The Online Graduate Community is an online group specifically for graduates of the Palouse Mindfulness MBSR course. Some graduates are very active, sharing insights, questions, and resources, while others simply stay on the sidelines to enjoy what the others are sharing and learning. All Palouse Mindfulness graduates are invited to join, but not everyone chooses to become part of the online group. About a third of the Palouse Mindfulness graduates are members of the Online Graduate Community.

What is the purpose of the Online Graduate Community?
Members are able to connect with other graduates, near and far, who share the common experience of taking the Palouse Mindfulness course. This is a way for graduates to share things that they've found valuable, describe what they are learning, or ask questions of other graduates.

Why is this restricted to Palouse Mindfulness Graduates?
The primary reason is to create a feeling of safety, so people would know that they are interacting only with other people who have themselves gone through what can be a very intense and personal course. Another reason for restricting membership to graduates is to not have the group get to be so big that individual voices get lost or that people get overwhelmed with dozens and dozens of messages every day. For a Facebook group, this is a real danger, because a message may only stay at the top of the page for a very short time if there is too much traffic, and important posts may never get read and earnest questions may get ignored.

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 an abundance of other places on the web with inspirational articles and quotes, so we suggest keeping the postings on the site to questions, insights, and comments about your actual experience of mindfulness. 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.

Who can see what's on the website?
Only members can see what is posted, and membership is restricted to graduates of the Palouse Mindfulness course. This is a "closed" Facebook group, meaning the membership in the group is invitation-only, and only members can make or view postings.

If I join, 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. If you do not have a Facebook page, you will be invited to create one. If you are not a fan of social media, you have the option of using your Facebook membership strictly for participation in the online graduate group.