The Feast is a 40-day worldwide spiritual practice period—a virtual intensive—during which people of all ages in all traditions make a commitment to practice deeply and expand their awareness. The Feast is observed each year on January 15th and concludes on February 23rd.
It was formed over ten years ago, when an American meditation practitioner in the Sufi tradition, Valerie Skonie, read a poem by Rumi, a 13th Century Persian Mystic:
“What nine months does for the embryo
Forty early mornings
Will do for your growing awareness”
She was inspired to create the Feast for the Soul and gathered numerous teachers from various traditions and religions, each of whom were dedicated to helping others grow their awareness. Each provided a 40-day program of meditations and discourses free of charge which we made available to Feast participants. She recently retired and she elected me to take over.
The faculty continues to be made up of a wide variety of teachers each year, among them, a Sufi teacher, a Tibetan Buddhist Rinpoche, a Muslim Sufi Sheikh, a Rabbi, and a Children’s Meditation Teacher.
I would like to invite you to join our faculty of meditation and spiritual practice teachers for the Feast in 2019.
Now I know it is last minute, but I chose you because I know you have a full library of meditations and I hope you will share some with us so we can make them available to the over 20,000 people who observe the Feast and seek support for their daily spiritual practice.
If you say yes, we’ll ask that you provide ten 20-40-minute meditation recordings for us to use. Each teacher offers a different format, but they are generally comprised of a 10-15 minute discourse or dharma talk, followed by a 25-30 minute guided or silent meditation, and a short wrap up.
We ask that you do not use this as an opportunity to sell your services. You will be recognized via your featured bio and it will have a link to your website or email or whatever you prefer.
I hope you will say yes to participating and offering the Feast-goers your wisdom.
If you do, your biography and information will be listed on a page like this, and we’ll upload your meditations to SoundCloud. We’ll also ask you to sign a non-exclusive licensing agreement to give us permissions to use your material.
Tens of thousands of people worldwide participate in the Feast every year. And we at the Feast want to increase these numbers, as peace is obviously a priority on this planet.
The Feast for the Soul is run by volunteers. It’s a not-for-profit organization that provides the general public 24/7 365 days a year free online access to a wide variety of teachings, meditations, and spiritual discourses from a myriad of religious and spiritual traditions.
Its aim is to offer support for one’s daily spiritual practice and to create a community of people supporting one another. It is not commercial, nor will it ever be.
I look forward to hearing back from you soon. And, if you have suggestions as to who else might be a good addition to our faculty, I’d love to hear them!
Here’s to peace,
Sarah
Sarah McLean
Director, Feast for the Soul
A 40-Day Worldwide Spiritual Practice Intensive, January 15 – February 23
1 (805) 770-8188
P.S. The Feast is run by volunteers like me. It is a not for profit 501c3 organization which accepts donations so our technical service providers and other expenses (website maintenance, database services, and vendors) can be paid. Please support the Feast. Donate here.
P.P.S. To get tips for recording your meditations, visit this link.