Mindworks

What Mindworks is

Mindworks is an online meditation school run as a 501c3 nonprofit. It teaches mindfulness and Buddhist meditation through structured, multi-level courses, and it is built for learners: anyone from a complete beginner to a long-time practitioner who wants a guided, step-by-step training rather than a loose library of recordings. The homepage describes the offer as "Authentic online mindfulness and Buddhist meditation training" and sums it up as learning "how your mind works and how to work with your mind."

The nonprofit side shapes the product. The homepage says its Mind Trainers and staff "volunteer their time and wisdom so that proceeds from our online programs and courses go towards operating expenses to support our mission." The footer names the organization as Mindworks Inc, and two people on the teacher list are titled as founders: Bart Mendel, Founder and Chief Meditation Officer, and Tokpa Korlo, Founder and Chief Creative Officer.

How a course works

Everything runs in what Mindworks calls its virtual classroom, on its mobile app or "on any browser on any device." The courses page sets out the format plainly: "Courses are 7 to 14 days, 10 to 30 minutes per day depending upon the course." Each day combines guided meditation with teaching. In the site's words, "All courses include daily guided meditations, teaching videos we call Mind Talks, readings, contemplations and more."

That daily rhythm is the point of the design. The site's FAQ explains that guided practice comes first and that "Eventually, participants learn to meditate on their own, becoming their own guide." It also names the two styles of meditation the courses teach, mindfulness and awareness: mindfulness is the starting point for beginners, and once the mind has settled, awareness meditation "can be practiced with greater ease and understanding."

The pricing page notes that some courses have prerequisites and that "You can only take one journey course at a time", so a learner moves through the levels in order rather than opening several at once.

The four Journeys

The core of the catalog is four multi-level course series the site calls Journeys.

Journey to Well-Being is the mindfulness track and the place most people start. The site calls it "Our most popular mindfulness course series designed for meditators of all levels" and arranges it in nine levels: Fundamentals, Practice, Stabilize, Resilience, Disrupt, The Gap, Kindness, Confidence and Well-Being. Level 1, Fundamentals, is free.

Journey to Liberation is "A 9-level essentials course series in the fundamentals of the Buddhist path". Its levels run from Taking Refuge and the Noble Truths through Meditation, the 3 Trainings, Karma, the 4 Reminders, Insight and Science of Mind, ending with Self-Liberation.

Journey to Wisdom is a newer nine-level advanced series "on the profound path of a bodhisattva". It covers the Path of the Bodhisattva, the Heart of Awakening, the Bodhisattva Vow, the Six Perfections, the Perfection of Meditation and of Wisdom, two levels of Lojong mind training, and the Fruition of the Path.

Journey to Compassion was "Created for intermediate and advanced meditators" as a six-level path: Understanding, Equanimity, Lovingkindness, Awakened Heart, The Leap and Compassion.

Life Navigation courses

Alongside the Journeys sits a set of standalone courses that apply meditation to particular situations, described as "for meditators at every stage of their practice." The list includes Meditation Essentials, Working with Stress, Working with Emotions, Improving Relationships, Course in Happiness, Meditation for Parents, Mind Body Health and Harmony, Addiction and Forgiveness, Psychology of Addiction, and The Mindful Executive, which ties meditation to meaning and purpose at work.

The Mind Trainers

Mindworks lists a long roster of teachers it calls Mind Trainers and describes them as "renowned meditation teachers, Buddhist masters and skilled life coaches from around the world." The list mixes Buddhist teachers and scholars, such as Trungram Gyalwa, PhD, Lara Braitstein, PhD, Trinlay Rinpoche, Lama Jampa Thaye, PhD and Khenpo Dharma Mitra, with clinicians and therapists, including Maria Camara, PhD, a psychologist and therapist, David Schechter MD, Cynthia Thaik, M.D. and Stephen Dansiger, PsyD. Reverend Joseph Rogers teaches meditation for recovery, which fits the two addiction courses. Trainers such as Trungram Gyalwa and Bart Mendel also write articles for the Mindworks blog.

Plans and prices

The pricing is published in full. Mindworks Premium Membership costs "$25 /month" billed monthly, or "$225 /year" billed annually, which the page says will "Save $75". Both versions of the membership list the same benefits:

• access to all meditation courses and content, with "New courses added frequently"
• Mindworks App access and a library "with a searchable database"
• "All videos include closed captioning and transcripts"
• an "Invitation to live events and webinars with our Mind Trainers"
• "Individual meditation instruction via Zoom at Levels 4 and 9 of any Journey"
• merit points that build up as you progress and can be redeemed for course gift certificates

Course access lasts "as long as you’re a member." The alternative is buying courses one at a time: "Individual Courses" cost "$25-$50 /course", and a purchase brings "Lifetime access to purchased courses" with the option to "Revisit completed guided meditations, Mind Talks, lessons, & topics at any time." The site also mentions a Journey Course Bundle as a third way in, and it sells meditation course gift certificates.

The entry point is free. The pricing section recommends starting with "Journey to Well-Being Level 1: Fundamentals, for FREE!", and signing up for the newsletter brings a free meditation ebook. The site also takes donations.

What learners say

Testimonials on the site come with first names and occupations. Quentin, an army veteran, writes that "The 9 Level Path to Transformation was amazing and helped me build a strong, consistent meditation foundation". Martha, a clerical worker, praises "the approachability, manageable portions, consistency and variety of the instructions." Carrie, a stay-at-home mom, writes after finishing the second module of Journey to Well-Being that "each day I look forward to my daily sessions with Mindworks!"

Who it suits

Mindworks suits an adult who wants to learn meditation properly and keep at it, a little each day, with a clear sequence to follow. Beginners get a free first level and short sessions of 10 to 30 minutes. Practitioners drawn to Buddhism get three full Buddhist Journeys, taught by named teachers. Members who reach Levels 4 and 9 of a Journey get one-to-one instruction over Zoom, a personal touch in an otherwise self-paced format. The published prices and the nonprofit model make the cost easy to judge before you start.

It is less of a fit for someone who wants a wide personal development catalog covering fitness, careers or business, since Mindworks teaches meditation and Buddhist practice and nothing else. The one-Journey-at-a-time rule also means a learner cannot jump around the catalog freely, and readers who want a purely secular course should note how much of the material is openly Buddhist.