Weekly Email 2-21-23

Dear Common Ground Friends,

Please Note: Those of us in the upper midwest are preparing for a significant winter storm to hit these next three days so it seems wise for us to close the City Center in Minneapolis from Wednesday morning February 22nd, until Friday afternoon February 24th. Some programs will continue as scheduled on Zoom. See below for details. 

As hard as it is to believe at times, it is possible to radically change the quality of our mind simply by cultivating interest in what is conducive to calmness. Because of habit, we tend to pay attention to what is dramatic, intense, and juicy. However, the heart can be retrained to be interested in what is peaceful and calming. If we actually check we might find that there are always elements in our experience that will be supportive of calm. For example, we can pay attention to the sense of deeply caring about this life, or we can open to a bigger perspective of what is happening, or notice the activity in my life as a natural process.

When things are intense, it can seem inappropriate to attend to aspects of the present moment that are conducive to tranquility. Let’s remember that we are not attempting to avoid responsibilities related to taking care of ourselves or others, we are simply finding ways to respond more wisely and compassionately. Appropriate and dynamic action in life depends on being intimate with the conditions of the moment, and tranquility of the body and mind is what allows us to truly connect, to see more clearly and feel more deeply. When we honestly reflect, we see how often we feed cycles of stress and suffering because of the distortions arising from our agitated minds. Of course, it is understandable that we get agitated, life is difficult for us human beings. But, we can still acknowledge that agitation and reactivity doesn’t help us to be free from these cycles of stress. It is truly heartbreaking to consider how much suffering we have all set in motion in this way. Let’s consider having tranquility as a resonate value in our hearts that we keep in mind at all times. Let’s find out for ourselves what this sets in motion in our lives and in our world.

Peace,

Mark Nunberg
Co-Guiding Teacher

SNOWSTORM SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY

Community Practice Check-In with Robin Major

• Wednesday 8:30-9:30am: Zoom Only

Qigong Practice with Steve and Autumn Compton

• Wednesday 9:30am-10:30am: CANCELLED

Mindful Yoga with Nancy Boler

• Wednesday 12:05pm-1:15pm: Zoom Only
• Friday 9:30 – 10:45am: Zoom Only

In-person Open Meditation

• Wednesday-Friday 6:30am – 8:30am CANCELLED
• Wednesday 11:00am – 12:00pm: CANCELLED

Cultivating Virtue as a Support for Liberation: a Bimonthly Practice Group with Stacy McClendon, 

• Thursday 7:00pm-8:30pm: Zoom Only

• Friday 7:00-8:30pm: TBD. PLEASE CHECK THE PUBLIC CALENDAR

Guest Teacher Talk with Chas DiCapua: Creating A Home In The Body For The Heart/Mind, Friday, 7:00-8:30pm: In person and on Zoom

Weekly Programs
To view a complete list of our regular program offerings, visit our the upcoming programs page on our website. As always, our the online calendar is the best way to find correct times and Zoom links. 

Open Meditation
In person meditation is now available, M-F, starting at 6:30 a.m. Check our online calendar for additional times and details. There are many in-person as well as virtual opportunities for silent meditation, 7 days a week. Visit the calendar for times and details.

Weekly Practice Groups

• Sunday mornings, 10:30-11:45am in-person and on Zoom with Mark Nunberg
• Sunday evenings, 7:00-8:30pm in-person with Mark Nunberg
• Wednesday evenings, 7:30-9:00pm on Zoom with Shelly Graf

The Practice of Generosity

Continuing in the tradition of Buddhist monasteries in Southeast Asia, all programs at Common Ground 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.

Current Volunteer Needs 
Please contact Robin Major at robin@commongroundmeditation.org if you are interested in any of these volunteer opportunities:

• Office Volunteers: We are looking for one or more people with 1-2 years experience at the center and with prior office experience to help us with office tasks and bulletin board maintenance. Experience with G-Suite and general comfort with computer technology would be helpful.
• Website Volunteer: We are hoping to re-do our website in the coming months. If you have experience building websites and are interested in helping with this, please write an email of interest to Robin.
• Plant Pots: We are looking for two large terracotta, ceramic, or nicely made resin pots for plants at the retreat center. The pots should be at least 15in in diameter.

Community News 

Notes for Gail
Beloved community member and dharma teacher Gail Iverson is retiring from her long time service as Common Ground’s bookkeeper. Common Ground’s finance committee and staff will be celebrating Gail’s retirement on March 3rd. If you would like to send a card or note to add to a group card, we can present these to Gail at the celebration on March 3rd. Common Ground is purchasing a $100 gift card to Mother Earth Gardens as part of this offering for Gail.

Calendar Page Captchas
If you have been experiencing difficulty opening the calendar page, you are not alone! We are working to update our calendar page and hopefully will have it fixed soon. Accessing the calendar through Google Chrome, or another non-Safari platform, works best.

There is Now Way to Rush Progress in Meditation
There is no way to rush progress in meditation;
we can only proceed steadily.
But we don’t stop, either.

 Thanks to The Daily Tejaniya for this quote

Community member practicing standing meditation at Common Ground Retreat Center last month