough to send your answers to the questions asked on the worksheet in the text of the email: (1) What you hope will happen, (2) Your strengths, (3) When you will practice, (4) Where you will practice, (5) The time and day of the week you will prepare for the coming week's practice and (6) Your Facebook name. I don't share any of this information with anyone. This information simply lets me know that you are actually taking the course so that I can accept you into the group.

Within a day or two of when I receive your email, I will send you instructions for how to join the group. If you don't already have a Facebook account, you will need to create one in order to join (facebook.com).

Is joining a required part of the course?
No. Joining this online community is totally optional. Membership in the Online Student Community is not considered when I evaluate a request for a certificate of completion.

Who can see group postings?
Only members can see what is posted. This is a "closed" Facebook group, meaning the membership in the group is invitation-only, and only members can make or view postings.

Will I be inundated with Facebook messages?
How notification occurs is highly configurable. For instance, you can choose not to ever get an email message about a posting and instead see postings in your Facebook Newsfeed, or you can choose not to ever get notifications in any form and instead just visit the site at your own convenience.