I have decided to make my courses be by donation. But why would anyone do that?
Short answer
It’s not my business to know your financial situation. Nor do you know what this very different approach will be like before you begin. So honestly, how would you know what it’s worth ahead of time?
It’s just easier and more fair to ask for a donation at the end of the meditation course. Whatever is right for you is right for me, and don’t worry, there’s no wrong amount. There isn’t even a so-called “suggested donation” either.
If this approach seems odd, let’s consider that it should be more humane in our culture not to deny someone the best education because of some arbitrarily determined value.
This approach is not about affordability, but rather humanity.
How it works is at the end of the course, you’ll sit with it and you’ll just know what is the right amount is for you. Even though the process will be unusual, it will be easy and feel good because there is no wrong amount.
The only non-donation aspect is that each course has a small up front cost to cover the course’s fixed fees for the venue or platform.
Long answer
After teaching for over 20 years, I’ve found that whatever price I list a course at, there will be someone for whom that is out of reach, or another who sees it as indicating it is of too little value—especially when comparison shopping with more heavily marketed forms of meditation. They’ll think, "Why should I do this if ‘Meditation Brand Z' costs more and promises more?"
I have since decided that I do not want to play that game. Nor work that hard.
This kind of persuasion marketing is just not for me: a long sales page with repetitive, slickly-crafted sales copy, and big, emotional “INVEST NOW!” buttons.
Also not for me: spiritual-heavy enticements with a laundry list of vague claims, lofty credentials, and a HIGH price tag with mystery numbers like $777 or $3,333 to add to the mystique.
Even though that’s the industry standard, I feel all that indicates a lack of trust in the offering.
Along the way, I finally decided that I want to be simple and clean and not have to play an elaborate marketing game to convince you of some nebulous fantasy. The results should speak for themselves. You should like it so much that you will want to tell your friends.
This new approach works best for everyone. We both get to keep our dignity, and you can pay what works best for your current financial situation. It’s a win-win.
Humane is good. Simple is good.