Becoming a Student / Private Sessions

If you have developed a stable daily meditation practice, it’s possible to become a student at Mountain Cloud by taking the following steps…
- Attend enough sits and events to feel clearly that Mountain Cloud is a community and place where you’d like to practice.
- Attend several of our “introduction to meditation” classes which are offered both online and onsite the first Wednesday of the month at 5:30pm MT. Or attend a number of the Sunday morning (10am) onsite Introduction to Zen Meditation class which meets weekly in our zendo.
- Listen and watch these introductory talks (podcasts and videos) recorded by Henry.
- Attend at least two multi day retreats (5 days or longer each). During the covid-19 lockdown, attend at least four virtual retreats.
- Read the Guidelines for Members written by Henry.
- Become a member of Mountain Cloud. Find more details and a signup form on our membership page.
- Read some of our recommended books:
- Zen: the Authentic Gate, Yamada Koun
- Three Pillars of Zen, Philip Kapleau
- Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Shunryu Suzuki
- Mindfulness in Plain English, Bhante Gunaratana
Private Interviews / Dokusan for Students / Extended Interviews
Private interviews are becoming increasingly popular with new students and practitioners.
Henry Shukman is not currently taking any new students or offering dokusan or spiritual counseling sessions.
Valerie Forstman’s schedule has become extremely full and she currently only taking a limited number of new students.
We have several additional teachers who offer practice guidance and/or Koan training. (See Our People page for more information on all teachers at Mountain Cloud.)
Private interviews are primarily done online, so you don’t need to be local to Santa Fe in order to work with Valerie or another MCZC approved teacher.