# The witness Introducing the witness role {% embed url="" %} * **The Witness** is a way to step back and observe in social meditation. * You can **enter** the role by saying **"witnessing"** and/or by **muting yourself**. * You can **exit** by **unmuting** and rejoining the practice flow if/when ready. * In some practices, such as those that have a spontaneous order, you can stay silent without muting. * The witness role helps you **listen, observe, and be present** without speaking. * You can switch between witnessing and participating aloud anytime. # Safety release The safety release valve {% embed url="" %} * In **social meditation**, if it's your turn but you’re unsure what to say, you can use a **"safety release valve."** * Options include saying **"Don't know," "Uncertain," "Pass," or "Thank you."** * This idea comes from **Kenneth Folk's Social Noting** and helps **reduce social pressure** in live practice. * Use it anytime you feel uncertain, don’t want to speak, or simply have nothing to add. * It’s always available—**no pressure to participate** if you don’t want to. # Trauma-informed A trauma-informed design {% embed url="" %} * **"The Safety Release Valve"** (saying “don’t know,” “pass,” or “thank you”) and **"The Witness"** (observing silently) are both **trauma-informed design choices** in social meditation. * These options **give participants freedom and control** over how they engage. * At **Interbe.ing**, the goal is to create a **safe and flexible** space for practice. * The approach values **trauma-awareness** and aims for **trauma integration** in meditation practice. # Phases of practice The phases of social meditation {% embed url="" %} Each **social meditation session** follows **three phases**: 1. **Setup Phase** * The **Facilitator explains** the practice, gives a **demonstration**, and **answers questions**. 2. **Practice Phase** * Everyone, including the **Facilitator, joins in** to do the practice. 3. **Reflection Phase** * Participants **share** how the practice went. * If time allows, people can **share more insights** or **ask follow-up questions**. * The **Facilitator concludes** the session when the time is up. # Social conditioning Positively transform social conditioning in the practice {% embed url="" %} * **Social meditation** brings up **social conditioning**—the patterns and habits we’ve learned from society. * **Good news:** You get a chance to **consciously work with** these patterns in a supportive space. * **Bad news:** This can bring up **immature, painful, or embarrassing** conditioning. * **Good news again:** Everyone is going through this process together. * Over time, with **practice, reflection, and support**, you can **transform** unhelpful conditioning. * This helps you feel **more at ease** in yourself and **more free** in relationships. * **Social meditation** offers a unique way to **work on social conditioning**, which **solo practice does not.** # A brief history A brief history of social meditation {% embed url="" %} * **Multiplayer meditation** evolved from earlier **social meditation** practices. * **Key influence:** Meditation teacher **Kenneth Folk**, who developed **"social noting"** in 2010. * **Original method:** * Traditional **mental noting** (from Burmese Buddhism) was done **silently** during long retreats. * Kenneth’s **innovation:** Doing **noting out loud** with others—**"social noting."** * **Impact:** * Social noting was **10x easier to teach and learn** than mental noting. * The speaker and their partner, **Emily**, trained with Kenneth and began teaching it. * **Further development (2021):** * During COVID-19, the speaker **trained facilitators** and refined the **core elements of social meditation.** * **Creation of Multiplayer Meditation:** * In collaboration with **Chris Ewald** at **Interbeing Inc**, the speaker **expanded and differentiated social meditation** into **multiplayer meditation.** * It retains roots in **Kenneth Folk’s innovations** but is now a **distinct approach** with its own unique framework. * MOST RECENTLY: We've dropped the moniker "multiplayer meditation" and are sticking with "social meditation". # 10x amplifier Learn why social meditation is a 10x learning amplifier {% embed url="" %} * In business, a **game-changing innovation** needs to be **10x better** than the previous approach to be worth switching. * A meditator, **Keith from BC, Canada**, described **social meditation** as a **"10x amplifier"** for accessing deep meditative states. * **Why is it so effective?** * Humans are **social primates**—we **learn better** and **enjoy** things more **together**. * **Social meditation** taps into this **natural relationality**, making it **far more effective** than solo or guided meditation. * **Core idea:** **Meditation becomes more powerful when practiced as a shared experience.** # There is noting {% embed url="" %} Developed by [Kenneth Folk](https://www.kennethfolkdharma.com) # Spontaneous noting {% embed url="" %} Developed by [Kenneth Folk](https://www.kennethfolkdharma.com) # Noting body sensations {% embed url="" %} Developed by [Kenneth Folk](https://www.kennethfolkdharma.com) # May heartfulness arise {% embed url="" %} Developed by [Vince Fakhoury Horn](https://www.vincehorn.space) & [Emily West Horn](https://www.emilyhorn.com) # Heartfulness like the sun {% embed url="" %} Developed by [Kenneth Folk](http://kennethfolkdharma.com) & [Vince Fakhoury Horn](https://www.vincehorn.space) # Classic metta {% embed url="" %} Developed by [Vince Fakhoury Horn](https://www.vincehorn.space) & [Emily West Horn](https://www.emilyhorn.com) # Just sitting {% embed url="" %} Developed by [Vince Fakhoury Horn](https://www.vincehorn.space) # Don't know {% embed url="" %} Developed by [Kenneth Folk](https://www.kennethfolkdharma.com) # Spontaneous thanks {% embed url="" %} Developed by [Vince Fakhoury Horn](https://www.vincehorn.space) # Essence noting "You have to be very open-minded to listen for something that you'll never hear." – Kenneth Folk {% embed url="" %} Developed by [Kenneth Folk](https://www.kennethfolkdharma.com) # Progressive release noting {% embed url="" %} Developed by [Vince Fakhoury Horn](https://www.vincehorn.space) # This Guide About the Social Meditation Guide I'm writing this guide as an open source manual for Meditators, Facilitators, & Developers of Social Meditation. This particular guide is focused on people who are learning to facilitate the practices of Social Meditation using the Social Meditation Protocol. Content in this guide spans from 2020–2025, primarily pulling material from the Buddhist Geeks Social Meditation Facilitator Training material and from the [Interbe.ing Facilitator Training](https://game.interbe.ing/checkout/facilitation/). ### **The Facilitators Guide** This guide will cover the full range of what's involved in the process of facilitating Social Meditation. We're making it publicly available and Open Source in order to encourage the spread of good practice. We believe that if instead of making all of this only available to training members, we make it free to evreryone, that the safe sharing of these methods will be easier.\ \ ***May the global wisdom commons grow & thrive!*** By [Vince Fakhoury Horn](https://vincehorn.space)\ Published on: February 2, 2025\ Last updated: February 3, 2025 # Facilitator Training Learn to facilitate Social meditation, while getting tools to aid you in the process! **Step 1:** Be where you already are **Step 2**: [Create a free account on Interbe.ing](https://interbe.ing/sign-up/) **Step 3**: Complete the onboarding steps–including RSVPing to your first live practice session. **Step 4**: Do your first social meditation on Interbe.ing. **Step 5**: Do at least an hour of a single technique–we call this "empowerment". **Step 6:** [Join the Facilitator Training Program](https://game.interbe.ing/checkout/facilitation/) (anytime) **Step 7:** Start facilitating practices you're empowered in, using the Interbe.ing facilitator tools **Step 8**: Complete your Level 1 certification by facilitating over 100 hours of practice. # Social Meditation "As long as meditation is defined as sitting silent and alone, it's not going to catch on. We are human primates. We're social in our very bones." – Kenneth Folk {% embed url="" %} ***Context**: This talk was given by* [*Vince Fakhoury Horn*](https://www.vincehorn.space) *on a private 10-day meditation retreat–January 22–31, 2025–with the Syntony and The Field communities in Chorin, Germany at the House on the Lake. It was given half-way through the retreat, as we transitioned from a fully silent retreat container into one in which we'd be doing a few hours of social meditation each day.* ### Introduction "As long as meditation is defined as sitting silent and alone, it's not going to catch on. We are human primates. We're social in our very bones." – Kenneth Folk This may sound strange in the middle of a 10-day retreat where we've spent time in silence. However, we haven't been sitting alone - we've been sitting together. We haven't been defining meditation as something done in silence alone. ### Two Types of Practice We're exploring two different ways of practicing on this retreat: 1. "Single player meditation" (which we've done in the first half of the retreat) 2. Social meditation (which we'll explore starting now through the end) ### Origins of Social Meditation I first learned this approach when Kenneth called me on Skype about 15 years ago. At that point, I'd been studying with him for about five years and had just started teaching. He introduced what he called "ping pong noting" - taking the mental noting technique we knew and doing it out loud together. This was shocking initially because the technique had been developed in a monastic tradition where people were almost always silent. It was revolutionary to do it out loud. ### Key Elements of Social Meditation Social meditation is: 1. Done out loud 2. Peer-to-peer 3. Inherently interactive 4. Based on simple, trauma-informed protocols #### The Role of the Facilitator The facilitator's role differs from a traditional teacher. They: * Understand and guide the process * Practice alongside others * Support three key phases: 1. Instruction phase 2. Practice phase 3. Reflection phase #### The Importance of Reflection The reflection phase allows participants to: * Process what happened during practice * Share observations * Ask questions * Learn from the experience ### Benefits of Social Meditation 1. Brings meditation benefits into relationship 2. Improves engagement and decreases mind wandering 3. Creates consistent positive pro-social states 4. Helps see the non-duality of self and others 5. Provides more effective learning through direct observation 6. Is backward compatible with solo meditation ### Safety Considerations * Sessions are typically limited to 20-30 minutes due to intensity * Include safety release valves (ability to pass or say "don't know") * Offer witness roles for those who prefer to observe * Practice in groups of three or more for safety Remember Christopher Vitali's words: "To truly deal with the challenges of our age, we will need to learn how to think, act, experiment, learn, value, and meditate in networked ways." # The Protocol The Social Meditation Protocol {% embed url="" %} # Interspection Interspection is that which is characterized by examination of the thoughts & feelings among & between us. {% embed url="" %} By [Vince Fakhoury Horn](http://www.vincehorn.space) # Phases of Social Meditation Learn about the Setup, Practice, & Reflection phases of Social Meditation {% embed url="" %} By: [Vince Fakhoury Horn](https://www.vincehorn.space) # Purpose, Origins, & Evolution The Purpose, Origins, & Evolution of Social Meditation {% embed url="" %} By: [Vince Fakhoury Horn](https://www.vincehorn.space) # Facilitation Principles Facilitation Principles for Self Directed Learners {% embed url="" %} By: [Vince Fakhoury Horn](https://www.vincehorn.space) # Basic Facilitation Process The basic facilitation process {% embed url="" %} By: [Vince Fakhoury Horn](https://www.vincehorn.space) # Facilitating an Extended Reflection Tips on Facilitating an Extended Reflection {% embed url="" %} By: [Vince Fakhoury Horn](https://www.vincehorn.space) # The Feedback Phase In the feedback phase, facilitators have a chance to learn from others, and improve their facilitation skills. While Social Meditation generally has [3 phases of practice](https://the.socialmeditation.guide/orientation/phases-of-practice)–the Setup, Practice, & Reflection phases–there's an additional phase that's possible for Facilitators, after the reflection is over. In the Feedback phase, the Facilitator has an opportunity to request feedback from their peers (i.e. other Facilitators) and share their own sense of how things went. Here are the specific steps we use for Facilitator feedback within the context of [Interbe.ing](https://www.interbe.ing): ### Step 1: What worked well? * First, the Facilitator begins by sharing what they felt worked well during the session. * Next, the Facilitator invites their peers to share their perspective on what worked well, as they feel moved. If someone doesn't want to share, that's fine, as soon as everyone has shared you move on to the next step. ### Step 2: What would you change? * Same as last step, the Facilitator begins by expressing what they'd want to change next time they facilitate the same practice. * Next, the Facilitator invites their peers, as they feel moved, to share any feedback they have on what they would do differently next time, if they were you. * NOTE: Clarifying questions from the Facilitator are fine, as they can help us to better understand the feedback being offered, but the aim here isn't to get into a debate about the feedback. A simple "thank you" often works well upon receiving feedback, even if you don't agree with it. Otherwise, all cross-talk at this stage is discouraged, as getting into arguments about feedback is all too easy. ### A few more thoughts on feedback * We start with what worked well, first, because of [the negativity bias](https://rickhanson.com/topics-for-personal-growth/the-negativity-bias/), which often takes the form of a culture of feedback in which the critical feedback is over-emphasized. With respect to feedback, there are generally 2 extremes: On the one side people won't ask for feedback at all, and thus stunt their growth, and on the other side they'll be open to feedback, but the tone and tenor of the feedback is overly harsh & critical, perhaps even abusive. Here, we're aiming for a process that sits between these two extremes. * If we don't know what is working about our facilitation, then we're more likely to stop doing what works, and that has a negative impact on our facilitation. It's also true that for many of us, we're doing great on most things, and just need some positive reinforcement to trust that this is the case. Receiving sincere positive feedback, including from yourself, goes a long way toward building confidence. * Framing the critical feedback, in terms of what you'd change if you were doing this again, is really important, because it allows us to look at our facilitation as an iterative learning journey. Every time we facilitate there's something we can learn about how it went, and if we generate a strong learning loop, we'll become top-notch Facilitators in no time! * It's just as important to respect & honor the time of your peers, during the Feedback phase, as it is to honor the time of meditators, during the previous phases. If you are doing live feedback, after the session is over, please end the session on time, and then complete the feedback process within a reasonable amount of time (recommendation: no more than 15 minutes). You're always welcome to extend the session if there's more feedback, but if you keep cross-talking to a minimum it shouldn't take that long. If you do extend the session, please give everyone an explicit off-ramp after 15 minutes, so that you don't hold anyone hostage in the session. More contentious (i.e. other-focused) people will tend to stay on, even when it makes sense to end. * It's important that in a peer-context the Facilitator facilitate the feedback session. The role of Facilitator doesn't end after the Reflection phase.