How To –

The online format is a very flexible format that does not require you to participate at specific times, but allows you to study and post your homework to the forum at your convenience.

The assignments will be posted on the Wednesday of each week. The homework will be due by the following Tuesday and a final wrap-up for the lesson will be posted on Friday.

You are encouraged to find your personal way to work with the materials that fits your life and schedule. Generally we recommend studying the assignments in one or two study sessions soon after they are posted. Then take a few days to reflect on the teachings and try out the instructions given that week in your practice. Close to the end of the week post your homework. Of course, ask questions along the way as necessary.

We encourage you to try as much as possible to post on time, as this helps keep you on track with the progress of the course, and also gives your fellow students time to read your posting. However, if for some reason you cannot post in time, you can still post later; in that case please try to do so as soon as you can. The instructor will reply to your postings within a few days after Tuesday when the homework is due. If you post late it might take a few days until you receive a reply.

Many students find that their postings are more meaningful if they take time to reflect awhile before sending them. During the course you might want to write down questions as they come to you, and wait a while before posting them. Some questions may answer themselves if you wait a bit, or they may seem less important or even just distractions. You will recognize other questions as very important to you, but even then, a little editing might make them clearer both to you and to others.

Online Forums

Each course can use a variety of Forum formats. Generally you will either POST a new topic, or REPLY to a single topic. You can also reply to each others' posts... we encourage you to do so, this makes for a more interesting online community and learning experience.

• Post Your Homework - this is the one where you are asked to post your answers to the homework questions

There are two ways to read the messages in these forums. You can log in to the web site and read the postings there. In addition to that you can subscribe to emails of all the messages posted in the forums. (Each week will have a new forum). If you would like to do this, go to the course web page and click on the "Forums" link on the bottom of the menu to the left (under "Activities"). This will bring you to a page where all the course forums are listed. On the top right you will find the option to subscribe to all forums. You can also go to each forum individually (after they are created each week) and only subscribe to specific forums.

You can also change your Forum preferences on your profile page. Click on your name at the top right of course page, the select “Preferences” form the dropdown menu. Next under “User account” click on “Forum preferences”.

If you choose to get emails of the postings you will get a lot of emails. Here is a tip to manage your emails so it doesn’t become overwhelming: You may be able to create a rule in your email program that files the course messages into a separate folder. For example all the messages have “WMRI-“ in the title. So make a rule like: If the subject contains “WMRI-“, then file message into “the folder of your choice that you created for this”. If you create a rule like that, then you don’t have to deal with the course emails as they come in and you can go to this folder and read the course postings when it is a good time for you.

Instructor Support

Your instructor(s) will introduce themselves in the General Forum or on their profile page. Their role is to post the weekly study instructions and the subsequent wrap-up, hold the overview of the course, moderate the group forum, and answer people's questions. The preferred way to ask questions is to post them in the forums, but you can also contact the instructor(s) individually.

If anything is not clear now, or at any time, please feel free to ask your instructor for clarification.

How to Get Help and Who to Contact

We sincerely wish that you have a positive experience in this course! If there is anything we can do to make the course more rewarding for you please don’t hesitate to let us know. Depending on what support you need there are different people who can help you. If you contact them directly they will be able to assist you more quickly.

If you have problems with the course materials please contact ZAM at zam.america@rigpa.org.

If you have technical difficulties with the online forum, like not being able to log in or post to the forum, please contact onlinecourses-us@rigpa.org.

Any questions or requests related to the course itself please address directly to your instructor(s). They will provide their contact information in their personal introductions.

Course Format

The course website and videos will be the basis for studying this course. Each week, your instructors will post guidance on study, practice and integration for the coming week, which will include a written homework assignment. 

It is recommended that you establish a routine of a weekly study session. Below you will find general advice for a study session that includes studying a teaching, reflection, practice, and advice for integration. Each study session is designed to be completed in about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, and we recommend that you study each lesson in one or, at most, two sessions.

After completing your study, reflect on the teachings for a few days and work with the practice focus for that week. Then post your homework on the website. To avoid loosing your work, in case of computer glitches, it's best if you write your homework offline in Microsoft Word or other software, save it, then copy and paste it to the online forum.

Your instructor will then give you feedback on your homework on the course website in the Post Your Homework Forum within a few days after the due date.

We encourage you to read the homework of your classmates and to reply to at least a couple of your classmates postings each week. The more you are able to participate, the richer your experience will be. We also realize that some of you have a limited amount of time available for this course. In this case, we recommend that you first focus on your personal study and practice. Then participate in the online community as much as you can manage in the remaining time.

There might be some who need more time with the material and writing if English is not your native language. We understand and encourage you to join in. It’s not how much you say but connecting by sharing a few words says a lot.

We also strongly encourage you to establish a daily meditation practice if you do not already have one. Each week there will be advice and guidance on what practices to focus on.

We suggest that you study the assignments in one or two session. If you would like to do that, plan about 60 to 90 minutes of uninterrupted time for the main part this assignment. Choose a suitable environment where you can sit and practice meditation and watch the DVD.

You can also divide your weekly study and practice assignment into two or three shorter sessions. If you find that the suggest format does not work with your life and learning style, feel free to explore different ways to study and practice. The most important point is to find a format that works for you.

Suggested Outline for a Study Session

Establishing the Motivation and Settling
Always begin your sessions by taking a moment to sit quietly and reflect on your motivation for practice.

Review of Previous Topic
Before starting the next assignment take a few minutes to review the previous topic; for example, go over the main points. Read any new postings on this topic. If it is more practical to do this step at your computer, you can catch up on unread postings before you begin the study session.

Watch the Video of the Teaching
A part of most weeks’ assignment will be watching the teaching on the DVD. Take a moment to sit quietly and remember the advice on how to listen to the teachings that will be provided.

Brief Sitting after the Teaching
After you listen to the teaching, sit quietly for a few minutes and allow the teaching to inspire and touch you.

Summary Points of the Teachings
Take about five minutes to identify the main points of the teaching. We will suggest different ways of doing that. For example you can write them down and then compare them with the main points provided on the course page.

Questions for Reflection
Reflect on the questions that are provided for each topic in the assignment posted on the course website.

Practice
Spend some time practicing as suggested in the assignment posted on the course website.

Integration and Further Study
Each session will present advice on further study for each topic, make suggestions for your daily practice, and offer ideas on how to integrate the teachings into your life. Conclude your study session with reading this section and make a plan on how to apply the teaching during the week.

Dedication
Conclude your study session with a short sitting and a moment of dedication.

Activities to complete outside your study and practice session(s):

Post your Homework
After reflecting on the teaching and doing the suggested practice, take some time to write the homework assignment and post it to the discussion forum on the course website.

Connecting with Others
Take some time during the week to read postings by the instructors and other participants and respond as you feel inspired.

Study, Practice and Integration between sessions
You are encouraged to maintain a daily meditation practice between the study sessions, to work with applying the teachings and practice in your life, and deepen your study by reading any additional materials suggested in each session as time permits. You might find it helpful to keep a record of your practice (e.g. the amount of time you practice) and practice and a diary of reflections and insights.