Dear Common Ground Friends,

The snow is falling outside and it seems wise to stop for a minute and appreciate the beauty of it. The snowflakes that fall in clumps are absorbed into the earth it seems, water, earth and air in the beautiful symmetry of elements. Please remember to recognize what is beautiful and mysterious as these moments are as much a part of our reality as any other.

Join us tonight for a guest teacher talk with Jason Sole as he’ll be guiding us through an exploration of bringing our deepest values to the work of racial justice.  More details are below.  Also, our next Living the Practice Workshop is on the topic of Othering and Belonging this Saturday. Plenty of space available! Registration is open for the December Practice Intensive beginning on December 7th. Details are in the public calendar.

Wishing you all many moments of mysterious wonder until next time.

Peace,

Shelly Graf
Associate Director

Upcoming Program Highlights

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH
This Tuesday, 7:00-8:30pm, JASON SOLE, a criminal justice educator and past president of the Minneapolis NAACP will be leading a program entitled Actions Speak Louder Than Words: How Do You Bring Your Values to the Work of Racial Justice? Zoom link here.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH
SHELLY GRAF will lead the Wednesday evening Weekly Practice Group as usual, 7:30-9:00pm. Zoom link here. Feel free to join early for virtual Tea Time, 7:00-7:20pm, for some time to connect with others over Zoom before the program.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH
MARK NUNBERG will offer the weekly Lovingkindness Practice Group on Friday, 7:00-8:30pm. Zoom link here.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH 
WYNN FRICKE and MARK NUNBERG will offer their monthly Saturday morning Community Practice Check-In at 8:00am. Zoom link here.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH
This Saturday, we will host our next Living the Practice Workshop: Othering and Belonging with CECILIA RAMON, MARK NUNBERG, SCOTTIE HALL, and SHELLY GRAF, from 9:30am-4:00pm over Zoom. More info and registration here.

DECEMBER 8TH and 9TH
Our dear friend and teacher PAMELA AYO YETUNDE has co-edited a new book: Black and Buddhist: What Buddhism Can Teach Us About Race, Resilience, Transformation and Freedom. We’re happy to be co-sponsoring two events celebrating the release of the book and offering a chance to hear from some of the authors and editors. Harvard Divinity School will be hosting an author discussion on Tuesday, December 8th, 4 – 5:30pm (central time), (more info and registration here) and Center of the Heart will be hosting a release party on Wednesday, December 9th, 6:00-7:00pm central time (more info and registration here).

JANUARY 2021
Mark Nunberg will offer the next Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation course January 12-Feburary 16, Six Tuesdays, 7:30-9:00pm. More info and registration here.

Please note that all times listed are in Central time. For complete, up-to-date program information, visit the online calendar. We recommend you bookmark it for easy access during the week. You might also want to bookmark our Youtube channel. 

The Practice of Generosity

Continuing in the tradition of Buddhist monasteries in Southeast Asia, all programs at Common Ground, including these online programs, are offered free of charge in the spirit of generosity. This offering is possible because of the generosity of people like you—from the Buddha on down to all the people in our community—who contribute their practice, time, and financial resources to support the continuation of the center.

To learn how to support the center and our teachers, visit this page. Let us know if you have any questions.

Preparing Meals for Retreatants at Prairie Farm
One way you can offer support is by preparing a meal for retreatants at Prairie Farm. Mark Nunberg will be on retreat at Prairie Farm for the second half of November and most of December and will be training in other practice leaders during his stay. If you’re interested in preparing and freezing a meal, let info@commongroundmeditation.org know. You can view possible recipes here.

Community News 

Mindfulness & Depression Community Group Meets Sunday
Depression hurts, and no one should have to face it alone. In the Mindfulness and Depression Community Group, we share our experience and support each other. We practice using mindfulness to welcome even the most difficult experiences and explore the possibility of acceptance and joy. This group is open to anyone with personal experience of depression. This community group meets on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of every month, 4:00-5:30pm over Zoom through Common Ground. No registration, no fee, just drop in!   If you have any questions, please contact Todd at depression@commongroundmeditation.org. Zoom link here.

Sleight of Mouth Trainings offered through ASDIC
Antiracism Study and Dialogue Circle (ASDIC) is a wonderful local organization Common Ground has partnered with in the past. We wanted to let the community know about an upcoming workshop series they will be offering in December called Addressing Race-Based Beliefs with Sleight of Mouth Patterns & Practice – December 3, 10 & 17, 2020 – 6-8pm CST on Zoom. More info here.

Community Love Letter to Minneapolis & America Video
Recently a group of community members wrote a love letter to Minneapolis & America. You can watch a video of some of the authors reading the letter here and read the letter on our blog here.

Poem from Community Member Reflecting on Prairie Farm
Click here to read a sweet poem written by a community member, Kyle, after his recent stay at Prairie Farm.

Community Survey Still Open for Participation
Thank you to everyone who filled out the community survey we sent out recently. You can still fill it out if you haven’t already, here.