About Common Ground

Common Ground is an early Buddhist meditation center dedicated to the practice of mindful awareness. We are committed to being a place and community where all feel welcome and at home, and welcome practitioners from all Buddhist traditions as well as other spiritual traditions dedicated to wisdom and compassion.

Common Ground follows in the tradition of IMS and Spirit Rock...which derive from Southeast Asian roots in Thailand, Burma and India... Read more about our lineage.

All programs are offered freely. Common Ground has no required or suggested payments; instead community members are invited to join a tradition of giving and receiving that has sustained Buddhist communities and helped the teachings for thousands of years. Learn more about generosity and how you can support the center.

Who are we?

Locations

Minneapolis Center

Common Ground's Minneapolis home since 2009, the city center offers an array of options for diverse identities, needs and stages of practice, including in-person and online options.

See city center events

Wisconsin Retreat Center

Just 90 minutes outside Minneapolis, our retreat center provides a quiet, natural setting to support the calming of the mind and the deepening of insight.

Learn more about the retreat center

Teachers and Staff

Guiding Teachers

Mark Nunberg began his practice in 1982 and has been teaching meditation since 1990.

Shelly Graf has been practicing in the Insight Meditation tradition and has called Common Ground their spiritual home since 2003.

Mark and Shelly play a central role both teaching programs at Common Ground and helping provide spiritual and operational guidance and direction to support the community blah blah... Mark and Shelly also lead residential retreats at IMS and other retreat centers nationally.

Staff

Gabe Keller Flores is the operations manager at Common Ground and has been part of the community since 2008. Gabe's role is XXX

Nancy Boler is Common Ground's bookkeeper and has been practicing since ##. Nancy ensures that all donations are recorded and deposited properly and that the center’s bills are paid.

See all events

Retreat Center

Just 90 minutes outside Minneapolis, in Prairie Farm, Wisconsin, our retreat center provides a quiet, natural setting to support the calming of the mind and the deepening of insight. Retreats, practice periods, and work retreats are offered throughout the year, and experienced practitioners may stay for extended practice.

History

Founded in 1993 by Mark Nunberg and his partner Wynn Fricke, Common Ground Meditation Center builds upon the history of the insight meditation tradition and recognizes the value in sustained spiritual community. From the beginning, Mark and Wynn shared a deeply felt desire to create a local, dedicated center that would serve as a support for mindfulness practice and a reminder of the importance of cultivating compassion and wisdom in daily life. In the years since its inception, the center has grown into a large, vibrant community of mindfulness practitioners. LINK**Read the full story**LINK

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