[Hello all, I wanted to share some best practices that Neil had prepared for us, almost 4 years ago. This has been a great source of guide for us all at Ahmedabad. It also touches upon those seamlessly subtle moments that feel magic, but are so beautifully choreographed by the anchors of an Awakin Space.]

In the spirit of continuously looking for ways for us to step-it-up and perfect how we serve, I think we can tighten things up in the following ways :
 

Be prepared
--Start at 7pm sharp! Even if there is no one there. This is an important anchoring for the Wednesdays ambiance. We should all hold each other very strongly to this. If people are already sitting before 7, it's even better.
--Before we start, we should be clear on who's covering the key roles: welcome and introduction to the circle, reader of the passage, opening thought, closing gratitude. The host/anchors should make sure each role is assigned before we start. If people would like to try different roles, let's make it happen :)
--Person who is opening the circle should take some time during the week to separately reflect on the thought. The opening is really key in driving the depth of reflection for others, especially newcomers. At the end of this email I've pasted a set of guidelines Somik had sent me some time back on how to open circles, it's worth reading for everyone.

Improve the quality of silence
--This is the most important improvement I want to suggest. The power of the space is directly related to the level of silence, stillness, and balance we instill in ourselves and the environment around us. It is so rare to share high-quality silence amongst a group of people, I feel this is what makes Wednesdays special and stand out from other social gatherings. And I think our circle has a lot of room for improvement. The points below may seem like nitpicks, but I've seen how paying attention to these details really elevates the atmosphere in Santa Clara.
--All of us anchors of the space have to lead by example. It means scrupulously observing silence throughout all three hours of the event. Clearly in first and third hours, being silent and still while meditating/eating, but you can also project silence in the sharing hour in subtle ways. In that hour, try to shift as little as possible, and most importantly give your full attention (with eye contact) to each speaker. People express a lot of sincere gratitude to the 'hosts' directly when they share. Try to keep physical and verbal response to a minimum, it preserves the atmosphere of silence.
--Whether you notice it or not others are looking for cues from all of you on how to conduct themselves in the space, so every move matters. When we talk about "holding the space", this is what it is. Through the quality of your presence, the strength of your ability to maintain silence and stillness, the space is held.
--Carve out the living room as a silent zone. No talking in that area. If you want to talk, you can do so in another separate area.
--Resist the urge to give comments/feedback during the circle as we are going around. There's a very fine line between circle of sharing and a free-for-all discussion. Even small comments can tip the space over, and it's hard to bring it back once we're there. Hold steady in silence in the case of any distraction to the circle (background noise, people shuffling, phone ringing etc.). Again, people will follow your lead on this
--Turn off your phones!

Some specific thoughts on various aspects of the evening:
 

Meditation hour
--We've been playing with a few signals to start and end the hour. With the bell to begin, and a prayer alarm/bell to end.
--Madhu has made the point that lots of first-timers are looking for explanation of what "to do" during meditation hour. In the interest of preserving silence, I suggest we don't try to explain this to people before we start. Instead, let's print out and laminate this primer on meditation. We can have a couple copies in the living room, as well as taped to the outside of the door.

Introducing the circle (right after the med hour) --The Host/Anchors give a background on origins of Wednesday. Also, make sure you review the format: first hour we sat, second hour we will share, third hour is dinner, in this living room, in *silence*. Make sure you clearly say "... in silence", first-timers are often not aware of that point
--Also explain that the main room is a silent zone till after dinner; if you'd like to talk you can do so quietly in another designated whisper area.
--Remind people to turn off phones

Reading the thought:
--Passage should be read slowly and pronounced as clearly as possible so that each word along with the depth of the passage is understood and 'heard' by all clearly. After the silent hour, most people are filled with lots of different feelings in the heart. The 'soothed' reading of the passage really comforts that inexplainable feeling, especially for the first timers.

Opening the circle --Core anchors should try to rotate this role amongst themselves so that each circle has a little different feel each time. However, the anchoring roles have to be really nailed down keeping in mind all these subtle details of hosting an awakin.
--Remind people that each person has X seconds for their reflection. Even if the number of people is low we should do it for continuity and to make people aware of the fact that we are sharing time and it is valuable. Also there are some people who tend to drift every week, so it's good to instill that discipline even in smaller circles for the times it's really needed. Opening Guidelines:
(1) You want to touch on the edges of the piece and make it more accessible, but avoid strong opinions
(2) Avoid any particular philosophy (Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) and try to keep the language accessible to people who may not be into any particular tradition
(3) Share a personal story if possible
(4) End with a question that people can latch on to, especially those who are new to the format. The question is an invitation for them to contribute
(5) Try to stay within 3 minutes. If you have something deep to share, then don't rush it - the quality is more important. Remind people that everyone has 45 seconds.
(6) The relevance of the piece should be established in the context of your own personal journey. While that's not hard to do with most of the pieces, occasionally, there will be a piece which gets analytical/critical about the world out there. Those are the more difficult openings, where we'd need to set the self-improvement lens in a constructive manner.​

Closing the circle
--Host/Anchor ends well with personal gratitude here to those within the circle and to local people who made the circle possible. This is metta practice, which means you can also share your love and spirit with those outside of the circle.
--Also remind people to RSVP next time and share the RSVP number for people to call into. We can also take their number if they want to be called on Tuesdays.

As Nipun once said, it takes a village to host Wednesdays :) Lots of moving parts, subtle dynamics, and details to get right. To step things up we will have to pay more and more attention to the details. In order to give people the best possible experience week in and week out, having subtle but powerful structure/protocol as quality checks on ourselves is really valuable. I'm convinced this is a big part of the magic of Wednesdays.

Of course if anyone has comments on any of the above, do share. You are among (noble) friends :)